It differed from the previous Morane-Saulnier types in the fact that it had ailerons for lateral control instead of wing warping.This was because of the rigid wing bracings, with a wire braced truss of steel tubes supporting the wing from below. It appeared in autumn 1916 and was found to be aerodynamically clean.
It was powered with a single 110hp (82Kw) LeRhône 9J or 9Jb nine-cylinder air-cooled rotary engine and was armed with a single Vickers 0.303in machine gun placed in cowl on the nose.
The first flight of this type, is unrecorded, but it's supposed that it was in late summer 1916. As tests were successful and the aircraft was liked by the Aéronautique Militaire, thirty aircraft were ordered. In spite of the advanced design and good performance, it was considered to be inferior to the SPAD S.VII, which was already being produced and employed in combat, and therefore it wasn't adopted for mass production. Two aircrafts were provided to the British Royal Flying Corps for evaluation but it was rejected as they already had better airplanes in their lines.
As we couldn't find any graphical evidence of the type serving with the RFC, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_AC
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
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