Morane-Saulnier G

Morane-Saulnier G
Type G
A captured French Morane-Saulnier G
Role Sport aircraft
Manufacturer Morane-Saulnier
First flight 1912

The Morane-Saulnier G was a sport aircraft produced in France in the years before the First World War.[1][2] It was a development of the racing monoplanes designed by Léon Morane and Raymond Saulnier after leaving Borel and like its predecessors, was a conventional, wire-braced, shoulder-wing design.[2] Construction was of fabric-covered wood throughout, except for the undercarriage struts which were of steel tube.[3]

The type was a sporting success. In April 1913, Roland Garros took second place in the inaugural Schneider Cup in a floatplane version,[4] finishing with a time of 40 minutes 40 seconds.[5] On 26 June, Claude Grahame-White flew another float-equipped example from Paris to London via Le Havre, Boulogne-sur-Mer, and Dover,[6] covering some 500 km (310 mi) that day.[7] Between 21 and 28 September the same year, two float-equipped Type Gs competed at the seaplane meeting at San Sebastián, with Lord Carbery winning the short take-off prize on one, and Edmond Audemars winning the maneuverability prize on the other.[8] The following week, Carbery flew his Type G in the Italian Waterplane Contest from Lake Como to Pavia and back, along with two other Type Gs in the field of fifteen competitors, these flown by Garros and Morane.[9][10] Garros not only won the Grand Prize in the "general class", but also the prizes for best speed (127.7 km/h, 79.8 mph) and greatest altitude (2,100 m, 6,000 ft).[9]

In 1914, Russian manufacturer Duks arranged to build the type under licence at their Moscow factory for the Russian Army,[9] and the same year, the Turkish military ordered 40 examples.[9] Before these could be delivered, however, war broke out, and the aircraft were impressed into the French Army.[9] To these, the Army soon added an order of 94 aircraft, and the British Royal Flying Corps also acquired a number, these latter machines purchased from Grahame-White, who was manufacturing the type in the UK under licence.[2] At the outbreak of war, the type's military value was found to be wanting, and the French machines were quickly relegated to training duties.[2]

Despite this, a dedicated single-seat fighter version was built in 1915, armed with an 8 mm Hotchkiss machine gun that fired through the propeller arc, the propeller blades being protected by deflector plates.[11] Only one or two prototypes were built, and the type never entered service.[12]

Some Type Gs were modified by Morane-Saulnier to have their wings mounted above the fuselage, parasol-fashion, rather than at the fuselage sides. This arrangement was found to offer far better visibility for the pilot, and formed the basis for the Morane-Saulnier L.[2]

A Type G is preserved at the Museo del Aire de Cuatrovientos in Madrid.

Variants

  • Type GA - version with 40 kW (60 hp) Le Rhône engine
  • Type GB - version with 60 kW (80 hp) Gnome engine
  • Type WB - version for export to Russia with glazed forward fuselage

Operators

 France
  • Aéronautique Militaire (94 ordered, plus 40 impounded from Turkish order)
 Russia
 USSR
 Spain
 Turkey
  • (40 ordered, but never delivered)
 United Kingdom

Specifications (GB)

Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I, 116

General characteristics

  • Crew: One pilot
  • Capacity: 1 passenger
  • Length: 6.30 m (20 ft 8 in)
  • Wingspan: 9.20 m (30 ft 2 in)
  • Wing area: 16 m2 (172 ft2)
  • Empty weight: 95 kg (208 lb)
  • Gross weight: 370 kg (815 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Gnome, 60 kW (80 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 123 km/h (76 mph)
  • Rate of climb: 1.8 m/s (345 ft/min)

Notes

  1. ^ Taylor 1989, 648
  2. ^ a b c d e "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft", 2539
  3. ^ "The Latest Morane-Saulnier Monoplane", 564
  4. ^ Hartmann 2001, 10. This machine is often reported as a Type H
  5. ^ "The Monaco Meeting", 450
  6. ^ "Mr Grahame-Wnite's Seine—Thames Trip"
  7. ^ Hartmann 2001, 10
  8. ^ Hartmann 2001, 11
  9. ^ a b c d e Hartmann 2001, 12
  10. ^ "Italian Waterplane Contest", 1129
  11. ^ "Morane-Saulnier type G"
  12. ^ Green and Swanborough 1994

References


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