CFS2 Morane Saulnier N

CFS2 Morane Saulnier N

French squadrons: escadrille N.67, MS.23 (armed with Hotchkiss 7.7mm gun)
British squadrons: No:24 RFC, No:60 RFC & No:3  RFC (armed with 0.30cal lewis gun) summer 1916
Russian: 19th squadron

Flying just prior to WWI in 1914 and retiring after the battle of the Somme in 1916 only forty nine N’s were produced. The RFC took twenty four and the French and Russians the remaining twenty five. Anthony Fokker copied it, after purchasing a crashed machine, to create the Fokker E IV and Pfalz fighters. Aces, including Ivan Smirnov, Jean Navarre, Adolphe Pegoud and Roland Garos flew the N. Roland Garos was probably the first person to shoot down another aircraft with a fixed machine gun firing through the propeller arc. This being before the introduction of the interrupter gear so therefor the propeller had metal plated fitted to deflect the odd bullet! It was powered by a Le Rhone 9c 80 hp rotary engine and had a span of 8.15m and length of 5.83m.

The Morane Saulnier N, commonly referred to as the "Bullet", was far ahead of its time.  While contemporary designers were developing cumbersome pusher biplanes, the streamlined tractor Morane Saulnier became the first aircraft to carry a forward firing machine gun.  The back of the propeller was fitted with triangular steel blades that deflected the bullets. This method was crude, but effective.

 Type fighter
Engine:Gnome 80hp or 80hp Le Rhone 9C rotary, air-cooled engine
Wing Span 26 ft 8 in (8.15 m)
Length 19 ft 1 in (5.83 m)
Height 7 ft 4 in (2.2 m)
wing area 11 sq metres  118sq ft
weight 635 lbs. empty 981 lbs. loaded
Maximum Speed 90 mph (144 kph)
Maximum Height 13,123 ft (4,000 m)
Endurance 1 hour 30 minutes
Armament 1 machine-gun: 8mm hotchkiss or 0.30cal lewis gun or 7.7mm vickers
entered_service=April 1914
crew=1