Morane-Saulnier Ms.230, foreign users, part two

 

The Morane-Saulnier Ms.230 was a French two-seat single-engine trainer aircraft from the late 1920s that served, in many variants, with various countries all around the globe until World War 2. We already covered some of them in our previous post, so here are the remaining ones:

• Greece: Eighteen Ms.230 were ordered by the Royal Hellenic Air Force (RHAF) in October 1930 and were delivered in 1931. They were the main elementary trainer of the RHAF until 1936 when they were replaced by the Avro Tutor. The Ms.230s were not, however, written off, as they were kept as advanced trainers until the beginning of World War 2.
• Portugal: This Iberian country had its own version of the Ms.230; the Morane-Saulnier Ms.233 was powered by a Gnome-Rhône 5Ba or, in the latest versions, the Gnome-Rhône 5Bc which delivered, both of them, 230 hp of power. Six of them were built in France and 16 in Portugal by OGMA (Oficinas Gerais de Material Aeronáutico - General Workshops of Aeronautical Material). The were the main trainer of the Portuguese Aeronautical Corps during the 1930s and some of them were exported to Spain.
• Romania: In 1931 the Royal Romanian Air Force (RRAF) bought twenty Ms.230. They were used as their main trainer. As we couldn't find any graphical evidence of the Ms.230 serving in Romanian colours, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Switzerland: In 1931 the Swiss Flugwaffe (Swiss Air Force) bought two Ms.229 for basic training. These machines were identical to the Ms.230 but were powered by an Hispano-Suiza 8a V8 engine. This engine turned to be problematic as the engine failed in mid air various times, luckily, without any loss. After some investigations on the causes, it was found that the engine wasn't suitable for acrobatics, so one of them, numbered 643, was re-engined in 1932 with an American Wright 9Qa radial engine, licensed made in Switzerland as Hispano-Suiza 9Qa. Flight performance was improved, but only one machine was brought to that standard. They were kept in active until 1939 when they were withdrawn from active service.
• Slovak Republic: During late 1940 or early 1941, a single captured Ms.230 was given to the newly established Slovak Flying Corps. This single Ms.230 was kept at Vajnory airfield, as glider tug. It was probably destroyed in March 1945. Apparently there was a second machine which was given without its engine and was used for spare parts.
• Republican Spain: The Fuerza Aérea Republicana Española (FARE - Spanish Republican Air Force) bought six Ms.233 from Portugal at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. They were employed as elementary trainers at La Rivera flying school. 
• Venezuela: In 1930 Venezuela acquired three Ms.230 for their Regimiento Militar de Aviación Nº1 (No.1 Military Aviation Regiment - de facto the Venezuelan Air Force during the 1930s and part of the 1940s). They were kept in active until late 1930s when they were replaced by more modern types.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_MS.230

2. https://www.haf.gr/en/history/historical-aircraft/morane-saulnier-ms230/

3. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_morane_saulnier_MS229.html

4. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_morane_saulnier_MS233.html

5. https://www.valka.cz/Morane-Saulnier-MS-230-t167614 (translated)

6. http://wings-aviation.ch/51-Profiles/M/M-Basis-en.htm (translated)

7. https://www.oocities.org/slovakaf/lietadla/ms-230/ms-230.en.htm

8. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/forodemodelismo/morane-saulnier-ms-230-t4608.html (translated)

9. http://www.amigosdelmuseoarqueologicodelorca.com/alberca/pdf/alberca15/15_15.pdf (translated)

10. https://maquetas.mforos.com/353330/12935183-morane-saulnier-230-venezolano-esc-1-48-scratchbuilt/ (translated)