MB-3A

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Thomas-Morse MB-3A assigned to Billy Mitchell, at Selfridge Field, Michigan

The Thomas-Morse MB-3A was an open-cockpit bi-plane fighter primarily manufactured by the Boeing Company for the U.S. Army Air Service in 1922.

Developed in 1919 by the Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation of Ithaca, New York, the MB-3 fighter was based on the French Spad-7, with rights on the design held by the Air Service. Thomas-Morse produced fifty MB-3's for the Air Service and ten for the U.S. Marine Corps but were underbid by Boeing for contracts to deliver 200 additional planes, which Boeing designated the MB-3A. Boeing's mass production methods allowed it to profit while still charging a lower price (in the case of the MB-3A, $7,240 per copy), but was the beginning of the decline of Thomas-Morse. Boeing credits this contract with rescuing the company from financial difficulties following the cancellation of orders after World War I, and with being the impetus for its rise as a premier manufacturer of military aircraft.

The MB-3A was delivered to the Air Service beginning in 1922 and was its primary pursuit aircraft. The MB-3A was considered obsolete in 1925 and with the re-organization of the Air Service into the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1926, was replaced by the PW-8 and PW-9 fighters.