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
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