The Morane-Saulnier MS.230 aircraft was the main elementary trainer for the French

Armée de l'Air 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; ...

throughout the 1930s. Almost all French pilots flying for the Armée de l'Air at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

had had their earliest flight training in this machine. It was the equivalent of the Stearman trainer in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

air services and the

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

in the

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Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Development and design

The MS.230 was designed to meet French Air Ministry requirements. The MS.230 was a

parasol wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

monoplane of metal tubular framing with fabric covering throughout, except the forward area of the fuselage, which was metal covered. The instructor and pupil occupied two tandem cockpits. It had a wide fixed landing gear that made it very stable in takeoff and landing. As a monoplane the MS.230 was unlike 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. 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 of

Darling Lili ''Darling Lili'' is a 1970 American romantic-musical spy film, written by William Peter Blatty and Blake Edwards, the latter also directing the film. It stars Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, and Jeremy Kemp, with music by Henry Mancini and lyrics by ...

Baldonnel Aerodrome Casement Aerodrome ( ga, Aeradróm Mhic Easmainn) or Baldonnel Aerodrome is a military airbase to the southwest of Dublin, Ireland situated off the N7 main road route to the south and south west. It is the headquarters and the sole airfield of ...

, Ireland. Examples are preserved on display in museums in Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Spain and the United States of America.

Popular culture

A MS.230 was used at the end of the movie ''

The Blue Max ''The Blue Max'' is a 1966 British war film directed by John Guillermin and starring George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Karl Michael Vogler, and Jeremy Kemp. The film was made in DeLuxe Color and filmed in CinemaScope. The plot is a ...

'' as the "new monoplane" in which Lt. Stachel is killed during a test flight. LYNN GARRISON MORANE MS-230 WESTON, IRELAND 1970

Variants

Source: ;MS.229 :

Hispano-Suiza 8a The Hispano-Suiza 8 was a water-cooled V8 SOHC aero engine introduced by Hispano-Suiza in 1914, and was the most commonly used liquid-cooled engine in the aircraft of the Entente Powers during the First World War. The original Hispano-Suiza 8A ...

V8, for the '' Schweizer Flieger- und Fliegerabwehrtruppen'' (Swiss Army Air Service); two built, one converted to

Hispano-Suiza 9Qa The Wright R-975 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by the Wright Aeronautical division of Curtiss-Wright. These engines had a displacement of about and power ratings of . They were the largest mem ...

radial Radial is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Mathematics and Direction * Vector (geometric) In mathematics, physics, and engineering, a Euclidean vector or simply a vector (sometimes called a geometric vector or spatial vector) ...

in 1932. ;MS.230 : over 1,100 built; 20 bought by

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and 25 by

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

in 1931, 9 each bought by Belgium and Brazil; main ''

Armee de l'Air 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; ...

'' trainer for years; operated by several well-known private owners including

Lynn Garrison Lynn Garrison (born April 1, 1937) is a Canadian pilot and political adviser. He was a Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot in the 403 City of Calgary Squadron, before holding jobs as a commercial pilot, film producer, director and mercenary. ...

and Louis Dolfus; some used for trials with

Handley Page Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidation a ...

slats, or skis; one fitted with Lorraine 9Nb Algol Junior. ;MS.231 : six built, with 179 kW (240 hp) Lorraine 7Mb, 1930. ;MS.232 : experimental version with 149 kW (200 hp) Clerget 9Ca

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

, 1930. ;MS.233 : powered by 172 kW (230 hp) Gnome-Rhône 5Ba or

Gnome-Rhône 5Bc The Bristol Titan was a British five-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the late 1920s. It had the same size cylinders as the earlier Bristol Mercury engine, (displacing ), and produced ...

, six built in France and 16 in Portugal under licence for the Portuguese military. ;MS.234 : 186 kW (250 hp)

engine, two built, one for U.S. Ambassador in Paris. ;MS.234/2 : converted from MS.130 Coupe Michelin racer with 172 kW) (230 hp) Hispano 9Qb and

NACA cowling The NACA cowling is a type of aerodynamic fairing used to streamline radial engines installed on airplanes. It was developed by Fred Weick of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1927. It was a major advance in aerodynamic ...

, entered in 1931

Coupe Michelin The Michelin Cup refers to a number of competitions sponsored by the French tyre manufacturer Michelin for long distance flight made in aeroplanes. The first Michelin prize was announced in March 1908. The principal prize, to be awarded annually ...

air race Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a prev ...

, 86 kW (250 hp)

engine. Fitted with a

engine as MS.234 #2, flown in

aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

competition by Michael Detroyat until 1938. ;MS.235 : 224 kW (300 hp) Gnome-Rhône 7Kb engine, one built 1930. ;MS.235H : twin-

float Float may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000 * ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008 * ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013 Songs * "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022 * "Float", by Bush ...

version, first flown 1931. ;MS.236 : fitted with 160 kW (215 hp)

Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC The Armstrong Siddeley Lynx is a British seven-cylinder aero engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley. Testing began in 1920 and 6,000 had been produced by 1939. In Italy Alfa Romeo built a licensed version of this engine named the Alfa Romeo ...

, 19 built under licence for

Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...

SABCA SABCA (Sociétés Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques) is a Belgian aerospace company. Its main sectors of activity are civil aviation, space and defence. SABCA was established during 1920. Presently, it is owned by the French aircraf ...

, first flown July 1932. ;MS.237 : 209 kW (280 hp) Salmson 9Aba engine, five built for private users, introduced 1934. Morane-Saulnier MS 230

Operators

; *

Brazilian Air Force "Wings that protect the country" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Hino dos Aviadores , mascot = , anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...

; *

Czechoslovakian Air Force The Czechoslovak Air Force (''Československé letectvo'') or the Czechoslovak Army Air Force (''Československé vojenské letectvo'') was the air force branch of the Czechoslovak Army formed in October 1918. The armed forces of Czechoslovakia ce ...

(as C23) ; *

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; ...

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 ...

; *''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'' (small numbers)Ketley, Barry, and Rolfe, Mark. ''Luftwaffe Fledglings 1935-1945: Luftwaffe Training Units and their Aircraft'' (Aldershot, GB: Hikoki Publications, 1996), p.11. ; *

Hellenic Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 8 November , equipment = , equipment_label ...

; *

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

; *

Royal Romanian Air Force The Air Force branch of the Royal Romanian forces in World War II was officially named the (ARR), or the Romanian Royal Aeronautics, though it is more commonly referred to in English histories as the (Royal Romanian Air Force, FARR), or simply ( ...

; *

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...

; *

Swiss Air Force The Swiss Air Force (german: Schweizer Luftwaffe; french: Forces aériennes suisses; it, Forze aeree svizzere; rm, Aviatica militara svizra) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914 as a part of the army and ...

; *

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

; *

Venezuelan Air Force , colours = Bleu celeste , colours_label = , march = , "Hymn of the National Military Aviation" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December (Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , battle_honou ...

Specifications

References

Bibliography

External links

A History of Greek Military Equipment (1821-today): Greek MS.230 ET2
{{Czech trainer aircraft 1920s French military trainer aircraft Morane-Saulnier aircraft Aerobatic aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1929 World War II aircraft of Switzerland