First twin-engine design by this company since World War I, the Morane-Saulnier M.S.700 of 1948 was a cantilever low-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear, the cabin accommodating five in either an executive transport or air taxi role.
Powered by two Potez 4D-33 inline engines, each of 119kW, the M.S.700 had a maximum speed of 290km/h. It was followed by the M.S.701 with two 134kW Mathis 8G-20s, the larger, six-seat M.S.703 with two 179kW Argus As 10Cs, and the M.S.704, similar to the M.S.703 but with two 164kW Potez 4D-31s. The M.S.703 had a maximum speed of 300km/h, being flown for the first time in 1951. None of the variants was built in quantity, only four being entered on the French civil register.
Immediately after the end of World War II, the management of Morane-Saulnier thought about creating a light aircraft for amateur pilots. The design of such a machine was supposed to be extremely simple, to allow pilots to assemble it with minimal technical training. As a result, at the end of 1945, the MS.660 project appeared, based on the development of M. Dupont. The MS.660 was intended to be sold just in the form of plans, or pre-fabricated for self-construction.
The prototype (F-WBGA) flew for the first time on the 17th of February 1946, powered by a Train 4E01 engine with 50 hp. The second prototype, with more rounded shapes, a different landing gear and 60 hp Aster engine, was further modified later to become the MS.662.
On April 22 1946, MS.660 was officially presented at the exhibition of light aircraft organized by the French Ministry of Aviation. The angular and clumsy machine with average flight data did not arouse any interest among customers. In 1947, Morane-Saulnier made another attempt with a seriously redesigned MS.661, but it also ended in failure.
MS-660 Engine: Train 4E01, 50 hp Wingspan: 7.20 m Length: 4.60 m Height: 2.20 m Empty weight: 232 kg MTOW: 360 kg Maximum speed: 160 kph Cruising speed: 127 kph Ceiling: 4500 m Range: 500 km Crew: 1
The prototype Morane-Saulnier M.S.560 single-seat low-wing aerobatic monoplane was built in 1946. It had retractable landing gear, a rearward-sliding cockpit canopy and its powerplant, comprising a 56kW Train 6D-01 engine, gave a maximum speed of 235km/h. Three variants followed, namely the M.S.561 and the M.S.563 of 1947 each with a 75kW Mathis G.4 engine, and the M.S.562 with a 75kW Cirrus Minor.
MS.561 Engine: 100 hp Mathis G-4Z Wingspan: 28 ft Length: 23 ft 8.5 in Height: 7 ft 2.5 in Empty weight: 1138 lb Loaded weight: 1490 lb Max speed: 155 mph at SL Max speed: 145 mph at 9840 ft ROC: 680 fpm Range: 680 mi Service ceiling: 16,400 ft
Developed under the Vichy regime by Morane-Saulnier chief designer Gauthier, the Morane-Saulnier M.S.470.01 Vanneau two-seat advanced trainer prototype made its first flight on 22 December 1944. Successful tests led to a decision by the Armee de I’Air to buy the Vanneau (Plover) to train its new generation of pilots, and three prototypes of the revised M.S.472 were ordered, M.S.472.01 flying on 12 December 1945.
In configuration the M.S.470 was an all-metal low-wing cantilever monoplane with pupil and instructor housed under a long glazed canopy. The main landing gear legs retracted inwards to lie partially exposed in the fuselage underside, a feature which was intended to reduce damage in the event of ‘wheels-up’ landings. The M.S.472 replaced the 515kW Hispano-Suiza 12X engine of the M.S.470 with a 522kW Gnome-Rhone 14M radial. The M.S.472 first flew on 12 February 1945.
M.S.472
230 Series M.S.472s were delivered from December 1946 onwards, and 69 series M.S.474 aircraft, modified for carrier operations, were delivered to the Aeronavale from December 1947, an M.S.472 having been temporarily converted to serve as the prototype M.S.474 in February of that year.
MS.472
Total production of the M.S.472 Vanneau II was 230 and of the M.S.474 Vanneau IV 70. Another series version was the M.S.475 Vanneau V, the prototype making its maiden flight on 8 August 1947. Production deliveries of the 200 series aircraft to the Armee de I’Air began in March 1950, the M.S.475 differed only in detail from its predecessors except for installation of a 634kW Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 V-12 engine.
