The Morane-Saulnier Vanneau (en: plover) is a two-seat basic trainer built in France by Morane-Saulnier and ordered by the

French Air Force 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 Army; ...

Development

Designed in Vichy France the MS.470 prototype first flew on , successful testing leading to an order from the French Air Force of a revised variant the MS.472. The Vanneau was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a pilot and student in tandem under a long glazed canopy. It had a retractable tailwheel landing gear and the prototype was powered by a

Hispano-Suiza 12X The Hispano-Suiza 12X was an aircraft piston engine designed in France by Hispano-Suiza during the early 1930s. A 12-cylinder Vee, liquid-cooled design, the 12X was used on several aircraft types, some of them being used in limited numbers durin ...

inline engine. The production MS.472 was powered by a Gnome-Rhône 14M-05 14-cylinder

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

and first flew on 12 December 1945, with deliveries to the French Air Force starting in December 1946. From December 1947 the French Navy received 70 of the MS.474 variant modified for carrier operations. A re-engined version the MS.475 was produced from 1950 which had minor differences but was powered by a

Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 The Hispano-Suiza 12Y was an aircraft engine produced by Hispano-Suiza for the French Air Force before the Second World War. The 12Y became the primary French 1,000 hp (750 kW) class engine and was used in a number of famous aircraft, i ...

V-12 engine. One MS.475 was modified as the MS.476 with an increase in wing surface area and another MS.475 was fitted with a

Renault 12S Monument Municipal Airport is a public airport located 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Monument, in Grant County, Oregon, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or ...

-02 engine as the MS.477 in 1950. A proposed variant was the MS.478 which was to be fitted with an Isotta Fraschini Delta engine but was not built. One MS.472 was re-engined with a SNECMA 14X-04 radial engine in 1952 but development was later stopped. The Vanneau remained in service with the French Air Force and Navy into the late 1960s.

Variants

;MS.470 :Prototype powered by a

inline engine, one built. ;MS.471 :Proposed variant powered by a Béarn 12B. ;MS.472 Vanneau II :Production variant for the French Air Force powered by a Gnome-Rhône 14M-05 piston engine; three prototypes and 230 production aircraft built. ;MS.474 Vanneau IV :Carrier-capable production variant for the French Navy, powered by a Gnome-Rhône 14M-04; 70 built. ;MS.475 Vanneau V :Improved version for the French Air Force powered by a

V12 engine; 201 built. ;MS.476 :One MS.475 modified with increased wing surface. ;MS.477 :One MS.475 powered by a

Renault 12S-02 The Argus 411 was a twelve-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted-V12 aircraft engine developed by Argus Motoren in Germany during World War II. Design and development The As 411 was a refined and more powerful version of the Argus As 410. Most 411 prod ...

inline engine.Taylor (1989), p.687 ;MS.478 :Projected Isotta Fraschini Delta inline powered variant, not built. ;MS.479 :Developed variant powered by a SNECMA 14X-04 radial; one converted from a MS.472.

Operators

; *

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

Specifications (MS.475 Vanneau V)

Development

Variants

Operators

Specifications (MS.475 Vanneau V)

See also

References

Further reading