Douglas B-23 Dragon

 

The Douglas B-23 Dragon is an American two-engined bomber developed by Douglas Aircraft Company as a successor of the B-18 Bolo.

Douglas proposed some modifications thought to improve the performance of the B-18. Initially, the XB-22 (the original project to re-engine the B-18 with Wright R-2600-1Twin Cyclone radial engines) was considered a redesign. The complete B-18 redesign was considered to have enough promise by the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) to modify the original contract, and manufacture the last remaining 38 B-18s as the B-23 standard. The design incorporated a larger wingspan, with a wing design similar to that of the Douglas DC-3, a fully retractable undercarriage and improved defensive armament. In fact, the B-23 was the first American bomber equipped with a glazed tail gun position. It was equipped with three 0.3in machine guns set in various defensive positions plus a single 0.5in machine gun placed in the tail which was operated from the prone position by a gunner using a telescopic sight. It had a payload of 2.000 lb (910 kg), just like the Bolo, but it had a range of 1.400 milles (2.300 km) and was also faster. 

The prototype flew for the first time on 27th July 1939 and a total of just 38 machines were manufactured at Douglas' factory in Santa Monica, California, when production ceased in September 1940.

Even if it was faster, better armed and had a longer range than the Bolo, the B-23 couldn't be compared to other medium bombers of the time like the North American B-25 Mitchell and Martin B-26 Marauder. That's why the B-23 was never used in combat overseas, even if, for a brief period of time, they were employed as patrol aircraft operating in the west coast of the United States. The B-23s were relegated to training duties, although some were converted to transports and redesignated to UC-67. 

The B-23 was also used as a testbed for different engines and it was used for supercharger development by General Electric at Schnectady, in New York. 

After World War 2 all of them were sold to private owners and used as either passenger airplanes or executive transports, with pertinent internal modifications having been carried out and, therefore, many of them have survived. Thanks to the wartime experience with the type, General Electric bought and used five of them, and Howard Hughes had a converted one as his personal transport.

Some converted aircraft were sold to foreign countries like Ecuador, where its national airline, Ecuatoriana de Aviación, bought a single UC-67 in the late 1950s which was even used as that country's presidential transport. Another machine is known to have been sold to the Greek airline Scholai Delta and used at Hellenikon airport in Athens, as an instructional stationary airplane during the 1970s until it was completely broken off in the 1980s.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_B-23_Dragon

2. https://www.valka.cz/Douglas-B-23-Dragon-t31133

3. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuatoriana_de_Aviación (translated)

4. https://www.airhistory.net/photo/8266/N86E

Douglas B-18, part three

 

The Douglas B-18 was an American designed and manufactured medium bomber which was employed by the United Army Air Corps (USAAC) and the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) during the late 1930s and early 1940s.

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and waged war on the USA, a new theatre of war was opened in the Pacific Ocean, with most of the B-18 bombers based overseas in the Philippines and Hawaii. Most of those based in Hawaii were destroyed on the ground during the initial Japanese attack, just like the ones based in the Philippines, and the few ones that remained, played no significant role during subsequent operations. 

The B-18 based in continental USA and the Caribbean, were deployed in a defensive role, in order to prevent any possible attack in the American mainland. However, those attacks never took place and the Boeing B-17 replaced the B-18 in the frontline service in 1942. After this, 122 B-18As were modified for anti-submarine warfare operations. The bomb aimer position was replaced by a search radar fitted inside a large radome and magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) equipment was sometimes fit in a tail boom. Those aircrafts, known as the B-18B, were deployed and used in the Caribbean on anti-submarine patrols. On 2nd October 1942, a single B-18A, piloted by Cpt. Howard Burhanna Jr. , belonging to the 99th Bomb Squadron, dropped depth charges and sank the German submarine U-512 north of Cayenne, off the shores of the French Guiana. 

In the anti-submarine role, they were replaced, in 1943 by the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, which offered much better payload and had greater range, thanks to which, the mid-Atlantic gap was finally closed.

Surviving B-18s of the USAAF were eventually used as trainers and transports within continental United States. A total of two B-18A were reformed as unarmed cargo transports and received the denomination of C-58. An improved version, named XB-22, powered by the Wright R-2600-3 radial engines was proposed, back in 1938, but it was never built as Douglas focused on the B-23 Dragon light bomber.

After the war, the remaining bombers were sold as surplus on the commercial market and some of them were used as cargo or crop-sprayers by commercial operators.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_B-18_Bolo

2. https://www.valka.cz/Douglas-B-18-t72780

3. http://www.aviation-history.com/douglas/b18.html

Douglas B-18 Bolo, part two

 

The Douglas B-18 Bolo was an American medium bomber designed and manufactured by Douglas in the mid-1930s.

After having been granted a production contract, an initial batch of 133 B-18 (including DB-1 -the internal name given by Douglas to the aircraft) powered by the Wright R-1820 radial engines. The last B-18 of the run, named as DB-2 by the company, had a power operated nose turret, however that design didn't come to be the standard one. Further contracts were placed in 1937 for 177 aircraft and in 1938 for 40 aircraft, though the aircraft ordered in this last batch belonged to the B-18A, which was powered by the more powerful Wright 1820-53 radial engines and featured a completely redesigned nose placing the bombardier further forward, over the nose-gunner station. 

Deliveries to the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) began in the first half of 1937, with the first exemplars being handed over for testing to the Materiel Division, the Technical Training Command and the Aberdeen Proving Ground for technical testing, so the first deliveries to operational groups didn't take place until late 1937, being the 7th Bombardment Group the first one to receive the type at Hamilton Field, California.

The standard B-18, fully armed, had a maximum speed of 217 mph (349 km/h), a cruising speed of 167 mph (269 km/h) and a combat range of 850 milles (1368 km). In 1940 most of the USAAC's bomber squadrons were equipped with either the B-18 or the B-18A. 

The Bolo was however, flawed, and it was becoming apparent to almost everyone. Range, speed, bomb load and specially defensive armour and armament were really outdated and the USAAC considered the aircraft as obsolete and unsuited for the long-range bombing for it was originally acquired. In fact, sending the crews in such under-armed aircraft, against more armed targets, would've been suicidal. 

Although its obsolescence, the B-18/B-18A was the most numerous American bomber type deployed outside the continental United States when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. It was hoped, however, that the type could serve as an interim bomber until more suitable aircraft, such as the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator or even the Douglas A-20 Havoc were available in quantity.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_B-18_Bolo

2. https://www.valka.cz/Douglas-B-18-t72780

3. http://www.aviation-history.com/douglas/b18.html

Douglas B-18 Bolo, part one

 

The Douglas B-18 Bolo was an American medium bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. 

In 1934 the USAAC requested a bomber with double payload and range than the Martin B-10 which, was just entering service as USAAC's standard bomber. The next year an evaluation was carried out at Wright Field, Ohio, where Douglas showed their DB-1 design and competed with the Boeing Model 299 (which would eventually be improved into the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress) and the Martin 146. 

Boeing's candidate was clearly superior, however, as pilots forgot to unlock controls when taking off causing the prototype to crash, it was removed from consideration and its high price per unit ($58.500 vs $99.620 of the Model 299 - $1.105.142 and $1.881.953 adjusted for inflation in the past year) also played a big factor in making the DB-1 as the chosen bomber. Therefore the DB-1 was ordered into mass production in January 1936 as the B-18.

The DB-1 design was basically the same as the DC-2 with many modifications. The wingspan was 4.5ft - 1.4m larger, the fuselage was deeper to better fit bombs and the six-men crew, the wings were fixed in the middle of the cross section instead of the bottom because of the deeper fuselage. It was equipped with three turrets, placed in the nose, ventral and dorsal positions, with this last one being retractable. Each turret was equipped with one Browning 0.3in machine gun. It could also carry a normal payload of 2.000 lb (910 kg) of bombs, however, it could be overloaded up to 4.400 lb (2.000 kg) at maximum. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_B-18_Bolo

2. https://www.valka.cz/Douglas-B-18-t72780

3. http://www.aviation-history.com/douglas/b18.html

Douglas B-18 Bolo, Brazilian users

 

The Douglas B-18 Bolo was an American medium bomber which served with the United States Army Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force and Força Aerea Brasileira (Brazilian Air Force). It was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company, based on their DC-2 transport and was initially developed to replace the obsolete Martin B-10.

In April 1942, the Força Aerea Brasileira (FAB) received two B-18, followed by a third one. Those two first ones were assigned to the Grupo de Avioes Bimotores (Two-engined aircraft group) and one was used as a trainer. A fourth aircraft, a B-18A, was sent to Brazil in 1945 but it crashed on 18th February,  on Guatemala when it was on route leaving the machine completely beyond repair.

That group served on the anti-submarine warfare role, where they saw some action, like for instance on 8th May 1943, a B-18 piloted by 1st Lt. Zamir de Barros Pinto and by Lt. Geraldo Labarthe Lebre attacked the U-154 off the coast of Maceió, capital city of the state of Alagoas. The U-154 was bound to attack the Brazilian freighter Motocarline, but depth charges dropped from the B-18 damaged the submarine and forced it to retreat.

The FAB was the last user of the B-18 as, on 18th October 1946 they were written off and scrapped. 

Sources:

1. https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_B-18_Bolo (translated)

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_B-18_Bolo

3. http://www.armasnacionais.com/2015/09/o-primeiro-grande-aviao-da-fab.html

Douglas Digby, the Canadian B-18

 

The Douglas Digby Mk.I was the Canadian denomination given to the American Douglas B-18A Bolo bomber. 

A total of twenty Digbys served with the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) Eastern Air Command ,(tasked with the vigilance of Canada's Eastern shores) where they provided an excellent role in the anti-submarine service. 

Every Digby served with the No.10 (Bomber) Squadron RCAF, unofficially known as the "North Atlantic Squadron". This squadron was formed on 5th September 1939 and was based on the Eastern Coast of Canada and Newfoundland. It was initially equipped with obsolete Westland Wapiti bombers but soon, in early 1940, they received the Digby which, by June 1940 had completely replaced the Wapiti. At least one B-18 (not B-18A or Digby), registered as PB-R, was also bought and assigned to this squadron but it crashed due to poor weather near Gander, in Newfoundland.

The Digbys served with the No.10 Squadron from June 1940 until May 1943 when the squadron was retrained to be re-equipped with the much better and able Consolidated Liberator which also had much better range.

The Digby's first completed mission was a harbour entrance patrol over Bedford Basin, in Nova Scotia, on 3rd July 1940 and their first submarine victory took place on 30th October 1942 when a Digby, registered as "747", based in Gander, sank the German submarine U-520 east of Newfoundland.

In total, the Digbys carried out 11 attacks on submarines. Eventually the Canadian Digbys were either scrapped, converted into the Douglas C-58 transport conversion or used as trainers.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_B-18_Bolo

2. http://www.shearwateraviationmuseum.ns.ca/aircraft/digby.htm

3. http://www.ganderairporthistoricalsociety.org/_html_war/Digby742.htm

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._10_Squadron_RCAF

Morane-Saulnier Ms.410

 

The Morane-Saulnier Ms.410 was an improved version of the famous Ms.406 fighter. The project was started in 1939 when the Ms.406 was starting group service and, at the same time, a program was initiated to improve the design as the Ms.406 was intended to be replaced by the Dewoitine D.520.

The result of this was the Ms.410 which consisted on the adoption of an stronger wing, simpler fixed radiator in lieu of the earlier retractable one, four belt-fed 7.5mm MAC 1934 machine guns in the wings, as opposed of the previous pair of drum-fed weapons and the fitting of exhaust ejector which gave additional thrust, thanks to which the top speed was boosted to 509 km/h (316 mph) which meant 16 km/h (10 mph) faster than the Ms.406.

As it was better armed, the Ms.410 was the next logical step for the Ms.406, as ,instead of having to be replaced, many Ms.406s could be converted into Ms.410 standards. In fact, a total of 621 Ms.406 were to be converted to the Ms.410 but, by the time of the French armistice on 25th June 1940, only ten had been completed (five, according to some other sources), with many others reamining incomplete. 

The programme was resumed under the Vichy regiment and, eventually, 75 machines were completed but many of the converted machines, received only new wings. Some of them received the new fixed radiator, while other didn't. 

Eleven Ms.410 were sold to the Finnish Air Force where they served with Lentolaivue 28 and 14 (Squadrons 28 and 14) through the Continuation War from 1942 until 1944. As the MAC 1934 wasn't reliable enough in the freezing Finnish cold weather, they were replaced with captured 12.7mm Berezin and Colt machine guns. Apparently, some of them were also sold to the Independent State of Croatia, but we only found a single text reference, so we decided not to draw a hypothetical version. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_M.S.406#M.S.410

2. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_MS.406#MS.410 (translated)

3. https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_M.S.406 (translated)

4. https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=2060

5. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Morane-Saulnier Ms.406, Free French and Vichy France users

 

After the French armistice on 25th June 1940 and the establishment of Vichy France in July that same year, the Armée de l'Air underwent a major re-organization. This way, the Groupe de Chasse I/6, based at Marseille and equipped with the Ms.406, was dissolved on 30th October 1940. The Armée de l'Air de l'Armistice (Vichy France's Air Force) kept just 6 groups on mainland territory all of them equipped with the Bloch Mb.152. In North Africa there were based another 6 groups with either the Dewoitine D.520 or the Curtiss H-75 (The best fighters that France had back then). The Groupe de Chasse I/7, based in Rayak, Lebanon and the Escadrille de Chasse 2/595 (an unit composed of just 9 aircraft which sits between the group and the flight unit in terms of strength) based in Bach Maï, Tonkin. Thanks to the dissolution of some squadrons in the mainland, a new group (Groupe Aerién Mixte) was created in Madagascar, while others were sent to flying schools, in the French mainland. 

During the Lang Son incident, between 22nd and 25th September 1940, one Ms.406 was severely damaged by a Japanese Nakajima Ki-27 in flight when escorting a formation of outdated Potez Po.25TOE. One Japanese bomber was shot down during those days by Sgt. Labussière. However, it was never officially recognised to avoid diplomatic tensions with Japan.

During the Franco-Thai War in October 1940, on 10th October, seven Ms.406 were sent to Tourane (nowadays Da-Nang), to form a new fighter escadrille, the EC 2/595. The first sortie of this unit took place on 23rd November 1940. By 18th January 1941, the Armée de l'Air de l'Armistice in Indochina had no more than 14 Ms.406 and, when the combats ceased on 28th January, the French scored 4 victories for two Ms.406 destroyed on ground by bombardments. The next year, in 1942, every Ms.406 present in Indochina was vastly overhauled due to the lack of spare parts.

On another theatre of war, Middle-East, the British and Commonwealth Forces launched an attack on 15th May 1941 against Syria. This attack began with an aerial attack against the airfields present in that region. During that campaign the French pilots of the G.C. I/7 (based in Rayak, Lebanon and equipped with the Ms.406) clashed against the Gloster Gladiator and Fairey Fulmar fighters of the Royal Air Force, but their main task was to support ground troops until the region capitulated on 14th July 1941. After switching sides and joining the Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres (Free French Air Forces) the G.C. I/7 was dissolved and replaced on 15th September 1941 by the Groupe de Chasse Alsace which was initially composed of fourteen Ms.406 (two of which were unusable) and six aircraft of other types. This unit remained in Rayak, tasked with the defence of the Lebanese coast, until the outdated Ms.406 were replaced by, also outdated, Hawker Hurricane Mk.I fighters in January 1942.

Madagascar was invaded on 5th May 1942 by Commonwealth forces. During this battle, the Escadrille 565 present at Antananarivo had 17 or 18 Ms.406 in strength, with only 11 machines available, including a permanent detachment present at Diego Arrachart airfield located in the town of Diego Suarez, in the far north of Madagascar. Those Ms.406 took part on ground attacks against Commonwealth and South African troops and were, therefore, the last Ms.406 which fought with the French roundel. Piloting one of those fighters, bearing the number 995, Jean Assolant, former pilot of the l'Oiseau Canari (literally 'the canary bird' a Bernard 190T airliner modified in 1929 to non-stop cross the Atlantic Ocean) was shot down and killed on 7th May 1942 by Grumman Martlets belonging to 881 Naval Air Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm which had taken off from HMS Illustrious (87).

Sources:

1. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_MS.406#La_défense_de_l'empire (translated)

2. http://www.traditions-air.fr/index.htm

3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Morane-Saulnier Ms.406, Franco-Polish users

 

The Morane-Saulnier Ms.406 was the most manufactured French fighter of the World War 2. 

The Ms.406 was very manoeuvrable and could withstand high amounts of damage, potentially giving possible advantage against German fighters. However, overall, the Ms.406 was totally outclassed by the Bf.109E. Efforts to replace the type with a more capable type, like the Dewoitine D.520, the Curtiss H75 or even the improved Ms.410, failed to take place before the end of the Phoney War, on 10th May 1940, when Germany invaded. On the eve of the invasion, a total of 10 Groupés were equipped with the Ms.406, together with another amount of defensive units which were equipped with either the Ms.406 or the Bloch MB.152. 

During the combat that followed that date, the Allied forces suffered a high attrition rate and couldn't keep with the level of damage sustained. Of the Ms.406 that faced the Germans, heavy losses were reported. One hundred and fifty aircraft were lost in action while a further 200-300 fighters were recorded to have been lost to other causes. The quick advance of the German army led to repeated retreats and abandonment of bases, rendering most of the repairing efforts chaotic and, in many times, forcing the crews to destroy their own fighters on the ground to prevent them from being captured. The Armée de l'Air's tactic of employing small group of fighters against larger German formations, proved to be mostly ineffective and, often, very expensive.

In combat against enemy fighters, the Ms.406 showed mixed results. While there are recordings showing some lucky victories against the much superior Bf.109E, it was generally outclassed by it. On this topic, the story of the Groupe de Chasse III/7 (fighter squadron III/7) was very typical. On 15th May 1940 nine Ms.406 encountered 12 Bf.109 over Meziéres. The Germans stayed some few thousands of feet above the French and dived down in pairs to attack, with a single firing pass, before climbing back and repeating the manoeuvre. Three Ms.406 spinned down in flames and only one French pilot could bail out, seriously wounded. A fourth Morane, full of bullets, crash-landed at Soissons and was wrecked. A fifth pilot, was wounded in the head by splinters, forcing him to land. 

On 21st May seventeen Morane of the same unit, intercepted 50 Dornier Do.17 bombers escorted by other 50 Bf.109. Before the Morane could get in range to open fire, the Bf.109 jumped on then and shot down four Moranes almost at once. Two more resulted badly damaged and couldn't be repaired. The French pilots claimed two Bf.109 shot down. 

The Ms.406 holds the distinction of being the most ineffective French fighter to served during the Battle of France, probably because of its low firepower. On 24th June, one day before the armistice, a Ms.406 flown by Sous Lt. Marchelidon, of the G.C. 1/2 scored the Armée de l'Air's last kill in the conflict. 

The type was also used by the Polish Air Force in exile. It was the main fighter of the Groupe de Chasse I/145 'Varsovie', together with the Caudron C.714 (which was used mainly for training purposes) and the Bloch MB.152. This squadron was put into reserve at Mions, after the Lyon-Bron airport was struck twice by enemy air raids, on 10th May. However, two days later, as the Armée de l'Air needed every Ms.406 available, the squadron was re-equipped with the Caudron C.714, almost completely. However, some Polish pilots, achieved the ace status while flying the Ms.406.

Sources:

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

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Air_Forces_in_France_and_Great_Britain

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I/145_Polish_Fighter_Squadron

4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Morane-Saulnier Ms.406, French users, part one

 

The Morane-Saulnier Ms.406 was the most numerous French fighter at the start of the World War 2. It was the production variant of the Ms.405 which was developed to a specification issued by the Service Technique de l’Aéronautique (Aeronautical Technical Service) in 1934. 

The Ms.405 passed the test, was approved, flew for the first time on 8th August 1935 and, considering that there was much to improve, the prototypes were improved during the following years. In April 1937, fifty Ms.406 were ordered, which offered serious improvements over the Ms.405 as it was powered by the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 which offered 860 hp of power and was to be equipped with a 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannon placed in the engine and firing through the propeller hub and two MAC 1934 7.5 mm machine guns placed in the wings. The fourth Ms.405 served as the prototype for the Ms.406 and flew with the new engine for the first time on 20th May 1938. By that time, the production rate had increased enormously. Eighty more were ordered in August 1937 and, in April 1938, that number was increased with additional 825 machines more.

