TheMorane-Saulnier H was an early aircraft first flown in France in the months immediately preceding theFirst World War; it was a single-seat derivative of the successfulMorane-Saulnier G with a slightly reduced wingspan^[1][2] 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.

Type H
Morane Saulnier Type H on display at theMusée 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

German versions, theFokker Eindecker fighters, were armed with forward-firing machine guns and became the first single-seatfighter aircraft so armed.

During the second international aero meet, held atWiener 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 theMediterranean, fromFréjus in the south of France toBizerte inTunisia.^[4]

The French Army ordered a batch of 26 aircraft under the designation MoS.1.^[2] 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.^[2] The British Royal Flying Corps also acquired a small number, impressing three civilian-owned aircraft on the outbreak of the war, and ordering 36 machinesGrahame-White, who was manufacturing the type in the UK under licence in two batches. The RFC mainly used the Type Hs for training, with only one example seeing service with operational squadrons (4 and12 Squadrons).^[5]

A German-built copy entered production as theFokker 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 asynchronised machine gun it became the first of theFokker "Eindecker" monoplane fighters.^[6]

The type was also produced under licence in Germany by thePfalz Flugzeugwerke: during the war the company built armed versions as theE.I,E.II,E.IV,E.V, andE.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, synchronisedlMG 08 machine gun.^[7][8]

A Type H is preserved at theMusée de l'Air et de l'Espace inLe Bourget and another at theFantasy of Flight inFlorida. Several replicas are in museums or flying.

• 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 forRoland 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

• E.I - withOberursel U.0 rotary engine (45 built)^[9]
• E.II - withOberursel U.I rotary engine (130 built)^[10]
• E.IV - withOberursel U.III rotary engine (46 built)^[11]
• E.V - withMercedes D.I water-cooled, inline engine (20 built)^[12]
• E.VI - with Oberursel U.I engine, lengthened fuselage, enlarged tail fin and reduced bracing (20 built as trainers)^[13][14]

  France

• Aéronautique Militaire

  Austria-Hungary

• Austro-Hungarian Navy - (Pfalz-built versions)

  Belgium

• Belgian Air Force

  Denmark

• Army Flying Service - 2 examples.

  Germany

• Luftstreitkräfte - (Pfalz-built versions)

  Portugal

• Portuguese Air Force - one aircraft.

  United Kingdom

• Royal Flying Corps

  Russia

• Imperial Russian Air Service

  Switzerland

• Swiss Air Force - two aircraft

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, 65 kn)
• Range: 177 km (111 mi, 96 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 1,000 m (3,280 ft)

• Brannon, D. Edgar (1996).Fokker Eindecker in Action. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publication.
• Bruce, J. M. (1982).The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing). London: Putnam.ISBN 0-370-30084-X.
• 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. Retrieved2008-11-07.
• 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.
• Neulen, Hans-Werner & Cony, Christophe (August 2000). "Les aigles du Kaiser en Terre Sainte" [The Kaiser's Eagles in the Holy Land].Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (89):34–43.ISSN 1243-8650.
• 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.

• Lacaze, Henri & Lherbert, Claude (2013).Morane Saulnier: ses avions, ses projets [Morane Saulnier: Their Aircraft and Projects] (in French). Outreau, France: Lela Presse.ISBN 978-2-914017-70-1.