Morane-Saulnier Type N Country: France Type: fighter Manufacturer: Morane-Saulnier Service: 1915 - 1916 First Flight: 1914 Production: 49

The Morane-Saulnier Type N was a French monoplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. Designed and manufactured by Morane-Saulnier, the Type N entered service in April 1915, designated the MS.5C.1. It also equipped four squadrons of the British Royal Flying Corps and it was operated in limited numbers by the Imperial Russian Air Service.

While the Type N utilised an advanced, aerodynamic design; it was not easy to fly due to its stiff controls (using wing warping instead of ailerons) and high landing speed. The Type N mounted a single unsynchronized forward-firing machine gun (either a .303-in Vickers or 7.9 mm Hotchkiss) which used the deflector wedges, first demonstrated on the Morane-Saulnier Type L, in order to fire through the propeller arc.

A large metal spinner designed to streamline the aircraft caused the engines to overheat because the spinner deflected air away from the engine. In 1915, the spinner was removed from the design and no more overheating problems were found. The removal of the spinner caused very little loss in performance. The Type N was not particularly successful. Only 49 aircraft were built and it was quickly rendered obsolete by the pace of aircraft development.

General characteristics