Production began at a slow pace. By early 1939, just twelve machines had been delivered to the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force). However, production was quickly increased during 1939 and by April, it was being produced at rate of six fighters per day. That number was increased to 11 in September that year. Before the fall of France in June 1940, a total of 1.074 machine were manufactured. 

On 23rd August 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the World War 2, the Armée de l'Air was mobilised and various fighter units, equipped with the Ms.406 were deployed between the Franco-German border, between Luxembourg and Switzerland. 

During the Phoney War period, the stage of the war ranging between the Fall of Poland in late September 1939 and the beginning of the Battle of France in May 1940, the type was employed mainly in aerial skirmishes against German recon planes, escort and ground attack of small ground units. 

The Ms.406 was roughly equal to the Messerschmitt Bf.109D, however, that machine was being replaced by the much better Bf.109E at the beginning of the war. In comparisson with the Bf.109E, the Ms.406 was 80 km/h (50 mph) slower, too lightly armoured and too lightly armed. If the engine cannon malfunctioned (something quite common) the pilot was left with only the two light machine guns of the wings which had a much slower muzzle speed than the German MG 17, making their effective range much shorter. They were also unheated making them prone to freeze at high altitudes. The only effective advantage of the Ms.406 over the Bf.109E was that it could out-turn it. 

During the Battle of France a total of 300 Ms.406 were lost, 100 in aerial combat, 50 to anti-air fire and 150 to other causes like accidents and deliberate destruction during retreat. The French Ms.406 accounted for a total of 269 of the 696 confirmed kills scored by the French fighters before June 1940. At first glance the numbers may look impressive, but considering that with less than half as many Curtiss H-75 (the P-36 in French service), they were accounted with 230 victories and the small number of Dewoitine D.520 that came into action in May 1940 scored 114. The Ms.406 didn't have the required speed, firepower and armour required to face the Germans in 1940.

Sources:

1. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_MS406.html

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_M.S.406#In_French_service

3. https://www.valka.cz/Morane-Saulnier-MS-406-C-1-t1069

4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Morane-Saulnier Ms.406 & Mörkö Morane

 

As we've said in previous posts, France sent 30 Morane-Saulnier to Finland between the 4th and the 29th February 1940 and, by 1943, the Finns received an additional 46 Ms.406 and 11 Ms.410 (an improved version of the Ms.406 which will be also the subject of a future post) bought from the Germans. By that year, however, the Ms.406 was showing signs of being seriously outdated. Anyway, as the Finns were desperate for serviceable aircraft, they decided to start a modification program to bring all their serviceable aircraft to new standards.

The Finnish aircraft engineer Aarne Lakomaa turned the Ms.406 into a competent frontline fighter, the Mörkö (Suomi word for "Bogeyman" or "Bugbear"), sometimes known as the LaGG-Morane. It was powered by captured Klimov M-105P engines (which were themselves a licensed copy of the Hispano-Suiza 12Y) which yielded 1.100 hp of power driving a fully adjustable propeller. In order to fit the engine, the airframe required some strengthening and a more aerodynamic engine cowling had to be fitted too. Thanks to those changes, the speed was boosted to 525 km/h (326 mph). Some additional changes included a new oil cooler, taken from the Messerschmitt Bf.109G, the usage of four belt-fed guns, system which was already present at the Ms.410, and a single 20 mm MG 151/20 in the engine mounting firing through the propeller hub. However, as the MG 151/20 was in short supply in Finland, some Mörkös were fitted with the captured 12.7 mm Berezin UBS guns.

Conversion work started in August 1942 and the first Mörkö flew for the first time on 25th January 1943 with very good results as the fighter was 64 km/h (40 mph) faster than the original French Ms.406 and the service ceiling was increased in 2.000 m, from 10.000m (33.000 ft) to 12.000m (39.000 ft).

Initial plans included the conversion of all the 41 remaining Ms.406 and Ms.410 to the Soviet engine, but the process took time and it wasn't until July/August 1944 that the first exemplars of the Mörkö were assigned to the Lentolaivue (Suomi word for "Squadron") 28. By September 1944, with the end of the Continuation War, only three machines, including the original prototype, had been converted. Lieutenant Lars Hattinen (Finnish ace with six victories) scored three kills flying the Mörkö-Morane, one with each Mörkö-Morane in the squadron. Anyway, more fighters were converted and the Mörkö-Morane took part in the Lapland War in the reconnaissance and ground-attack role. Not every Mörkö conversion was completed before March 1945, when the whole re-engine program was halted. At the end of the World War 2, the total number of converted Mörkö-Moranes was 41, which were used as advanced trainers with the TLeLv 14 until September 1948, when they were retired from service and, in 1952 they were all scrapped.

