Morane-Saulnier H
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 |
The Morane-Saulnier H was a sport aircraft produced in France in the years before the First World War,[1][2] a single-seat derivative of the successful Morane-Saulnier G with a slightly reduced wingspan[2] Like the Type G, it was a successful sporting and racing aircraft.
Operational history
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]
The French Army ordered a batch of 26 aircraft, 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] The French machines saw limited service in the opening stages of World War I, with pilots engaging in aerial combat using revolvers and carbines.[2]
The type was also produced under licence in Germany by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke, who built it as the E.I, E.II, E.IV, E.V, and E.VI, with increasingly powerful engines.[5][6] These were armed with a single, synchronised lMG 08 machine gun.[5][6]
Another slightly longer German-built copy featured a steel-framed fuselage, a redesigned undercarriage integrated with the under-wing bracing pylons and a comma shaped rudder. It entered production as the Fokker M.5 and when armed in 1915 with a synchronised machine gun became first of the Fokker "Eindecker" monoplane fighters.[7]
Survivors
A Type H is preserved at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Le Bourget.
Variants
Morane-Saulnier versions
- MoS.1 H (single seater)
- MoS.2 G (two seater)
- MoS.3 L (parasol monoplane)
- MoS.13 M (armoured single seater)
Pfalz versions
- E.I - with Oberursel U.0 rotary engine (45 built)[8]
- E.II - with Oberursel U.I rotary engine (130 built)[8]
- E.IV - with Oberursel U.III rotary engine (46 built)[8]
- E.V - with Mercedes D.I water-cooled, inline engine (20 built)[8]
- E.VI - with Oberursel U.I engine, lengthened fuselage, enlarged tail fin and reduced bracing (20 built as trainers)[8][9]
Operators
- Austro-Hungarian Navy - (Pfalz-built versions)
- Army Flying Service - 2 examples.
- Luftstreitkräfte - (Pfalz-built versions)
- Portuguese Air Force - one aircraft.
- Swiss Air Force - two aircraft
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)
- Range: 177 km (111 miles)
- Service ceiling: 1,000 m (3,280 ft)
Notes
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Morane-Saulnier H. |
Bibliography
- Brannon, D. Edgar (1996). Fokker Eindecker in Action. Carrolton, 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.
- 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.