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)
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
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