Morane-Saulnier AI
| Morane-Saulnier AI | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Fighter plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
1917 |
| Commissioning: |
1917 |
| Production time: |
1917-1918 |
| Number of pieces: |
1,210 |
The Morane-Saulnier AI was a French paraglider fighter aircraft and was used from 1918 in the First World War .
development
After the Morane-Saulnier-N combat single-seaters were replaced by the superior Nieuport 11 “Bébé” in autumn 1915 , Morane-Saulnier switched to the production of reconnaissance aircraft in 1916. These included next to the twin-engine Morane-Saulnier T biplane BB and Schirmeindecker Morane-Saulnier P . It was not until 1917 that Robert and Léon Morane tried again, together with Raymond Saulnier , to build a combat single-seater : The double-decker AF and its counterpart as umbrella decker - the AI - were created. The AF had the 120-hp Le Rhône 9J rotary engine as well as rear-angled wings with cross struts and the round, canvas-covered fuselage typical of Morane with the triangular tail fin.
commitment
While the probably less powerful AF apparently did not go into series production, the AI was put into series production as the MS27 C-1 (C = combat aircraft) and delivered at the end of 1917. The machine was powered either by the 120 HP Le Rhône or the 160 HP Gnôme Monosoupape 9N rotary engine, which was covered with a round bonnet, in the lower half with seven holes for engine cooling. For better visibility, a semicircular cutout was left in the upper wing above the cockpit. With the exception of the wood-clad segment between the bonnet and cockpit, the wooden frame parts, struts and wing ribs were covered with fabric. The unconventional bracing that connected the wing and fuselage was striking. Like other Morane-Saulniers, the front chassis frame was reinforced by an additional V-strut.
The machine was armed in the MS27 C-1 version with one or in the MS29 C-1 version with two rigidly forward-facing synchronized Vickers machine guns.
First, the Escadrille 156 received the new AI in January 1918. Despite some stability problems, the pilots appreciated its good handling. Individual AIs also ran to other squadrons (Escadrille 158, Escadrille 161). Nevertheless, the criticism persisted that the Morane Saulnier AI suffered in addition to inferior engine performance from an under-built cell - the aerobatic pilots Fronval and Joyce later managed to fly 1,111 loops one after the other, which emphatically refuted this claim. In March 1918, the remaining AI in the front units were replaced by SPAD S.XIII and given to training units.
Around 1,100 AIs were manufactured, most of them under the designation MS30 E-1 (E = training aircraft) with a 120 HP Le Rhône rotary engine, of which the American Expeditionary Forces 55 and the Belgian air force received three as hunting trainers.
After the war, many AIs - predominantly re-engineered to 130 HP Clerget rotary engines - continued to be used for years.
variants
- MS 27 C-1
- Production aircraft with a Vickers MG 0.303in (7.7 mm)
- MS 29 C-1
- Production aircraft with two Vickers MG 0.303in (7.7 mm)
- MS 30 E-1
- Advanced trainer aircraft with a 120 HP Le Rhone 9Jb or 135 HP Le Rhone 9Jby rotary engine
- MS 30 E-1bis
- Advanced trainer aircraft with 90 hp Le Rhone 9Jby rotary engine
Countries of operation
Remaining copies
Three AIs are still in airworthy condition in La Ferté-Alais : The N ° 1567 was restored by the Memorial Flight Association in 1991 and flew again for the first time in 1993. It bears the badge of the Escadrille 160 "les Diables rouges" ("The red devils") ). The second flew for the first time in 2006 with the paint scheme of Charles Nungesser's aircraft . A third machine is still being restored.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data type AI (MS 27 or 29 C-1) |
|---|---|
| length | 5.63 m |
| span | 8.50 m |
| Wing area | 13.39 m² |
| height | 2.41 m |
| drive | 1 × rotary motor Le Rhône (120 HP) or Gnôme 9N Monosoupape (160 HP) |
| Top speed | 208 km / h at 2,000 m |
| Rate of climb | 2,000 m in 2 min 55 sec |
| Max. Flight duration | 2.5 h |
| crew | 1 |
| Service ceiling | 7,000 m |
| Empty mass | 414 kg |
| Flight mass | 650 kg |
| Max. Takeoff weight | 674 kg |
| Armament | 1-2 x 7.7 mm Vickers MG |
| number of pieces | about 110 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kenneth Munson: Fighter Planes 1914-1919 . Orell-Füssli Zurich 1968. Both types were powered by a 100 HP Gnôme Monosoupape 9N rotary engine.
- ↑ Morane-Saulnier Type AI on www.wwi-models.org.
- ↑ a b Tony Holmes: Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide . Harper Collins, London 2005, ISBN 0-00-719292-4 , p. 36.
- ^ WM Lamberton: Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War . Harleyford Publications Ltd., Hertfordshire 1960, p. 84.
- ↑ After Kenneth Munson: Fighter planes 1914-1919 . Orell-Füssli Zurich 1968; only 51 pieces.
- ^ David Donald: The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft . Prospero Books, 1997, ISBN 1-85605-375-X , p. 659.
- ↑ Amicale Jean-Baptiste Salis ( Memento of October 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (fr)
literature
- Enzo Angelucci, Paolo Matricardi: Airplanes from the beginnings to the First World War. Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-8068-0391-9 .
- David Donald: The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Prospero Books, 1997, ISBN 1-85605-375-X , p. 659.
- Tony Holmes: Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide. Harper Collins, London 2005, ISBN 0-00-719292-4 .
- Karlheinz Kens, Hanns Müller: The aircraft of the First World War 1914–1918. Munich 1973, ISBN 3-453-00404-3 .
- WM Lamberton: Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War. Harleyford Publications Ltd., Hertfordshire 1960, pp. 84-85.
- Kenneth Munson: Warplanes 1914-1919. Orell-Füssli Zurich 1968.
- Heinz Nowarra: The Development of Airplanes 1914–1918. Munich 1959.
- Ray Rimell: Windsock Mini Datafile. Albatros Productions Limited, Berkhamsted.
See also
Web links
- Brief Report (English)
- detailed Description (French)