MS.475
The M.S.475 proved superior to its predecessors in manoeuvrability, speed and rate of turn, incorporating a wing of improved design, but a more radical modification with an increase in wing surface area was incorporated in one production machine, which was then re-designated M.S.476.01. Another M.S.475 was re-engined with an SNECMA Renault 12S-02 of 433kW and became the M.S.477.01, flown in November 1950. The M.S.478.01 project, to be powered by an Italian Isotta Fraschini Delta engine, was not built, and the last experimental development of the Vanneau was M.S.472 no. 295 modified as the M.S.479.01 to take an SNECMA 14X Super Mars engine of 611kW. It began its flight test programme in March 1952, but development was soon abandoned. The Vanneau II, IV and V remained in service at training bases of the Armee de I’Air and Aeronavale into the late 1960s.
M.S.470 Engine: Hispano 12X, 720 hp
M.S.472 Engine: Gnome-Rhone 14N-9, 700 hp Wingspan: 34 ft 11 in Length: 28 ft 3 in Height: 11 ft 10.5 in Empty weight: 3717 lb Loaded weight: 5290 lb Max speed: 290 mph Cruise: 258 mph Range: 950 mi Armament: 2 x 7.5mm mg Seats: 2
M.S.475 Engine: 1 x Hispano-Suiza 12Y 45 V-2, 641kW Max take-off weight: 3125 kg / 6889 lb Empty weight: 2351 kg / 5183 lb Wingspan: 10.65 m / 34 ft 11 in Length: 9.05 m / 29 ft 8 in Height: 3.62 m / 11 ft 11 in Wing area: 17.30 sq.m / 186.22 sq ft Max. speed: 445 km/h / 277 mph Ceiling: 8500 m / 27900 ft Range: 1500 km / 932 miles Armament: 2 x MAC 1934 7.5mm wing-mounted machine-guns, light bombs
On 27 January 1937, a new requirement was issued by the Service Technique Aéronautique and one of the fighters designed to conform with its requirements was the MS 450. Featuring a dural monocoque fuselage and Plymax-skinned metal wings, the MS 450 was powered by an Hispano-Suiza 12Y51 engine affording 1,050 hp for take-off and carried an armament of one 20-mm engine-mounted cannon and two wing-mounted 7,5-mm machine guns. The first of three prototypes of the MS 450 was flown on 14 April 1939, but a month earlier, an initial production order had been placed for the competitive Dewoitine D 520, and although the MS 450 test programme was continued the second prototype being completed in November 1939 its failure to display any marked advantage prevented the placing of a production order for the Armée de l’Air. Development of the basic design was continued, however, culminating in the MS 540 which was built in Switzerland by the Dornier-Werke AG (Doflug) as the D-3802A.
Engine: Hispano-Suiza 12Y51, 1,050 hp Span, 34 ft 9 5/8 in (10,62 m) Length, 28 ft 11¼ in (8,82 m) Height, 9 ft ¼ in (2,75 m) Wing area, 184.07 sq ft (17,10 sq.m) Max speed, 348 mph (560 km/h) at 16,405 ft (5 000 m) Range, 466 mls (750 km) Loaded weight, 5,813 lb (2 637 kg)
Drawing heavily on components of the M.S.405 fighter, the Morane-Saulnier design team put forward an advanced trainer under the designation Morane-Saulnier M.S.430, the prototype flying for the first time on 3 March 1937. A cantilever low-wing monoplane with inward-retracting landing gear, the M.S.430 located its pupil and instructor in tandem cockpits beneath a continuous glazed canopy, and power was provided by a 291kW. Salmson 9Ag radial engine. Tests continued into 1939, and a single-seat version was evaluated with the designation M.S.408A version with a Gnome-Rhone 7Kfs radial, designated M.S.433, was never completed. The M.S.435.01 took off for the first time on 6 December 1939. Powered by a 410kW Gnome-Rhone 9Kdrs engine, it had a redesigned fuselage of increased cross-section. An order for 60 series machines had been received from the French air ministry six months earlier, but priority in production went to the M.S.406 fighter, with the result that no series M.S.435 P.2 category (two-seat advanced trainer) aircraft were delivered before the French collapse in June 1940.
