Inside The Cockpit - Morane-Saulnier M.S. 406
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- The Morane Saulnier M.S.406 doesn't quite have the reputation of a Messerschmit Bf 109 or a Supermarine Spitfire, but it was one of the most important fighters in the early WW2 period.
- Dedication
This aircraft was filmed in the summer of 2019 in Switzerland. Its pilot and mechanic Daniel Koblet was extremely kind in preparing the aircraft for filming, and for letting us get all this footage. He also gave me some of the flying footage you see in this video. A few weeks ago I learned the sad news that he had suddenly died beginning of this year. Daniel was an exceptionally gifted pilot and well known for his work in getting old aircraft back in the sky. Together with the owner of this aircraft, I have decided to dedicate the video to Daniel.
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- Sources
Greg Baughen, The Rise and Fall of the French Air Force,
John Bridley, French Fighters of World War 2 Vol.1
Jakob Urech, The Aircraft of the Swiss Air force since 1914
- Audio
Music and Sfx from Epidemic Sound
#militaryaviationhistory #insidethecockpit #ms406
- *Dedication* -
This aircraft was filmed in the summer of 2019 in Switzerland. Its pilot and mechanic Daniel Koblet was extremely kind in preparing the aircraft for filming, and for letting us get all this footage. He also gave me some of the flying footage you see in this video. A few weeks ago I learned the sad news that he had suddenly died beginning of this year. Daniel was an exceptionally gifted pilot and well known for his work in getting old aircraft back in the sky. Together with the owner of this aircraft, I have decided to dedicate the video to Daniel.
I am deeply sorry for this loss and express my dear emotions, I'd just like to know how he died, I hope not from a crash and hope he had a wonderful life.
Thanks for the video here which is indeed honoring his memory, hope to see another episode again and may Daniel rest in peace high above the clouds.
Military Aviation History do you know what's going to happen to the plane?
@@Mysteres78979 News articles talk about a short illness related to his lungs. Tragic either way and a loss to the warbird community.
You are a pure Aviation Genus
@@SyphenHouse
Another Covid casualty. Damnit.
Dunno, somehow the Morane is symphatehetic. It's not pretty, it's not famous but there's something to it. Would definately be interested in a video on the Finnish Lagg-Morane.
I agree
Mörkö-Morane indeed was an intresting modification of the standard MS. 406 (and MS. 410) with it's hodgepodge of parts. Berezin UBS gun or MG151/20 if available, Russian version of the engine (which the french failed to acquire like the video states) and oil cooling from BF109. A real frankenstein, made to improve on, by then, obsolete design.
I think it certainly has its own charm in a somewhat odd-ball fashion. From what I heard the Mörkö conversion did get a pretty decent performance boost of the old bird. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the M.S 406 fairly agile (I at least believe I've heard so), I'd had been curious to see what Morane-Saulnier could have developed had history taken a different route and they had been able to keep developing new aircraft.
It reminds me of the Citroën 2CV.
That you call it a "frankenstein" is rather apt when bearing in mind that "mörkö" translates to "bogeyman".
There are to my knowledge 3 surviving MS406. One is the airworthy example in the video (French and Swiss markings), one is in a museum in Finland, a third one is in the reserves of the Air and Space museum at Le Bourget, France. I have asked the museum to expose this extremelly rare aircraft to the public but no news. Thumb up if you would like to support in a campaign to make this change. Any ideas, proposals are welcome.
My grandfather was an assistant mechanic to MS406 (Finnish Air Force) during ww2. He gave me the blueprints of it when I was a child. Regrettably I lost them. His main assignment was a radio operator though, doing covert ops.
MS-406 the plane that every WWII enthusiast knows about but has never seen one closer - now we can see it closer for the first and probably only time thanks to you :)
Now go and find find a Dewontine
@@donlove3741 you mean D-520? It would be veeery nice...
