Flown for the first time on 8 February 1936, the Morane-Saulnier M.S.350 was a small single-seat open-cockpit aerobatic biplane with equal-span wings, the independent main legs of the fixed landing gear being fully faired and fitted with streamlined wheel ‘spats’. Powered initially by a Renault 453/01 engine, the prototype was soon fitted with a Renault 478/01 6 Q/01 of 164kW. Despite lack of service orders for the type, the M.S.350 gained a remarkable reputation thanks to a series of breathtaking demonstrations by Detroyat at air shows in France and Switzerland in the period up to September 1939. The aircraft was then much modified and fitted with a new Zenith carburettor to permit prolonged inverted flight. Recovered from storage post-war the M.S.350 saw a limited amount of use until on 8 December 1964 it was damaged beyond repair in Italy and subsequently scrapped.
Engine: Renault 6Q-01, 220 hp Wingspan: 26 ft 3 in Length: 19 ft 8 in Max take-off weight: 990 kg / 2183 lb Max. speed: 255 km/h / 158 mph Cruise: 132.5 mph ROC: 920 fpm Range: 310 mi
The Morane-Saulnier MS.341 was a parasol wing monoplane of mixed wood and metal construction, fabric-covered, designed for club and training rôles. The wing, with 18° of sweep but with no dihedral, was mounted centrally to the upper fuselage by N-shaped cabane struts and braced with V-form lift struts from mid-span to the lower fuselage longeron. The fuselage was flat sided with a curved decking and tandem open cockpits, the forward one under the wing leading edge where there was a cut-out for better visibility. The MS.341 had a fin with a straight leading edge and a tailplane mounted on top of the fuselage, braced to the fin. The rudder extended to the bottom of the fuselage, moving between the two separate elevators. Both control surfaces were horn balanced.
F-AZCX, Morane-Saulnier MS 341-3, C/N: 4234-3
The MS.340 prototype made its first flight in April 1933, powered by a 90 kW (120 hp) de Havilland Gipsy III but later flew as a MS.341 with a 90 kW (120 hp) Renault 4Pdi engine. The MS.341 had a conventional undercarriage with a small tailwheel. Single mainwheels were mounted on V-form legs hinged centrally under the fuselage. Vertical shock absorber in broad fairings were supported by an array of four struts, one to the forward lift strut’s junction with the wing, one to the upper fuselage longeron and two to the lower one.
Principal production version was the M.S.341 and some 40 aircraft of all versions were built up to 1937. Three were flown as liaison aircraft by Republican government (anti-Franco) forces in the Spanish Civil War.
Most of the variants in the MS.340 family were powered by air-cooled inverted four cylinder in-line piston engines from either Renault or de Havilland. The exception was the MS.343 variant which had a nine cylinder Salmson 9N radial. Twelve MS.343/3s were sold to L’Armée de l’Air.
Morane-Saulier M.S.341-3 (F-ANVS c/n 4234.3)
The final variant was the MS.345 which appeared in 1935. It had dihedral on the wings and a taller fin and rudder. The shock absorber mounting was simplified, with the four struts per side replaced with a Y-shaped strut between wing and undercarriage leg. The leg struts were now faired together and the wheels spatted. It was powered by a 100 kW (140 hp) Renault 4Pei engine. The MS.345 first flew in June 1935 but by this time Morane-Saulnier were concentrating on the MS.405/6 fighter and in the absence of orders for the MS.345 development of the lightplane ceased.
The great majority of the MS.340 series aircraft owned by private individuals and clubs were MS.341s, with the French engine. They account for about nineteen of the twenty seven examples of all variants on the reconstructed French Civil register. Five British engined MS.342s appear but four of these were later re-engined to make them MS.341s.
To meet the same C1 requirement as the M.S.275, Morane-Saulnier developed in parallel the M.S.325. This, for the first time since the company resumed single-seat fighter development in 1926, discarded the classic parasol wing configuration in favour of a low-mounted wing. Flown for the first time early in 1933, the prototype M.S.325 was powered by an Hispano- Suiza 12Xbrs engine rated at 690hp and was an all-metal dural-skinned braced low-wing monoplane with an armament of two wing-mounted 7.7mm guns. Initial flight testing dictated lowering of the tailplane and introduction of wing root fairings in an attempt to eradicate a serious buffet problem. Trials continued to suffer aerodynamic difficulties, and, in 1934, further development was discontinued. Full performance trials were never concluded.
Manufacturer’s estimates Max take-off weight: 1789 kg / 3944 lb Empty weight: 1354 kg / 2985 lb Wingspan: 11.80 m / 38 ft 9 in Length: 8.25 m / 27 ft 1 in Height: 3.70 m / 12 ft 2 in Wing area: 19.73 sq.m / 212.37 sq ft Max. speed: 365 km/h / 227 mph Ceiling: 12000 m / 39350 ft
Developed from the M.S.300 primary trainer prototype of 1930, and its M.S.301 and M.S.302 variants, the Morane-Saulnier M.S.315 flew for the first time in October 1932. Of parasol high-wing configuration, it was of mixed construction with divided main landing gear, powered by a 135hp Salmson 9 Nc engine. Four prototypes were followed by 346 series aircraft for the French Air Force, 33 of them built post-war.
In addition, five higher-powered M.S.315/2 aircraft were built for civil use, plus a single M.S.316 with a Regnier inverted-vee engine. The type became the workhorse of the French Armee de I’Air and served also with the Aeronavale and various civil flying schools. It was a favourite at many pre-war airshows flown by such notables as Thoret, Fleurquin and Detroyat.
Next to the Air Force the Navy operated the M.S.315 as a military trainer and as a glider tug.
Produced in substantial quantities pre-war, production was resumed after the war by SNCA du Centre, thirty-three being built.
MS.315E
Between 1960 and 1962 the type was withdrawn from military use, 40 M.S.315s then in use as civil glider tugs were re-engined with the 220 hp / 164kW war-surplus Continental W-670K radial, being redesignated M.S.317.
About ten MS.317 were still in flying condition in 2008.
Engine: 1 x Salmson 9Nc radial, 101kW Max take-off weight: 860 kg / 1896 lb Loaded weight: 548 kg / 1208 lb Wingspan: 12.00 m / 39 ft 4 in Length: 7.60 m / 24 ft 11 in Height: 2.80 m / 9 ft 2 in Wing area: 21.60 sq.m / 232.50 sq ft Max. speed: 170 km/h / 106 mph Ceiling: 5500 m / 18050 ft
The C1 (monoplace de chasse) requirement first issued by the Service Technique Aeronautique in 1930 – when it was finally conceded that the Jockey programme had failed – and upgraded on 26 January 1931, resulted in no fewer than 10 designs being awarded prototype contracts. These included two Morane-Saulnier proposals.
The first, the M.S.275, retained the classic parasol monoplane configuration of preceding Morane-Saulnier fighters and was flown in 1934. A version of the MS.225 with a modified aerofoil and empennage, powered by a Gnome-Rhone 9Krse nine-cylinder radial rated at 600hp at 4000m and armed with two synchronised 7.7mm guns, the M.S.275 proved exceptionally manoeuvrable and offered a very respectable performance. It found little favour, however, owing to its dated concept, development being discontinued, together with that of the more innovative M.S.325, in favour of the more promising M.S.405 then in preliminary design.
Max take-off weight: 1724 kg / 3801 lb Empty weight: 1361 kg / 3001 lb Wingspan: 10.56 m / 34 ft 8 in Length: 7.24 m / 23 ft 9 in Height: 3.29 m / 10 ft 10 in Wing area: 17.20 sq.m / 185.14 sq ft Max. speed: 363 km/h / 226 mph Ceiling: 10700 m / 35100 ft Range: 1150 km / 715 miles
In the inter-war period, Morane Saulnier started its series of high-wing parasol types. The parasol-wing MS.230 that was flown first in February 1929 was the most successful and became a prominent trainer during the 1930’s.
The Morane-Saulnier M.S.225 was a French fighter aircraft of the 1930s. It was produced in limited quantities to be used as a transitional aircraft between the last of the biplanes and the first monoplane fighters.
The M.S.225 was a parasol monoplane, with a wide fixed landing gear, and powered by a Gnome-Rhône 9Krsd radial engine, and having a circular fuselage.
The Morane-Saulnier M.S.225 was first shown in the form of a model at the Paris Air Show of 1932. After successful flight tests of the prototype in 1932, series production started at once.
Classified in the category C.1 (single-seat fighter), 75 aircraft were produced. A total of 53 aircraft were delivered to the Air Force in November 1933. The M.S.225s of the Armée de l’Air served in the 7e Escadre de Chasse (7th Fighter Wing) at Dijon, and in two escadrilles of the 42e Escadre (42nd Wing), based at Rheims. They were withdrawn from front-line service between 1936 and 1937.
The Aéronavale received the first of the 16 aircraft it had ordered in February 1934. The aircraft also flew with the Aéronavale l’Escadrille 3C1, established in Marignane, this formation later transferring to the Air Force at the beginning of 1936, where it became Le Groupe de Chasse II/8.
Three were also sold to China.
The Air Force Aerobatic Squadron based at Étampes used five modified M.S.225s, with a larger vertical stabilizer, while the last unit of the Air Force to operate this aircraft was the flying school based at Salon-de-Provence.
MS.226
In 1932, Morane-Saulnier initiated study of a dedicated shipboard version of the M.S.225 fighter. Designated M.S.226 and powered by a similar Gnome-Rhone 9Kdrs to that of the shore-based fighter, the shipboard aircraft differed initially in having some structural strengthening, an arrester hook and naval equipment. Three prototypes were ordered in 1933, the first two being completed as M.S.226s and the third as the M.S.226bis which differed in having aft-folding wings. No series production of the M.S.226 was undertaken as the Marine Nationale considered the type to be conceptually obsolescent.
A variant used as test bench for the 515 kW (690 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs engine, with a four-bladed propeller was designated M.S.227.
MS.227
At the outbreak of World War II, only 20 M.S.225s were still in flying condition, the majority of them being scrapped in mid-1940.
Variants:
M.S.225 Production variant Engine: Gnome-Rhone 9Kdrs, 373 kW (500 hp) Propeller: 2-bladed fixed-pitch wooden Wingspan: 10.56 m (34 ft 8 in) Wing area: 17.2 m2 (185 sq ft) Length: 7.25 m (23 ft 9 in) Height: 3.26 m (10 ft 8 in) Empty weight: 1,154 kg (2,544 lb) Gross weight: 1,590 kg (3,505 lb) Maximum speed: 334 km/h (208 mph, 180 kn) at 3,850 m (12,631 ft) Range: 700 km (430 mi, 380 nmi) Service ceiling: 10,000 m (33,000 ft) Rate of climb: 6.12 m/s (1,205 ft/min) Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,843 ft) in 5 minutes 42 seconds Armament: 2 × 7.7 mm (.303 in) Vickers machine guns 75 built Crew: 1
M.S.226 1933 arrestor hook Engine: Gnome & Rhône 9Kdr Wingspan: 10.56 m / 34 ft 8 in Wing area: 17.20 sq.m / 185.14 sq ft Length: 7.25 m / 23 ft 9 in Height: 3.26 m / 10 ft 8 in Max take-off weight: 1640 kg Max. speed: 277 km/h / 172 mph Ceiling: 7500 m / 24600 ft
M.S.226bis 1934 226 with folding wings
M.S.227 test bench for the 515 kW (690 hp) Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs engine four-bladed propeller.
M.S.278 Conversion of the M.S.225 Engine: 388 kW (520 hp) Clerget 14Fcs diesel
