Its roots can be traced back to the Ms.470 which was designed during the war, and, at the postwar, it was ordered into production as the Ms.472 which was itself a more refined version of the Ms.470.
The Ms.472 was refined as well and work on an improved version was shortly later on its way. In fact, the prototype of the Ms.475 'Vanneau V' (Vanneau being the French word for 'plover' - the bird) flew for the first time on 8th August 1947. This new variant was powered by a single Hispano-Suiza 12Y-45 inline engine which yielded 850 hp of power (though according to some other sources, the power output was rated at 922 hp) instead of the Gnome-Rhône of the Ms.472. The Ms.475 had also a revised and improved wing, together with some minor improvements. It was also armed with a pair of 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns placed in the wings. It had also underwing racks for either small bombs or underwing rockets.
It was manned by a crew of two, trainee and instructor, which seated in a tandem position under a glazed cockpit.
These changes made the Ms.475 faster and more maneuverable than the preceding Ms.472 and Ms.474 (though the Aéronavale - French Navy's Air Arm - never used the Ms.475).
A total of 200 production Ms.475 were manufactured by Morane-Saulnier at Puteaux, from 1947 onwards, though deliveries to the Armée de l'Air began in March 1950.
They were employed as basic trainers, but also as light support airplanes in Algeria until 1957 when the North American T-6 Texan was suited as more suitable for that role and therefore, they were replaced. In the trainer role it served well until the 1960s. It was also the basis for a somewhat improved variant, the Ms.476, which had bigger expanded wing, but apparently, the results were not satisfactory and work on it was abandoned.
The Morane-Saulnier Ms.477 was another experimental variant of the Ms.475 which was powered by a single Renault 12S-02 light inline engine which yielded 580 hp of power. This engine was a French copy of the German Argus As.411. It flew for the first time in November 1950 (though some French sources claim it was on 28th December 1951). With a single machine built, it was deemed as seriously underpowered and therefore, work on it was abandoned.
The Morane-Saulnier Ms.479 was a variant coming straight from the previous version, the Ms.472. It was basically a Ms.472 powered by a single SNECMA 14X-04 'Super Mars' radial engine rated at 820 hp of power. It flew for the first time on 4th March 1952 and was tested all along that month, but the project was soon cancelled.
There were also some projected never-built variants like the Ms.471 which was going to be a Ms.470 powered by a Béarn 12B engine or the Ms.478 which was going to be a Ms.472 but powered by an Italian Isotta Fraschini Delta inline engine, but none of them went beyond the drawing board.
Sources:
1. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_morane_saulnier_MS475_vanneauV.html
2. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_morane_saulnier_MS476_vanneau.html
3. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_morane_saulnier_MS477_vanneau.html
4. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_morane_saulnier_MS479_vanneau.html
5. https://www.armedconflicts.com/Morane-Saulnier-MS-475-Vanneau-V-t167690
6. http://all-aero.com/index.php/contactus/53-planes-l-m-n-o/7034-morane-saulnier-ms470-vanneau--ms472--ms474--ms475
7. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_Vanneau (translated)
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_Vanneau
9. https://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=914&ID_CONSTRUCTEUR=931&ANNEE=0&ID_MISSION=0&MOTCLEF=
10. https://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9754&ID_CONSTRUCTEUR=931&ANNEE=0&ID_MISSION=0&MOTCLEF=
11. https://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=913&ID_CONSTRUCTEUR=931&ANNEE=0&ID_MISSION=0&MOTCLEF=
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