@@donlove3741 the Musée de l'Aviation at Le Bourget has one on permanent display.
one we will sadly never see is the M.B. 152 as all planes have been lost and even the dimensional plans have been lost to time
i know there is a project by Dassault Aviation to built a full scale replica down to the rivet, but no information seem to have transpired since August 2019, and at that time they said they had finished the virtual model and built the pilot cell, but no photos are available, the only part confirmed visually is the pilot seat frame
Rest in peace, this legend of a man, pilot and mechanic
You shall never be forgotten
May his soul rest in peace.
By the way nice content Chris.
You are a thorough gentleman
Great video and most informative about an aircraft of which (being British) I knew nothing at all. And I love your turn of phrase: "with predictable results to the pilot's corporeal integrity" (at 9:49) is a gem.
15:11 - my height of *190 meters*
My oh my, Chris really is a German giant 😮
Yeah he is, French people are rather small, males today are 174cm on average, even smaller in 1940 I imagine, no wonder he was cramped
So you didn't understand :"One ninety meters"? Let me guess: American?
Did both of the replies miss the joke?
@@FOXTROTALPHA2412 I'd guess so.
190 meters?
Holy shit batman?
He's as big as an A380
I have a real affection for the steampunkish character of many of the 1930's aircraft that bridge the gap between biplanes and the jet age. The M.S. 406 is a great example. Form and function -- combined with national characteristics -- lead to interesting results in aviation. For instance, when you throw in some art deco and some jazz you get something like a P-38 Lightning or a P-51 Mustang.
At 3:48 that is the Arsenal VG-30 mockup above the Potez.
I was going to say, that looks like a V.G. series plane to me.
nope, the VG 33 was ready to fly in the last months from the battle of France 1940...none did fight, same thing for the Dewoitine D521
@@leneanderthalien I read that the VG33 fight once, straffing a colomn of vehicules, but not in dogfight.
"the pilot's corporal integrety" -- The subtle Bismarckian expression of the day 👍
Fun fact: on the french planes of the period, the throttle control was inversed: To open the trottle, you pulled the lever towards you, and to cut it you pushed it forwards. Hence the french expression "avoir la manette dans la poche" (put the lever in the pocket) to indicate full power. I believe that the swiss had a more conventional throttle control.
Wow , that's a beautiful air-plane . It played it's part in a difficult time in world history . Thank you for this video . And many, many thanks to DANIEL , REST IN PEACE .
The MS series (and the subvariants by other countries) will always have a spot in my heart. Such a beautiful aircraft
Beautiful aircraft. Thank you for showing. RIP Mr. Koblet, his dedication helped preserve history for generations to come.
Respect to the person who maintained and demonstrated this aircraft.
How about a video on the Dewoitine D.520?
Thank you for covering this relatively unknown plane, that still deserves to be remebered!
This aircraft always struck me as a French equivalent of the Hawker Hurricane. If the French military organisation had allowed for an equivalent of the British Fighter Command setup and communications along with the necessary leadership and political support then the history of the air war over France could have been very different. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Many years ago I shared a long train journey with a wonderful elderly Frenchman who passed the time most excellently for me by relating his experiences after being shot down in a MS 405 or 406 (long time ago so my memory is a bit hazy), escaping to the south in the hope of continuing the fight and being so very bitterly disappointed at the surrender of his country. There were many others who did the same. Salute!
I recall reading many years ago that the lack of such an organization meant that a disproportionate number of these fighters were either shot down as they were struggling to climb towards the enemy or destroyed on the ground, with the French destroying even more aircraft to prevent their capture. Given that the French Air Force apparently managed to destroy more German aircraft than their own losses (approximately 950 to 850 during the Battle of France), further forward thinking on the part of the French could have made a huge difference in the eventual outcome, even with the aircraft that they had.
@@Thermopylae2007 Oh don't believe the claims of aircraft shot down! All sides - including the RAF, grossly overclaimed. As a general guide - take 10% of the claims as being maybe possible and build from there. True figures can take years of meticulous research to pin down.
Two major differences between the Battle of Britain and the Battle of France is that British had radars when the French did not and the German fighters were limited by their aircraft range when crossing the channel.
