Tuesday, 11 January 2022

Morane-Saulnier Ms.430

 
The Morane-Saulnier Ms.430 was a French two-seat training aircraft loosely based on the Ms.405 fighter.
The Ms.430 resembled the original designs of the Ms.405, as it had similar wings and an inward retracting landing gear, with a different tail. The fuselage was extended to make room for a second pilot, with both, trainee and instructor sitting in tandem. Unlike the Ms.405 which had an inline engine, the Ms.430 was powered by a single Salmson 9Ag which yielded 390 hp of power and was unarmed. 
The Ms.430 flew for the first time on 3rd March 1937 and it underwent two years of testing, where it proved to be underpowered and not improving the performance of the Morane-Saulnier Ms.230, the main trainer of the Armée de l'Air back then, which was designed a decade earlier. 
In order to fix that problem, a new variant was projected, powered by a more powerful Gnome-Rhône 7Kfs engine, named as Ms.433. However, work continued on the Ms.435 a variant with a completely redesigned fuselage. There was also a fighter version projected, which would've been known as the Ms.408.









Sources:
1. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_morane_saulnier_MS430.html
2. https://www.aviafrance.com/morane-saulnier-ms-430-aviation-france-863.htm (translated)

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