Sources:

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

2. https://www.valka.cz/Valtion-Lentokonetehdas-Moerkoe-Morane-t29432

3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Morane-Saulnier Ms.406, Finnish users

 

The Morane-Saulnier was a French fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Morane-Saulnier from 1938 onwards. With more than 1.000 exemplars manufactured, it was one of the most produced French fighters of the time so it comes no surprise that it was exported to many countries, among them, Finland.

In the Nordic country the Ms.406 had a parallel career. In February 1940 the first 30 fighters (which received the registration Ms-301 to Ms-330) were assigned to the Lentolaivue 28 (Squadron 28 in Suomi) commanded by Major Jusu. 

During the Winter War, they were thoroughly employed in combat against Soviet aircraft and with a total of 259 operational sorties, on that war alone, they shot down 16 Soviet aircraft. They were also employed during the Continuation War, from June 1941 to September 1944, in a modified form. Between November 1939 and September 1944, the Lentolaivue 28 scored a total of 118 aerial victories flying the Ms.406, the German Bf.109G and some few Mörkö-Morane (fighter which will be the subject of future posts). The unit lost a total of 15 aircraft with an unconfirmed kill number of 121.

Another unit equipped, partially, with the Ms.406 was the Lentolaivue 14 which had two aces in its rows, though it only received the Ms.406 in 1941 when Germany sold them. 

The top Morane-Saulnier Ms.406 ace in all theatres of war was W/O Urho Lehtovaara, with 15 of a total of 44.5 kills achieved flying a Ms.406. It was nicknamed as "Murjaani" (Suomi word for "Moor" or "Negro"), a twist on its name, "Mätimaha" (roe-belly) and "Riippuvatsa" (hanging-belly) because of its bulged ventral fuselage.

Sources:

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

2. Osprey Publishing - Aircraft of the Aces 121 - Morane-Saulnier Ms.406 Aces

3. Osprey Publishing - Aircraft of the Aces 23 - Finnish Aces of World War 2

4. Salamander Books - The Complete book of Fighters

Morane-Saulnier Ms.406, Swiss Users

 

The Morane-Saulnier Ms.406 is a French fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Morane-Saulnier from 1938 onwards. With more than 1.000 exemplars manufactured, it was exported to many countries, among them, Switzerland.

In 1938, Switzerland bought a manufacturing license for the Ms.406. Two Ms.406H (the letter 'H' in this case stands for 'Helvétique', the gentilic word in French for 'Swiss') were supplied to the Swiss in September 1938 and April 1939 to serve as a pattern for the D.3800 (the name given to the Swiss-made Ms.406). Both this and the Ms.406H held the wing design of the earlier Ms.405, but were powered by the Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 engine, which was the same one that powered the regular variants of the Ms.406. 

Eight pre-series machines were completed at Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette (more commonly known as EKW) with the engines built at Adolph Saurer AG driving a new type of fully adjustable propeller. The original French instruments were replaced with Swiss versions and the drum-feed MAC machine guns were also replaced with locally designed and built belt-fed guns which eliminated the bulges present in the French versions and avoiding the freezing problems present in the French guns. The first EKW D.3800 was completed in November 1939 and those eight pre-production models, were followed by a production order of further 74 aircraft, which by 29th August 1940, were all delivered. In 1942 two additional machines were assembles from spare parts set aside in the original production run. 

During 1944 and 1945 the Swiss managed to shot down various German and Allied bombers that had entered Swiss airspace. By this time, the surviving aircraft were modified with new cooling and hydraulic installations and were also fitted with ejector exhausts. These modifications raised the type to the EKW D.3801 which was, esthetically, identical except for the engine set. At the end of the war the remaining aircraft were used as advanced trainers until the last one was scrapped in 1954.

Sources:

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

2. https://www.valka.cz/EKW-D-3800-t167652

3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters