Morane-Saulnier H

The Morane-Saulnier H was an early aircraft first flown in France in the months immediately preceding the First World War; it was a single-seat derivative of the successful Morane-Saulnier G with a slightly reduced wingspan[1][2] Like the Type G, it was a successful sporting and racing aircraft: examples serving with the French army were used in the opening phases of the war.

Type H
Morane Saulnier Type H on display at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Paris Le Bourget airport
Role Sport aircraft
Manufacturer Morane-Saulnier
First flight 1913
Developed from Morane-Saulnier G
Variants Morane-Saulnier L

German versions, both licensed and copied, were armed with forward-firing machine guns and became the first single-seat fighter aircraft so armed.

Service use
Royal Flying Corps Morane-Saulnier H built by Grahame-White

The French Army ordered a batch of 26 aircraft under the designation MoS.1, and the British Royal Flying Corps also acquired a small number, these latter machines purchased from Grahame-White, who was manufacturing the type in the UK under licence.[2]

During the second international aero meet, held at Wiener Neustadt in June 1913, Roland Garros won the precision landing prize in a Type H.[3] Later that same year, A Morane-Saulnier H was used to complete the first non-stop flight across the Mediterranean, from Fréjus in the south of France to Bizerte in Tunisia.[4]

French-built machines saw limited service in the opening stages of World War I, with pilots carrying out reconnaissance missions and occasionally engaging in aerial combat using revolvers and carbines.[2]

German copies

A German-built copy entered production as the Fokker M.5 in 1913: it featured a slightly longer fuselage, framed in steel tube rather than wood, a comma shaped rudder, and a redesigned undercarriage integrated with the under-wing bracing pylons. When armed in 1915 with a synchronised machine gun it became the first of the Fokker "Eindecker" monoplane fighters.[5]

The type was also produced under licence in Germany by the Pfalz Flugzeugwerke: during the war the company built armed versions as the E.I, E.II, E.IV, E.V, and E.VI, with increasingly powerful engines. Like the better known Fokkers, with which they were often confused by Allied airmen, these were armed with a single, synchronised lMG 08 machine gun.[6][7]

Survivors

A Type H is preserved at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Le Bourget and another at the Fantasy of Flight in Florida. Several replicas are in museums or flying.

Variants

Morane-Saulnier versions
  • Type G two seater
  • Type H single seater
  • Type L parasol monoplane
  • Type M armoured single seater
  • Type O racing monoplane developed from H, two built including one for Roland Garros that was fitted with wheels and floats
  • MoS.1 Official designation for Type H
  • MoS.2 Official designation for Type G
  • MoS.3 Official designation for Type L
  • MoS.13 Official designation for Type M
Pfalz E.I side view

Pfalz versions

Operators
Swiss Morane-Saulnier H
 France
 Austria-Hungary
 Belgium
 Denmark
 Germany
 Portugal
 United Kingdom
 Russia
  Switzerland

Specifications

Data from flugzeuginfo.net

General characteristics

  • Crew: One pilot
  • Length: 5.84 m (19 ft 2 in)
  • Wingspan: 9.12 m (29 ft 11 in)
  • Height: 2.26 m (7 ft 5 in)
  • Empty weight: 188 kg (415 lb)
  • Gross weight: 444 kg (979 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Le Rhône 9C , 60 kW (80 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 120 km/h (75 mph, 65 kn)
  • Range: 177 km (111 mi, 96 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 1,000 m (3,280 ft)

References
  1. Taylor 1989, p.648
  2. "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft", p.2539
  3. Hartmann 2001, 11
  4. Flying the Mediterranean Flight 27 September 1913
  5. Brannon (1996), pp.7-9
  6. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, p.2698
  7. Grosz 1996
  8. Herris 2001, p.10
  9. Herris 2001, p.16
  10. Herris 2001, p.21
  11. Herris 2001, p.24
  12. Herris 2001, p.25
  13. Grosz 1996, p.27

Bibliography
  • Brannon, D. Edgar (1996). Fokker Eindecker in Action. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publication.
  • Davilla, Dr. James J.; Soltan, Arthur (1997). French Aircraft of the First World War. Mountain View, CA: Flying Machines Press. ISBN 978-1891268090.
  • Grosz, P.M. (1996). Pfalz E.I–E.VI. Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire: Albatros Publications.
  • Hartmann, Gérard (2001). "L'incroyable Morane-Saulnier hydro" (PDF). La Coupe Schneider et hydravions anciens/Dossiers historiques hydravions et moteurs. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
  • Herris, Jack (2001). Pflaz Aircraft of World War I. Boulder, Colorado: Flying Machines Press. ISBN 1-891268-15-5.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
  • "Morane-Saulnier Type H". flugzeuginfo.net. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
  • Neulen, Hans-Werner & Cony, Christophe (August 2000). "Les aigles du Kaiser en Terre Sainte" [The Kaiser's Eagles in the Holy Land]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (89): 34–43. ISSN 1243-8650.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
  • Angelucci, Enzo (1983). The Rand McNally encyclopedia of military aircraft, 1914-1980. The Military Press. p. 20. ISBN 0-517-41021 4.
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