It was designed by James Martin, to respond to the specification F.5/34 that required an air cooled engined fighter for tropical climates. It was built in steel tubing and incorporated many details that made it very easy to manufacture, repair and maintain.
It was powered by a 1000hp Napier Dagger III HIM engine and it was theoretically able of reaching the speed of 300mph (480km/h) and was armed by eight 0.30in M1919 Browning Machine guns fitted in the wings. It had a fixed undercarriage with the port one carrying the air cooler. Apparently it was planned a version with a retractable wheels but it was abandoned when this airplane was discarded.
Fuselage lines were designed to be square cut and clean keeping a constant depth from nose to tail and the fuselage was longer than the wingspan in order to keep good stability and control in yaw.
System's installation was simple but highly effective, having the cockpit set well back but giving at the same time a good field of view downwards under the wings when flying. A characteristic feature, was its crash post, which extended automatically to minimise the damage and pilot's injuries in the event of a nose-over landing.
It was flown for the first time by Cpt. Valentine Baker at Harwell, Oxfordshire on 3rd August 1938 and it was stated that, in spite of its fixed undercarriage, it could perform as well as its contemporary fighters and it was very easy and cheap to manufacture as well as maintaining and repairing it.
The prototype was adquired by the Air Ministry and passed on to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment in June 1939 to make some minor improvements and from there it passed on to the Air Fighting Development Unit, in RAF Northolt, Greater London in late 1939 where it remained at least until December 1941 but it was never flown as there were already consolidated fighters like the Hawker Hurricane or the Supermarine Spitfire serving with the Royal Air Force.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin-Baker_MB_2
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
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