Morane-Saulnier BB

Last updated
Type BB, Type BH
Morane-Saulnier BB French First World War reconnaissance aircraft in RFC markings.jpg
RFC Morane-Saulnier BB
RoleObservation aircraft
National originFrance
Manufacturer Morane-Saulnier
First flight1915
Statusretired
Primary user Royal Flying Corps
Number built107
Captured Morane-Saulnier BB Morane-Saulnier BB French First World War reconnaissance aircraft captured by Germany.jpg
Captured Morane-Saulnier BB

The Morane-Saulnier BB was a military observation aircraft produced in France during World War I for use by Britain's Royal Flying Corps. [1] [2] It was a conventional single-bay biplane design with seating for the pilot and observer in tandem, open cockpits. The original order called for 150 aircraft powered by 110-hp Le Rhône 9J rotary engines, but shortages meant that most of the 94 aircraft eventually built were delivered with 80 hp Le Rhône 9C rotaries instead. [2] A water-cooled Hispano-Suiza 8A engine was trialled as an alternative in the Type BH, but this remained experimental only. [1] A production licence was sold to the Spanish company Compañía Española de Construcciones Aeronáuticas (CECA), which built twelve fitted with Hispano-Suiza engines in 1916.

Contents

Operational history

The type equipped a number of RFC and RNAS squadrons both in its original observation role and, equipped with a forward-firing Lewis gun mounted on the top wing, as a fighter. [2]

Variants

MS.7
official French government STAe designation for the BB
MS.8
official French government STAe designation for the BH
BB
Le Rhône 9J rotary powered variant
BH
Hispano-Suiza 8A V-8 powered variant
CECA-MS or CECA-Saulnier
designations used for BB/BH built in Spain

Operators

Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia

Specifications (BB)

Data from Parmentier

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Notes

  1. 1 2 Taylor 1989, 684
  2. 1 2 3 "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft", 2538
  3. Bruce 1982, p.306.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier N</span> French WW1 fighter aircraft

The Morane-Saulnier N, also known as 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 with the Aéronautique Militaire designated as the MoS-5 C1. It also equipped four squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps, in which it was nicknamed the Bullet, and was operated in limited numbers by the 19th Squadron of the Imperial Russian Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier L</span> French WW1 fighter and reconnaissance aircraft

The Morane-Saulnier L, or Morane-Saulnier Type L, or officially MoS-3, was a French parasol wing one or two-seat scout aeroplane of the First World War. The Type L became one of the first successful fighter aircraft when it was fitted with a single machine gun that fired through the arc of the propeller, which was protected by armoured deflector wedges. Its immediate effectiveness in this role launched an arms race in fighter development, and the Type L was swiftly rendered obsolete. The original Type L used wing warping for lateral control, but a later version designated Type LA was fitted with ailerons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier P</span> French WW1 reconnaissance aircraft

The Morane-Saulnier Type P was a French parasol wing two-seat reconnaissance aeroplane of the First World War. Morane-Saulnier built 595 for the French air force, and it was also used by the British until 1916-17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier MoS-50</span> Type of aircraft

Morane-Saulnier MoS-50 was a French parasol configuration trainer aircraft built in 1924. The twin-seat aircraft was of wooden construction and was one of the last aircraft to have a rotary engine, a 97 kW (130 hp) Clerget 9B.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nieuport 12</span> French WW1 fighter and reconnaissance aircraft

The Nieuport 12 was a French sesquiplane reconnaissance, fighter aircraft and trainer used by France, Russia, Great Britain and the United States during World War I. Later production examples were built as trainers and served widely until the late 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier M.S.225</span> Type of aircraft

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.225 was a French fighter aircraft of the 1930s. It was produced in limited quantities to be used as a transitional aircraft between the last of the biplanes and the first monoplane fighters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier MS.230</span> Type of aircraft

The Morane-Saulnier MS.230 aircraft was the main elementary trainer for the French Armée de l'Air throughout the 1930s. Almost all French pilots flying for the Armée de l'Air at the outbreak of World War II had had their earliest flight training in this machine. It was the equivalent of the Stearman trainer in the United States air services and the de Havilland Tiger Moth in the British Royal Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FBA 17</span> Type of aircraft

The FBA 17 was a training flying boat produced in France in the 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier Vanneau</span> Type of aircraft

The Morane-Saulnier Vanneau is a two-seat basic trainer built in France by Morane-Saulnier and ordered by the French Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier I</span> French WW1 fighter aircraft

The Morane-Saulnier I, also known as the Morane-Saulnier Type I was a French fighter of the 1910s. Essentially a modified Morane-Saulnier N, the Royal Flying Corps possessed a number of them in World War I.

The Morane-Saulnier V, also known as the Morane-Saulnier Type V was a French fighter of the 1910s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier AC</span> French WW1 fighter aircraft

The Morane-Saulnier AC, also known as Morane-Saulnier Type AC and MoS 23, was a French fighter of the 1910s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letord Let.5</span> French WW1 reconnaissance bomber aircraft

The Letord Let.5 was probably the most numerous of a family of 3-seat reconnaissance bombers, designed and built in France from 1916, originally to an A3 specification from the STAé.

The Morane-Saulnier MS.43 was a French two-seat training biplane designed and built by Morane-Saulnier for a 1924 French War Ministry requirement for an intermediate training biplane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier H</span> Type of aircraft

The Morane-Saulnier H was an early aircraft first flown in France in the months immediately preceding the First World War; it was a single-seat derivative of the successful Morane-Saulnier G with a slightly reduced wingspan Like the Type G, it was a successful sporting and racing aircraft: examples serving with the French army were used in the opening phases of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier T</span> French WW1 bomber aircraft

The Morane-Saulnier T was a French biplane reconnaissance aircraft in 1916 and produced in small numbers during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier MS.130</span> Type of aircraft

The Morane-Saulnier MS.129 and its derivatives in the MS.130 series were a family of military trainer aircraft produced in France in the 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morane-Saulnier M.S.325</span> Type of aircraft

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.325 was a French Air Force fighter aircraft built by Morane-Saulnier in 1933 to meet the requirements of 1930 fighter aircraft specification. The design was unsuccessful and was abandoned in 1934.

The Morane-Saulnier S,also known as MoS-10, was a large twin-engined biplane bomber designed and built in France around 1916. Powered by two 250 hp (190 kW) Renault 12E V-12 water-cooled piston engines, with Hazet type side radiators, the 'S' was given the STAé designation MoS-10 and serial MS-625.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nieuport 17bis</span> French WW1 sesquiplane fighter aircraft used by the RNAS

The Nieuport 17bis C.1 was a World War I French single-seat sesquiplane fighter that was produced under licence in the United Kingdom in small numbers for the Royal Naval Air Service.

References

Further reading