The Morane-Saulnier H was an early aircraft first flown in France in the months immediately preceding the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
; it was a single-seat derivative of the successful
Morane-Saulnier G
The Morane-Saulnier G was a two-seat sport and racing monoplane produced in France before the First World War.Taylor 1989, 648"The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft", 2539 It was a development of the racing monoplanes designed by Léon Morane a ...
with a slightly reduced wingspan
[Taylor 1989, p.648]["The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft", p.2539] 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.
German versions, the
Fokker Eindecker fighters
The Fokker ''Eindecker'' fighters were a series of German World War I monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker.Boyne 1988 Developed in April 1915, the first ''Eindecker'' ("Monoplane") was the first purpose- ...
, were armed with forward-firing machine guns and became the first single-seat
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
so armed.
Service use
![Morane-Saulnier H with RFC number on rudder](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Morane-Saulnier_H_with_RFC_number_on_rudder.jpg)
During the second international aero meet, held at
Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...
in June 1913,
Roland Garros won the precision landing prize in a Type H.
[Hartmann 2001, p. 11] Later that same year, a Morane-Saulnier H was used to complete the first non-stop flight across the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
, from
Fréjus in the south of France to
Bizerte in
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
.
The French Army ordered a batch of 26 aircraft under the designation MoS.1.
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.
The British Royal Flying Corps also acquired a small number, impressing three civilian-owned aircraft on the outbreak of the war, and ordering 36 machines
Grahame-White
Grahame-White was an early British aircraft manufacturer, flying school and later manufacturer of cyclecars.
The company was established as ''Grahame-White Aviation Company'' by Claude Grahame-White at Hendon in 1911. The firm built mostly aircr ...
, who was manufacturing the type in the UK under licence in two batches. The RFC mainly used the its Type Hs for training, with only one example seeing service with operational squadrons (
4 and
12 Squadrons).
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.
[Brannon (1996), pp.7-9]
The type was also produced under licence in Germany by the
Pfalz Flugzeugwerke
Pfalz Flugzeugwerke was a World War I German aircraft manufacturer, located at the Speyer airfield in the Palatinate (German: Pfalz). They are best known for their series of fighters, notably the Pfalz D.III and Pfalz D.XII. The company went ban ...
: 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
The ''Maschinengewehr'' 08, or MG 08, was the German Army's standard machine gun in World War I and is an adaptation of Hiram S. Maxim's original 1884 Maxim gun. It was produced in a number of variants during the war. The MG 08 served during W ...
machine gun.
[''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'', p.2698][Grosz 1996]
Survivors
A Type H is preserved at the
Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in
Le Bourget
Le Bourget () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.
The commune features Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hosts the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Air and Space Museum). A very ...
and another at the
Fantasy of Flight
Fantasy of Flight is an aviation museum in Polk City, Florida.
It opened in November 1995, to house Kermit Weeks' collection of aircraft that, until Hurricane Andrew damaged many in 1992, were housed at the Weeks Air Museum in Tamiami, Florid ...
in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. 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 versions
* E.I - with
Oberursel U.0 rotary engine (45 built)
[Herris 2001, p.10]
* E.II - with
Oberursel U.I
__NOTOC__
The Oberursel U.I was an early German aircraft engine that powered many German fighter aircraft in the first part of World War I. It was a 9-cylinder air-cooled rotary engine, a licence-built copy of the Gnome DeltaKyrill von Gersdorff ...
rotary engine (130 built)
[Herris 2001, p.16]
* E.IV - with
Oberursel U.III
The Gnome 7 Lambda was a French designed, seven-cylinder, air-cooled rotary aero engine that was produced under license in Britain and Germany. Powering several World War I-era aircraft types it was claimed to produce from its capacity of alt ...
rotary engine (46 built)
[Herris 2001, p.21]
* E.V - with
Mercedes D.I
The Mercedes D.I (also known as the Type E6F) was a six-cylinder, water-cooled, SOHC valvetrain inline engine developed in Germany for use in aircraft in 1913. Developing 75 kW (100 hp), it powered many German military aircraft during t ...
water-cooled, inline engine (20 built)
[Herris 2001, p.24]
* E.VI - with Oberursel U.I engine, lengthened fuselage, enlarged tail fin and reduced bracing (20 built as trainers)
[Herris 2001, p.25][Grosz 1996, p.27]
Operators
;
* ''
Aéronautique Militaire
The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Arm ...
''
;
*
Austro-Hungarian Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...
- (Pfalz-built versions)
;
*
Belgian Air Force
;
*
Army Flying Service - 2 examples.
;
* ''
Luftstreitkräfte
The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alth ...
'' - (Pfalz-built versions)
;
*
Portuguese Air Force
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- one aircraft.
;
*
Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colors =
, colours_label =
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;
*
Imperial Russian Air Service
The Imperial Russian Air Service (russian: Императорскій военно-воздушный флотъ, , Emperor's Military Air Fleet) was an air force founded in 1912 for Imperial Russia."''12 августа 1912 года прик ...
;
*
Swiss Air Force - two aircraft
Specifications
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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{{Idflieg E-class designations
1910s French sport aircraft
H
1910s French military trainer aircraft
1910s French military reconnaissance aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1913
Rotary-engined aircraft
Mid-wing aircraft