The Morane-Saulnier MS.129 and its derivatives in the MS.130 series were a family of military trainer aircraft produced in France in the 1920s.Taylor 1989, 685''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'' 2553

Design and development

The MS.129 and 130 were conventional, parasol-wing monoplanes with open cockpits in tandem and fixed tailskid undercarriage. The initial version, the MS.129, was produced in small numbers for the

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) () is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five air bases, a logistics base, an air defense brigade, an air defense regiment and an ISR (Intel ...

and civil users, but the major production version was the MS.130, which equipped the French Navy and a number of foreign air arms. The second MS.130 prototype won the 1929

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 f ...

, flown by Michel Detroyat with an average speed of 190 km/h (120 mph)."The Michelin Cup", 223 The MS.130 was further developed as the MS.230, and at least two MS.130s were later rebuilt to this new standard.''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'' 2554

Variants

;MS.129: initial production version with

Hispano-Suiza 8Ab The Hispano-Suiza 8 is a water-cooled V8 SOHC aero engine introduced by Hispano-Suiza in 1914 that went on to become the most commonly used liquid-cooled engine in the aircraft of the Entente Powers during the First World War. The original Hisp ...

engine. ;MS.130: major production version with

Salmson 9AB Between 1920 and 1951 the Société des Moteurs Salmson in France developed and built a series of widely used air-cooled aircraft engines.Gunston 1986, p. 158. Design and development After their successful water-cooled radial engines, developed ...

engine; 146 built. ;MS.130 Coupe Michelin:A single aircraft modified for competing in the Coupe Michelin 1929, which Michel Détroyat won at . ;MS.131: MS.130 converted to use a

Lorraine 7Me The Lorraine 7M Mizar, also called the Lorraine 240CV Mizar, was a seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine designed and built in France during the 1920s and 1930s. Nominal power was given as at 1500rpm (maximum continuous power), with a maximum ...

engine (1 converted for US military attaché in Paris) ;MS.132: version with Salmson 7Ac engine for French Navy; 5 built. ;MS.133: version with Gnome-Rhône 5Kc engine; 3 converted from MS.129, 1 converted from MS.130. ;MS.134: conversion of MS.130 with

Clerget 9B The Clerget 9B is a nine-cylinder rotary engine, rotary aircraft engine of the World War I era designed by Pierre Clerget. Manufactured in both France and Great Britain (Gwynnes Limited), it was used on such aircraft as the Sopwith Camel. The Cler ...

engine The MS.135, MS.136, MS.137, MS.138, and MS.139 were of a different design derived from the MS.35, and not related to the MS.130.

Operators

* France ** '' Aéronavale'' (MS.130) ** ''

Aéronautique Militaire The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

'' (MS.130) * Brazil (15 × MS.130) ** ''

Brazilian Air Force The Brazilian Air Force (, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Brazilian Brazilian Army Aviation (1919–1941), Army and Brazilian Naval Aviation, Nav ...

'' ** ''

Varig VARIG (''Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense'', 'Rio Grandean Airways') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went into judici ...

'' (MS.130) * Belgium (2 × MS.130) *

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(MS.130) *

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

(MS.130) * **

Portuguese Air Force The Portuguese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare force of Portugal. Locally it is referred to by the acronym FAP but internationally is often referred to by the acronym PRTAF. It is the youngest of the three branches of the Portuguese ...

(1 x MS.130, 4 x MS.133)Niccoli 1998, p.24. *

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

(MS.129) *

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Design and development

Variants

Operators

Specifications (MS.130)

See also

Notes

References

Further reading