| MC-1 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Biplaneairliner |
| National origin | Japan |
| Manufacturer | Mitsubishi Aircraft Company |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1928 |
| Retired | 1938 |
| Developed from | Mitsubishi B1M |
TheMitsubishi MC-1 was a 1920sJapanese single-enginedbiplaneairliner designed and built by theMitsubishi Aircraft Company.[1]
In 1927, the Japanese Department of Communications launched a competition to design and build an indigenous passenger transport aircraft. Mitsubishi's design to meet this requirement was based on itsMitsubishi B1M torpedo bomber, using the wings of the earlier aircraft combined with a new fuselage.[2] The MC-1 was large three-bay biplane powered by a 385 hp (287 kW)Armstrong Siddeley Jaguarradial engine and it had an open cockpit behind the wings for the pilot and room for four (some sources say eight[3]) passengers in an enclosed cabin in the forward fuselage.[1] The MC-1 had a fixedconventional landing gear but could also be fitted with twin floats.[1][2]
The MC-1 was completed in April 1928, and was evaluated against the other two competitors, theAichi AB-1 andNakajima N-36, both of which were also biplanes. No production followed of any of the aircraft, as they were considered obsolete compared with foreign types, and the state-owned airlineJapan Air Transport (Nihon Koko Yuso KK) orderedFokker Universalmonoplanes instead.[2]
Although no production of the MC-1 followed, the prototype was used to operate an experimental air service betweenTokyo andOsaka sponsored by theAsahi Shimbun newspaper between June 1928 and April 1929, and then by Japan Air Transport for services inKorea until May 1930. It was then used as a seaplane flying sightseeing flights around the north coast ofHonshu until 1938.[2]
Data from Japanese Aircraft 1910–1941[2]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
