In the year 1930, when the French light weight fighter programme named legier Chase or Plan Caquot was judged a failure, the Service Technique de l'Aeronautique (Technical Aeronautical Service) issued a requirement for a C1 (monoplane de chasse - single-seat fighter) fighter, requirement which was upgraded shortly later on 26th January 1931.
The requirement called for a single-seat fighter powered by a supercharged engine with a cylinder capacity of between 26 and 30 l (1586.62 and 1830.71 cu in). Eventually no more than 10 designs and 12 prototypes were submitted, all of them designed around the 26 l (1586.62 cu in) Hispano-Suiza 12xbrs engine which yielded 650hp of power at 4500m (14800ft) high which had proven to be reliable and offered a relatively small frontal area. The Morane-Saulnier submissions included the Morane-Saulnier M.S. 275 which had the traditional parasol wing that was so typical of the firm. With the M.S. 325, however, a more innovative layout with a low-wing duraluminium-skinned all-metal configuration was chosen.
The M.S. 325 was somewhat modest in its configuration as it still featured an open cockpit with tail surfaces being, at the original sketches, fabric covered. The landing gear was fixed and the main wings were braced by two-spar exterior struts. The wings had two jettisonable internal fuel tanks placed at the root, with a pair of 7.7mm (0.303in) Châtellerault machine guns mounted above each of the widely spaced landing gear legs. One unusual feature was that the starboard wing had greater incidence than that of the port one to counter torque force and the engine was also very slightly canted to port to counter the resultant yaw.
The first prototype was flown for the first time at the hands of the company Chief Test Pilot Michael Détroyat in 1933 from the proving grounds of the factory in Vèlizy-Villacoublay. The first results weren't satisfactory as tail buffering was encountered which required the addition of wing root fairings and lowering the tailplane.
Tests continued and it still suffered from handling problems so, when compared to other competitors, the M.S. 325 was relegated to an "also-ran" status and the Dewoitine D.500 was chosen.
A developed variant with a Hispano-Suiza 12Xers engine and a 20mm (0.787in) firing through the propeller's hub was proposed, but the design was eventually abandoned as the Morane-Saulnier M.S. 405 was already showing good results with only partial performance tests completed.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_M.S.325
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
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