@@tonyz7216 So very true both! Germany had/was working on radar, but theirs was different - I find I don't know as much as I should about that so I'm going to have to get down to some serious learning soon. Years ago I knew a chap who had been at Cambridge University during the war and was a part of the team that succeeded in miniaturising the cavity magnetron, which made 10cm radar possible as well as AI (Airborne Intercept) for night fighters. Wish he was still with us but sadly passed away many years ago now. As to the fighter range - bear in mind we had the same problem with the Spitfire and Hurricane when we tried to "take the fight to the enemy" the following year. The Bf109, like the Spitfire & Hurricane, was a short range air superiority fighter, had limited endurance over England and most important of all - was operating over hostile territory so parachuted pilots were total losses while ours were not. Famously, Douglas Bader was captured in exactly the same scenario over France, so it cut both ways.
Thank you for the excellent work 👍. I saw this plane flying in some airshows, and the sound of the 12 Y is just incredible, especially in low frequencies 😲
Excellent! Very much enjoyed this one. Very good choice of topic. Up close and personal. Merci mon ami!
I hope you will indeed follow-up with one on the Dewoitine D.520.
Saw it flying on numerous occasions at La Ferté Alais, magnificent aircraft, thanks a lot for the video and thanks to the owner for kipping that wonder flying
Excellent work, again. Beautifully explained. Danke schön
I love your accent.
I'm sure Daniel was a great man. Sad to hear about his death.
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Magnifique vidéo ! I learned a lot of interesting things, and I must add that your french accent is really nice, and the in-flight videos are stunning ! Keep up your great work !
Greetings from France ;)
Pour les Allemands, ce n'est pas tellement dificille, bien parler francais avec un beau accent... Beaucoup plus dificille pour un Anglais!
Nice to see some of the less well known aircraft getting some time in front of the camera
Its tubby and kind of a mix of old and new and in the 1936/37 it was probably pretty good but by 1939 it was definitely lagging behind its counterparts and competitors. Great that its still flying and much kudos to its owner really sad that he has passed away. Nice presentation Bis.....You and the TBLF should take a squadron of these for a spin in war thunder!
Typo in description, it says "early WW1" rather than "WW2". Beautiful episode!
That's an annoying typo. Fixed, thanks!
Great episode. I love when you find and focus on more obscure aircraft!
Glad you enjoy it!
One day I hope you get to cover and sit inside the P-36 Hawk, also known as the Hawk 75. It is a contemporary of this fighter and only four still exist with two in England. I like this particular fighter myself.
It's amazing how military tech was advancing in the 1930s.2 years to obsolescence is amazing in peacetime.
And there are people who think the Maginot Line was a bad idea.Simpletons.
Military tech always advances..from fists to sticks to nuclear bombs!
To people like that I say "There's a reason why the allies didn't attempt to breach the Siegfried line and it's the same one the Germans had to avoid the maginot line"
If only the line was extended along the Belgian German border as well...
@@Gaizhun That would have defeated the purpose. The goal was to force a confrontation on the plains of northern Belgium, which is excellent tank country where the numerically superior French forces would easily win. Nobody thought the Germans would be dumb enough to try to cross through the notoriously difficult Ardennes Forest instead, which is why it took France by surprise when the Germans did just that.
@@yetanother9127 There's more to it, contrary to popular belief France knew Germany could cross the Ardennes and Belgium, as a matter of fact the original strategy included that possibility. France built the Maginot line and signed a treaty with Belgium that stated they would take position in Belgium before the war would start and dig up defensive positions along the rivers in Belgium, effectively acting as a prolongation of the Maginot line up to the Channel.
Belgium broke that treaty in 1936, only 3 years before the beginning of the war (the treaty had been signed in 1920), which meant the French army had to wait for Germany to attack Belgium in order to get in, thus loosing all advantages of the defender.
And there's also that in order to defend the majority of it's frontier and assemble an army that numerically stood even close to a chance against the axis, the army would have had to recruit on a larger spectrum of age, that would have meant possibly taking older and younger men, less suited for walking kilometres with heavy equipment and more effective in defensive positions.
