#0293
Thomas-Morse MB-3
first flew 1919· fighter
5 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Thomas-Morse MB-3 USMC 1921: USN· Public domain
- 2. Airplanes - Types - Type MB-3 Plane of Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation, Ithaca, N.Y - NARA - 17341763: Unknown author Unknown author or not provided· Public domain
- 3. Brooks Field - Thomas-Morse MB-3A: United States Army Air Forces· Public domain
- 4. Thomas-Morse MB-3 Scouting Plane, August 3, 1922: U.S. Navy· Public domain
- 5. Thomas-Morse MB-3 with attendants: U.S. War Department· Public domain
what is it?
The Thomas-Morse MB-3 was an open-cockpit biplane fighter primarily manufactured by the Boeing Company for the U.S. Army Air Service in 1922. The MB-3A was the mainstay fighter for the Air Service between 1922 and 1925.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 7.9 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 107 years ago, in 1919.
- Top speed is 1.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1919
- introduced
- 1919
- retired
- 1925
- status
- retired
- number built
- 265
- role
- fighter
- makers
- Boeing, Thomas-Morse Aircraft
- engines
- 1× Wright H
- length
- 6.1 m
- wingspan
- 7.9 m
- height
- 2.6 m
- max take-off weight
- 1,151 kg
- top speed
- 228 km/h
- cruise speed
- 201 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 5,945 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q3942434, Wikipedia: Thomas-Morse MB-3 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.