Macchi M.B.308

MB.308 / MB-308
Aermacchi MB-308 in flight at the Historical Aircraft Group FlyParty 2014
General information
Type	Utility aircraft
National origin	Italy
Manufacturer	Macchi
Built by	German Bianco
Primary users	Italian Air Force Argentine National Gendarmerie Egyptian Air Force Lebanese Air Force
Number built	183[citation needed]
History
First flight	19 January 1947

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The Macchi MB.308, later Aermacchi MB-308, is a light aircraft produced in Italy in the late 1940s.

Development

Development of the MB.308 began shortly after the end of the Second World War under the direction of Macchi technical director Ermanno Bazzocchi. Seeking to re-establish the company’s presence in the emerging civil aviation market, Bazzocchi based the new aircraft on his earlier CNA PM.1 light aircraft design, a pre-war project that had never entered production after its prototype was destroyed during the war. The resulting aircraft retained the PM.1’s general arrangement as a high-wing cabin monoplane but incorporated a tricycle undercarriage.

The prototype, registered “I-FABR”, was completed in 1946 and made its maiden flight on 19 January 1947. It was initially powered by a 60 hp CNA D.4 engine, but difficulties obtaining sufficient engines led Macchi to adopt readily available American-built Continental engines for production aircraft, beginning with the Continental C65 and later more powerful C85 and C90 variants as the design evolved.

The production aircraft was a conventional high-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed tricycle undercarriage. Construction throughout was of wood. The pilot and a single passenger or instructor sat side by side, and later examples had a third seat behind them.

The MB.308 was ordered in quantity by the Italian Air Force, which leased them out to Italy's aeroclubs. A modified version with a higher-powered engine was put into production in Argentina, under licence to sailplane manufacturer German Bianco.

Operational history

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Operators

 Argentina

• Argentine National Gendarmerie

Egypt

• Egyptian Air Force

 Italy

• Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana) - received 81 aircraft in 1948 and were retired in 1954

Lebanon

• Lebanese Air Force

Variants

MB.308

Two-seat version with an 85 hp (63 kW) or 90 hp (67 kW) Continental engine. 137 built.

MB.308 Idro

Seaplane version

MB.308G

Three-seat version with a 90 hp (67 kW) Continental C90 engine.

MB.308-100

MB.308G built by German Bianco in Argentina with a 100 hp (75 kW) Continental O-200-A engine. Approximately 46 built.

Specifications (MB.308 - C85 engine)

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1955–56

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 6.53 m (21 ft 5 in)
• Wingspan: 10.00 m (32 ft 10 in)
• Height: 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in)
• Wing area: 13.72 m² (147.7 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 410 kg (904 lb)
• Gross weight: 650 kg (1,433 lb)
• Fuel capacity: 80 litres (21 US gal; 18 imp gal)
• Powerplant: 1 × Continental C85 air-cooled flat-four, 63 kW (85 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 197 km/h (122 mph, 106 kn)
• Cruise speed: 164 km/h (102 mph, 89 kn) (70% power)
• Range: 760 km (470 mi, 410 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 4,500 m (14,800 ft)
• Time to altitude: 6 minutes to 1,000 m (3,300 ft)

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• Cessna 150

Notes

References

• Bridgman, Leonard, ed. (1955). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1955–56. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
• "The Macchi MB 308". Flight: 62–64. 17 July 1947. Retrieved 2026-06-28.
• Simpson, R.W. (1991). Airlife’s General Aviation (2nd ed.). Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1853105775.
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 419. ISBN 0-7106-0710-5.
• World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 901 Sheet 03. ISBN 1-156-94382-5.