Martin MB-1

The Martin MB-1 was an American large biplane bomber designed and built by the Glenn L. Martin Company for the United States Army Air Service in 1918, and the first purpose-built bomber produced by the United States. Martin proposed it in answer to an Air Service requirement for a bomber superior to the British Handley Page O/400 and won an initial contract for six aircraft. It was a conventional biplane with twin fins and rudders, a fixed tailwheel undercarriage and two 400 horsepower Liberty 12A engines, with room for a crew of three in open cockpits. Initial delivery came in October 1918, the aircraft was known as the GMB for Glenn Martin Bomber, and the end of World War I cancelled the remaining war contracts.