I didn't know your French was so good. I'm really impressed !
Really good video by the way, as usual:)
Germany lose 50% of their plane during the battle of France.
The french pilot was truly good.
Just a beautiful aircraft
Beautiful plane. Beautiful episode.
Excellent narrative and critique of the aircraft and history lesson.
I've seen this aircraft in photos, but never flying. Thanks for the video. It reminds me of a P40 Kittyhawk.
Thanks for a very informative video. RIP Daniel Koblet. So sad.
Great content as usual Chris! Thank you.
Rich.
Great video and nice work. I wonder if you ever thought about shooting a video about Polish PZL P. 11 (and his variant) or/and Romanian IAR 80.
The main problem with the AdA was the Spanish Civil War: most of the French aircraft were equipped with Hispano-Suiza motors. Half the factories were in Spain, which was in the middle of a Civil War. Same with the HS.404 cannon. Most french fighters had to be equipped with inferior MGs instead of 20 mm for a lack of enough cannons.
Thanks for this video Chris. For some reason I love the early French stuff like these or the Dewoitines or even the imported Hawks. Also, I do really like the colors on the Vichy aircraft
Thanks to your description of her development I now know why this bird has always fascinated me. It's kind-of a "Franken-Flugzeug" of half-finished ideas that still performed better than you have any reason to expect.
lol I saw the Morane and instaclicked. Awesome plane.
You know what I have ask you to land a carrier now, right :)
"with the predictable result to the pilot's corporal integrity" - I love your turn of phrase and sense of humour :)
This is the second model airplane i built (the first was a FW 190) - I liked the look of the plane so much.
Excellent explanations!Thanks a lot!Hello from France!
Great stuff Biz! You've come a long way since flight simming! Love these videos!
That's pretty cool, didn't know any of those planes were still operational.
Thankyou for the sad context[
I'm glad someone gave attention to this non appreciated aircraft.
Great video of an interesting and not very well known plane! She's not a beautiful aircraft, but is stunning in her Swiss neutrality markings.
Is this the same aircraft we saw flying in French markings? RIP Daniel.
Yes, it was changed to have the original Swiss markings some years ago
@@MilitaryAviationHistory Thank you!
THANK YOU AGAIN!!
That place looks so peaceful
I always thought the HS 12Y engine was a relatively small displacement V12. But Wikipedia says it was a whopping great 36Litres. Nearly as big as the RR Griffon but much much lighter and half the power output.
The mockup at 4:00 is actually a VG30, prototype of the VG33. And the top speed of the MS406 in service was about 450km/h. Maybe the improved MS410 or swiss version could reach 530km/h.
The 410 was able to reach 510 km/h with 860 hp engine, original 406 had a speed of around 490 km/h.
The often claimed 490kph top speed was actually achieved with a HS-12Y-29 with 100 octane fuel instead of the service HS-12Y-31.
Analysis of the Finnish and French Moranes shows that top speed was about 446kph.
Excellent engaging presentation .. interesting and vivid and well made/edited, and on an aircraft I have wondered about. Verve! I'd enjoy seeing more where you get out and about, on a variety of military history subjects. Very good lively use of English, if you don't mind me saying so
It looks like a Hurricane and a P-40 got it on.
G'day,
My thoughts prezactically, a Tomorrow-Hawk crossed with a Hurri-Can't...; but with all that infamous Gallic disdain for functional reliability or ease of maintenance, all steeped in a Broth of almost Brutalitarian ugliness.
Mind you though, I think Sopwith Camels are the pinnacle of Aerodynamic prettiness...; so it's all subjective...
Such is Life,
Have a good one...
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
Looks more like a Hurricane and a Taxicab's bastard child
Much smaller and lighter than both.
You WIN! 🎯👍🤣✌🍀🇺🇸
@@WarblesOnALot you're not the best placed to talk about reliability
In fact , is not MS 406 . This plane we see its Doflug D 3801 different from the original engine, cooler, armament and interior fittings .But based on Morane construction deeply.
