AI | |
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Role | fighter/trainer |
National origin | France |
Manufacturer | Morane-Saulnier |
First flight | August 1917 |
Primary user | French Air Force |
Number built | 1210[1] |
The Morane-Saulnier AI (also Type AI) was a French parasol-wing fighter aircraft produced by Morane-Saulnier during World War I.
Contents |
The AI was developed to replace the obsolete Morane-Saulnier Type N. Its engine was mounted in a circular open-front cowling. The parasol wing was swept back. The spars and ribs of the circular section fuselage were wood, wire-braced and covered in fabric.[2] The production aircraft were given service designations based on whether they had 1 gun (designated MoS 27) or 2 guns (designated MoS 29).[1][3]
A number of escadrilles were created to operated the AI, but by mid-May 1918, most of the aircraft were replaced by the SPAD XIII.[2] The aircraft became an advanced trainer, designated MoS 30.[3]
Fifty-one MoS 30s were purchased by the American Expeditionary Force as pursuit trainers.[3]
Three AIs are flown by Jean Salis at La Ferté-Alais.[1]
An original AI is part of the Fantasy of Flight collection in Polk City, Florida. This particular aircraft was sold to the United States Army Air Service in 1918. This aircraft, along with several others, was shipped to McCook Field in Ohio for testing. Surviving the test programs of the early 1920’s they eventually were sold to private pilots. This AI ended up in the Tallmantz Collection and was acquired by Fantasy of Flight's owner Kermit Weeks when he purchased the collection in 1985. It was sent to England and restored by Personal Plane Services in the late 1980’s.[4]
Data from War Planes of the First World War: Volume Five Fighters[5]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
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