Morane-Saulnier H, part two

 

The Morane-Saulnier H was an early aircraft flown for the first time in France during the months prior to the outbreak of the World War I. It was a single-seat derivative of the Morane-Saulnier Type G with a slightly revised wing. It was used by some countries, among them the following ones:

• Portugal: The Portuguese Serviço Aeronáutico Militar (Army Military Service) acquired a single Type H in October 1916. It was a de-rated Anzani-powered machine which could only yield up to 45 hp of power. It had the serial number of MS.721 and was nicknamed as "Charge Maxima" (Maximum Charge). It was assigned to the Flying School at Vila Nova da Rainha, close to Lisbon and was used as a trainer.
• Russia: The Russian Empire's Flying Corps had some Morane-Saulnier H in service. It's hard to know an exact number as, unlike the Type G, the type wasn't manufactured locally and every Type H was imported. It's also very likely that many Type Gs were converted into single seaters, making them Type H. Anyway, some machines survived both World War I and Russian Civil War and at least one of them ended up serving with  one of the Bolsheviks' Flying Schools in Moscow in the late 1910s.
• Switzerland: At least two Type Hs served with the Swiss Fliegertruppe (Swiss Army Aviation) as trainers during World War I years.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_H

2. Flying Machines Press - French Aircraft of the First World War

3. Flying Machines Press - The Imperial Russian Air Service. Famous Pilots and Aircraft of World War I