Morane-Saulnier Ms.406, foreign users, part two

 

The Morane-Saulnier Ms.406 was a French fighter aircraft designed, developed and manufactured by Morane-Saulnier from 1938 onwards. With more than 1.000 aircraft having been manufactured, it was France's most manufactured fighter of the time and it was exported to many countries, or it was going to be exported:

• Belgium: The Ms.406 had attracted considerable foreign attention during the late 1930s and was showing signs of commercial promise. In fact, during 1937, when the prototype was shown at the Brussels Aeronautical Exhibition, negotiations were underway to undertake the licensed production of the type by Belgian aircraft manufacturer Avions Fairey for both the Belgian and French Air Forces. Those negotiations, however, came to nothing. Anyway, we decided to draw a hypothetical Belgian variant of the fighter.
• Independent State of Croatia: In July 1943 the Luftwaffe sold 36 Ms.406 to the Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia. Those machines were acquired to increase combat effectiveness against the increasing Allied air raids over the Balkans. They were assigned to the 21st, 22nd and 23rd Jato (Squadrons) of the 11th Group of the Croat Air Force. Ten more machines were incorporated in December 1943. Most of them were either destroyed or captured during late stages of the war.
• Poland: The Polish Air Force ordered 160 aircraft in September 1939. An initial batch of 30 machines was already shipped via the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and Romania, but as Poland fell, they were diverted to Turkey. We've drawn an hypothetical version of the Ms.406 serving with the Polish Air Force in 1939.
• Turkey: The initial batch of 30 fighters originally planned for Poland was diverted to Istanbul, and later to Yesïlkoy (Turkey) where they were assembled, under the supervision of French technicians and put into service with the Turkish Undersecretariat of Military Aviation (the forerunner of the Turkish Air Force). They were followed by 45 additional machines in March 1940, just before the fall of France. They were assigned to the 43rd and 48th Companies of the 11th Battalion of the 4th Regiment, based at Kütahya. 
  In 1943 the Ms.406 was already been withdrawn from the active duty as a fighter and they were used as advanced trainers in the Flying School at Eskisehir. In 1945 they were definitely retired from service.
• Yugoslavia & Yugoslav partisans: The Royal Yugoslav Air Force, ordered 25 fighters, however, the fall of France prevented their delivery. That's not excuse for us to draw an hypothetical-looking version in Yugoslav colours. 
  Anyway, during the closing stages of the War, in 1945, Yugoslav partisans managed to capture some of them. They were not used by the subsequent SFR Yugoslav Air Force so they were either destroyed, scrapped or withdrawn from use early after the end of the War.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_M.S.406

2. https://world-war-2.wikia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_M.S.406#Croatia

3. http://www.tayyareci.com/digerucaklar/turkiye/1923ve50/ms406.asp

4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters