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 They were kept in active until 1939 when they were withdrawn from active service.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)

Junkers Ju.52/3m in Romania

 

Note: This is our last post before spring break.

The Junkers Ju.52 is a German cargo and passenger plane from the 1930s which was produced by the thousands and, thanks to its versatility and easiness to pilot, it quickly became the main airplane for many airlines around the world, among them, the subject of this post, Romania.

The first Junkers Ju.52/3m to serve in Romania was a Ju.52/3mba registered as CV-FAI, which was designed as a VIP aircraft for the Romanian Prime Minister. This aircraft was re-registered later as YR-ABF in June 1937 and was used also as a VIP transport for the president of LARES (Liinile Aeriene Române Exploatate de Stat - Romanian State-Operated Airlines, Romania's national airline back in the 1930s). It crashed in Bazargio-Dobruja, near the coast of the Black Sea, on 23rd May 1940 when the country was still neutral. 

It wasn't until November 1941 that the Fortele Aeriene Regale ale Romanei (FARAR - Royal Romanian Air Force) received its first Ju.52/3mg7e. A total of 33 were supplied by Germany and were assigned to the 105th Heavy Transport Squadron. These Junkers flew on many resupply missions to the Romanian troops fighting near Stalingrad during the winter of 1942-1943, losing many of them to Soviet fighters. They also took part in the evacuation of troops from the Crimean Peninsula in early 1944. 

In August 1944, when the country switched sides and fought with the Allies, eleven more were captured from Germany. Some of those were used as ambulance planes.

The Transnitrian Air Section (a Romanian administered semi-autonomous region) operated two Ju.52/3m which were part of their slim air section until January 1944 when the area was taken by the Soviets.

After the War, LARES, which was renamed as TARES (Transporturi Aeriene Romana Sovietica - Soviet-Romanian Air Transport) on 1st February 1946, kept operating the type together with the Fortele Aeriene Ale Republicii Populare Române (Air Force of the People's Republic of Romania) until the early 1960s.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Junkers_Ju_52_operators

2. https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forțele_Aeriene_Regale_ale_României (translated)

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAROM

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria_Governorate

5. https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Ju-52/Junkers-Ju-52.html

6.https://www.europeanairlines.no/airline-companies-in-rumania-1918-1945/

7.Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 186 - Junkers Ju-52 in Action