M.S.435.01 Wingspan: 10.71 m / 35 ft 2 in Max. speed: 395 km/h / 245 mph
Prior to the Franco-German Armistice, the M.S.412, an improved version of the M.S.406, was under development primarily to fulfil a Swiss requirement. As an interim development aircraft, the twelfth pre-series M.S.405 had been fitted with the more powerful Hispano-Suiza 12Y45 engine and flown as the M.S.411, but a prototype of the M.S.412 with the still more powerful HS 12Y51 engine was not completed in France, the programme continuing in Switzerland as the D-3801. Flown for the first time in October 1940, the D-3801 had an HS 12Y51 rated at 1,050hp for take-off, a fixed radiator bath similar to that developed for the M.S.410 and the same armament as that of the D-3800. Although protracted teething troubles were suffered by the Saurer-built HS 12Y51 engine, series production of the D-3801 was undertaken by the Eidgenossisches Flugzeugwerke, the Dornier-Werke AG (Doflug) and SWS, deliveries commencing in 1941 and continuing until 1945, and a total of 207 being manufactured. These were augmented by a further 17 built in 1947-48 from spare assemblies remaining from the main production run. After withdrawal from first-line service, some D-3801s remained in use as advanced trainers and target- tugs until 1959.
Max take-off weight: 2 720 kg Empty weight: 2124 kg / 4683 lb Wingspan: 3.32 m / 10 ft 11 in Length: 8.17 m / 26 ft 10 in Height: 2.71 m / 8 ft 11 in Wing area: 17.10 sq.m / 184.06 sq ft Max. speed: 535 km/h / 332 mph Range: 1200 km / 746 miles
During the winter of 1939-40, development of an upgraded version of the M.S.406 was begun as the M.S.410. The programme was based on the use of existing M.S.406 airframes which were to be fitted with a fixed radiator bath to overcome problems presented by the standard semi-retractable radiator and a revised wing permitting installation of two belt-fed 7.5mm guns rather than one drum-fed weapon. It was also proposed to fit ejector exhausts. The radiator bath and modified wing were flight tested during January and February 1940, 500 pairs of two-gun wings being ordered, and the ejector exhausts were tested in April 1940, these boosting max speed to 509km/h at 4000m. The events of May 1940 interrupted the programme when only five M.S.410s had been completed. At the time, a further dozen conversions were virtually complete and some 150 sets of modified wings had been produced. After the Armistice, a modification centre was established under the auspices of the German authorities, repairable M.S.406s being sent to this centre for conversion to M.S.410 standard. In the event, 74 aircraft were fitted with the new wings, but some were completed as hybrids in that they retained the semi-retractable radiator, and none was fitted with the ejector exhausts. Eleven M.S.410s were delivered to Finland and otherswere included among the Morane-Saulnier fighters supplied to the Croat Air Force.
Max take-off weight: 2581 kg / 5690 lb Empty weight: 1923 kg / 4240 lb Wingspan: 10.62 m / 34 ft 10 in Length: 8.17 m / 26 ft 10 in Height: 2.71 m / 8 ft 11 in Wing area: 17.10 sq.m / 184.06 sq ft Max. speed: 470 km/h / 292 mph Ceiling: 8500 m Range: 1100 km
Designed in response to a French Air Force C1 requirement initially issued in September 1934, the M.S.405 was of tubular metal construction, but other than the fabric-covered rear fuselage, it had Plymax – okoume plywood bonded to aluminium – stressed skinning. Powered by an 641-kW / 860hp Hispano-Suiza 12Ygrs engine, the M.S.405.01 first prototype flew on 8 August 1935, and the second, the M.S.405.02, with a 900hp HS 12Ycrs, on 20 January 1937.
A pre-series of 15 aircraft was ordered on 1 March 1937, the first flying on 3 February 1938 with an HS 12Ygrs engine and an armament of one 20mm and two 7.5mm guns. Various changes had been proposed meanwhile for the series model to which the designation M.S.406 was assigned, the new features being progressively introduced on successive M.S.405s (eg, the second featured an enlarged fuel tank, the fourth was fitted with the HS 12Y31 engine and the 12th had a simplified and lightened wing structure).
The HS 12Y31-engined 13th and 15th aircraft were delivered to Switzerland (as M.S.406Hs) in September 1938 and April 1939 as pattern aircraft for a licence-built version (D-3800). The 12th was subsequently re-engined with a 910hp HS 12Y45 and fitted with a fixed rather than semi-retractable radiator as the M.S.411 to provide a basis for the HS 12Y51-engined M.S.412 built in Switzerland as the D-3801. The final M.S.405 was flown on 21 June 1938 as a pattern aircraft for the series M.S.406.
