Morane-Saulnier H

The Morane-Saulnier H was a sport aircraft produced in France in the years before the First World War, a single-seat derivative of the successful Morane-Saulnier G with a slightly reduced wingspan Like the Type G, it was a successful sporting and racing aircraft.

Operational history
During the second international aero meet, held at Wiener Neustadt in June 1913, Roland Garros won the precision landing prize in a Type H. Later that same year, A Morane-Saulnier H was used to complete the first non-stop flight across the Mediterranean, from Fréjus in the south of France to Bizerte in Tunisia.

The French Army ordered a batch of 26 aircraft, and the British Royal Flying Corps also acquired a small number, these latter machines purchased from Grahame-White, who was manufacturing the type in the UK under licence. The French machines saw limited service in the opening stages of World War I, with pilots engaging in aerial combat using revolvers and carbines.

The type was also produced under licence in Germany by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke, who built it as the E.I, E.II, E.IV, E.V, and E.VI, with increasingly powerful engines. These were armed with a single, synchronised lMG 08 machine gun.

Another German-built version, slightly longer, and featuring a steel-framed fuselage, a redesigned undercarriage integrated with the under-wing bracing pylons, and an enlarged, comma shaped rudder, entered production as the Fokker M.5. In 1915 this aircraft was fitted with a synchronised machine gun, forming the basis for the Fokker "Eindecker" monoplane fighters.

Survivors
A Type H is preserved at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Le Bourget.

Morane-Saulnier versions

 * MoS.1 H (single seater)
 * MoS.2 G (two seater)
 * MoS.3 L (parasol monoplane)
 * MoS.13 M (armoured single seater)

Pfalz versions

 * E.I - with Oberursel U.0 rotary engine (45 built)
 * E.II - with Oberursel U.I rotary engine (130 built)
 * E.IV - with Oberursel U.III rotary engine (46 built)
 * E.V - with Mercedes D.I water-cooled, inline engine (20 built)
 * E.VI - with Oberursel U.I engine, lengthened fuselage, enlarged tail fin and reduced bracing (20 built as trainers)

Fokker version

 * Fokker M.5 - basis for the Fokker Eindecker fighters.

Operators

 * 🇫🇷 France
 * Aéronautique Militaire
 * Austria-Hungary
 * Austro-Hungarian Navy - (Pfalz-built versions)
 * Belgian Air Force
 * Army Flying Service - 2 examples.
 * 🇩🇪 Germany
 * Luftstreitkräfte - (Pfalz-built versions)
 * 🇵🇹 Portugal
 * Portuguese Air Force - one aircraft.
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
 * Royal Flying Corps
 * Russian Empire
 * Russian Empire
 * Russian Empire
 * Russian Empire