TheMorane-Saulnier MS.230 aircraft was the main elementary trainer for theFrenchArmée de l'Air throughout the 1930s. Almost all French pilots flying for the Armée de l'Air at the outbreak ofWorld War II had had their earliest flight training in this machine. It was the equivalent of theStearman trainer in theUnited States air services and thede Havilland Tiger Moth in theBritishRoyal Air Force.
The MS.230 was designed to meet French Air Ministry requirements.[1] It was aparasol wing monoplane with a metal structure covered with fabric except for the forward fuselage, which was metal covered. The instructor and pupil occupied tandem cockpits. It had a wide-track fixed landing gear that made it very stable in takeoff and landing. The MS.230 differed from other trainers of the time, which were mostly biplanes.
It first flew in February 1929 and proved to be an excellent and stable machine which was very easy to fly.It saw service with military flight schools throughout France and was exported to the air forces of numerous other countries. It also became a popular aircraft for sporting aviation. An example won the Michelin Cup in 1929.[2]
Numbers of MS.230s survived for many years after the war and became civilian trainers and civilian flying club aircraft. One was used in 1967 to act as camera-ship for air-to-air filming ofDarling Lili atBaldonnel Aerodrome, Ireland. Examples are preserved on display in museums in Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Spain and the United States of America.[3]
^Parmentier, Bruno (5 May 2019)."Morane-Saulnier MS-230".Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved28 December 2019.
^Parmentier, Bruno (15 December 2003)."Morane-Saulnier MS-231".Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved28 December 2019.
^Parmentier, Bruno (16 January 2004)."Morane-Saulnier MS-232".Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved28 December 2019.
^Parmentier, Bruno (15 December 2003)."Morane-Saulnier MS-233".Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved28 December 2019.
^Parmentier, Bruno (14 December 1999)."Morane-Saulnier MS-234".Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved28 December 2019.
^Parmentier, Bruno (1 February 2004)."Morane-Saulnier MS-234/2".Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved28 December 2019.
^Parmentier, Bruno (1 February 2004)."Morane-Saulnier MS-234 No.2".Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved28 December 2019.
^Parmentier, Bruno (17 January 2004)."Morane-Saulnier MS-235".Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved28 December 2019.
^Parmentier, Bruno (5 January 2004)."Morane-Saulnier MS-236".Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved28 December 2019.
^Ketley, Barry, and Rolfe, Mark.Luftwaffe Fledglings 1935–1945: Luftwaffe Training Units and their Aircraft (Aldershot, GB: Hikoki Publications, 1996), p. 11.
^Grey, C.G.; Bridgman, Leonard, eds. (1937).Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1937. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. p. 146c–147c.
Mombeek, Eric (May 2001). "Les trésors de Cazaux" [The Treasures of Cazaux].Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (98):44–47.ISSN1243-8650.
Donald, David (1997).The encyclopedia of world aircraft : Morane-Saulnier MS.230 series (Updated ed.). Ottawa: Prospero Books. p. 664.ISBN9781856053754.
Lacaze, Henri & Lherbert, Claude (2013).Morane Saulnier: ses avions, ses projets [Morane Saulnier: Their Aircraft and Projects] (in French). Outreau, France: Lela Presse.ISBN978-2-914017-70-1.
Ogden, Bob (2006).Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe. Tonbridge, Kent: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd.ISBN0-85130-375-7.
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