Morane-Saulnier MS.406
The production version was the M.S.406 with a number of detail improvements, a lightened wing structure, and a more powerful engine: 1,077 of this variant were built. As a first-generation ‘modern’ fighter, the M.S.406 was obsolescent at the beginning of World War II, but was numerically the most important fighter deployed by the French Air Force. Deliveries commenced late in 1938, a production tempo of six daily being attained by April 1939, and 11 daily four months later. Possessing an armament of one engine-mounted 20mm cannon and two 7.5mm machine guns, the M.S.406 had an 860hp Hispano-Suiza 12Y31 engine with which it was markedly underpowered.
The MS.406 was also assembled by SNCAO at St Nazaire-Bouguenais.
Production terminated in March 1940, at which time the Armee de l’Air had taken on charge 1,064 M.S.406s, of which 30 had been supplied to Finland during December 1939- January 1940, and 30 had gone to Turkey during February-March 1940. Subsequent purchases from the German authorities between late 1940 and late 1942 brought total procurement of the Morane-Saulnier fighter by Finland to 87 aircraft (including a number of M.S.410s). With the occupation of Vichy France in November 1942, German forces acquired a further 46 M.S.406s which (apart from two delivered to Finland) were supplied to the Croat Air Force. The Italians obtained 52 M.S.406s of which the 25 airworthy examples were delivered to the Regia Aeronautica.
Mörkö
The Finns later re-engined some of their aircraft with the 820-kW (1,100-hp) Klimov M-105P under the revised name Mörkö Moraani. The increasing obsolescence of the MS 406 led the Finnish Air Force to order, on 22 October 1942, the installation of a Klimov M-105P in an MS 406 airframe. The M-105P engine derived from the HS 12Y, afforded 1,100 hp for take-off, and a substantial quantity of this power plant, together with suitable VISh-61P propellers, had been captured by the Wehrmacht and was available to the Finns. A 20-mm MG 151 cannon was mounted between the cylinder banks, a Bf 109G oil cooler was adopted, an aerodynamically-improved engine cowling was introduced, and, with some local structural strengthening, the prototype conversion was flown on 4 February 1943 as the Mörkö (Ghost) or Mörkö-Moraani. Successful trials resulted in the decision to bring all surviving MS 406 and MS 410 fighters to Mörkö standard, but only two more were completed before termination of the Finnish-Soviet conflict. Nevertheless, the conversion programme continued, and by 21 November 1945, the remaining Morane-Saulnier fighters had been modified, bringing the total number of Mörkös delivered into the Finnish inventory to 41 aircraft. These retained the two or (in the case of the MS 410 conversions) four wing-mounted 7,5-mm machine guns, but shortages of the MG 151 cannon necessitated this engine-mounted weapon being replaced by a 12,7-mm Berezina UB machine gun in some aircraft. The Mörkö remained in service until 11 September 1948, when the survivors were placed in storage and scrapped four years later.
MS.405 Engine: 1 x Hispano-Suiza HS 12Ycrs, 900hp Max take-off weight: 2440 kg / 5379 lb Wingspan: 10.62 m / 34 ft 10 in Length: 8.17 m / 26 ft 10 in Height: 2.71 m / 8 ft 11 in Wing area: 17.10 sq.m / 184.06 sq ft Max. speed: 443 km/h / 275 mph Range: 1000 km / 621 miles
M.S.406 Engine: l x Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31, 641 kW (860 hp) Span: 10.6m (34 ft 9.25 in) Length: 8.15m (26ft 9in) Height: 2.71 m / 8 ft 11 in Wing area: 17.10 sq.m / 184.06 sq ft Empty weight: 1893 kg / 4173 lb Max T/O weight: 2470 kg. (5,445 lb) Max speed: 302 mph / 486 km/h at 16,405 ft Max range: 1000 km / 621 miles Operational range: 497 miles Ceiling: 9400 m / 30850 ft Crew: 1 Armament: 1 x 20-mm Hispano-Suiza cannon and 2 x 7.5-mm (0.295-in) MAC mg
Mörkö Engine: Klimov M-105P, 1,100 hp Propeller: VISh-61P Max take-off weight: 2 849 kg / 6,280 lb Empty weight: 2106 kg / 4643 lb Wingspan: 10.62 m / 34 ft 10 in Length: 8.38 m / 27 ft 6 in Height: 2.71 m / 8 ft 11 in Wing area: 17.10 sq.m / 184.06 sq ft Max. speed: 525 km/h / 326 mph at 13,125 ft (4 000 m) Initial climb, 4,921 ft/mm (25 m/sec)
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.
All Aero 