F.I.P. Daniel! Fly In Peace!
"it was one of the most important fighters in the early WW1 period" I'll bet it would have been!
The Eindecker wouldn't have stood a chance... :)
The red Baron wouldn't had a chance
"Previously the cockpit tended to get crushed with the predictable result to the pilot's corporeal integrity".
:-D
|3:48 But..isn't that mockup of an Arsenal VG-30?
Thank you! I believe this is an underrated fighter that was undeservedly neglected.
I admit I have a soft spot for MS 406, though... It truly is a fighter of the interwar period, worthy to stand beside a Hawker Hurricane for example.
(14:50 Wrong foot there... :-) )
Hey Bismark!
Love your videos mate!
I do have some (constructive) criticism though, there is this thing some speakers do this clicking sound when doing pauses such as in 5:12. I suggest you try to avoid it, as it is generally considered a bad trait when speaking. (But do as you please)
Also, I'm not a native French speaker but I can say that your pronunciation of French is really good.
Keep up the good work
I had a nice little Heller 1/72 kit that I had rather nicely painted in prewar colours. Was one of my favs just because its a little different looking
Ich fand' die M.S. 406 schon immer ansprechender als die Dewoitine. Die
D.520 sieht dank des extrem weit hinten liegenden Cockpits einfach zu
schlaksig aus. Die Morane Saulnier jedoch ist 'ne echte Französische
Bulldogge. Toller Vogel!
Always loved the MS406! Like the Hurricane, this prewar, interim design has a design beauty all its own. Now if you could do a Fokker DXXI!!!!!! :O
There's a group restoring a Fokker DXXI to flying condition. I'm following them on FB in mid 2020.
Awesome you cover some of these "Forgotten Fighters".
A fighter that I actually grew to like quite a bit in War Thunder. Find to be a much better crate than the D.520 to be honest.
Have been looking forward to this video. Learned yet more history and how to pronounce the name of the company as well (as best as I can).
Another informative video as always Bis.
How do you deal with the low amount of machine gun ammo on the M.S. 405/6??
@@martijn9568 Shoot in short bursts and only when you think a hit is certain.
The D520 is very good but overtiered. Faces tougher ennemies than the spit 1 or 109 which is inconsistant. It is in 3.0 when the spitfire is 2.3 and 109 e1 is 1.7. It should have been 2.3 like the vg33. Gaijin balancing...
@@martijn9568 What works for me: I wait to be very close before shooting, like ww1 pilots
thanks for sharing this, the first video I have seen of a French plane from the period
Oh my that is a big list of problems..thank you for the facts, I really appreciate it!I am really looking forward to the video on the Finnish modifications.
he actually pronounced the names correctly 😍
👍Thank you for showing your video 👍
Frances contribution to the allies was significant...for one reason...selling the Soviets the 12Y engine that they adapted into the M-105 engine for the Yak and Lagg fighters and well as the Pe-2. .
It’s only slightly more obsolete than the Hawker Hurricane.
HiWetcam Exactly what I mean. The Hurricane straddled the technological gap between fabric covered aircraft with thick wings, and the more modern advanced aircraft. If the Hurricane had not had the Merlin, which was only about 100-1100 he anyway, it would have been toast. It was obsolete as soon as the Battle of Britain was over.
Soviet Yak-1fighter was heavly influenced by MS 405. It was a lot simpler and used a lot of wood in construction but basic idea was whe same. It was made even simpler and lighter in Yak-3 version.
@HiWetcam which the British paid the Americans for ,like all their contracts Britain covered. Like helping the French come to Britain via Dunkirk in order to fight another day...did they no! Great proportion pissed off back to France.
@@christopherwhitehead8946 funny the French were badgering Churchill for more of the obsolete planes.obsolete did OK in north Africa, with 20mil cannon.
Seems the Hurricane served all over the world .
Won the battle of Britain.
6:00 the pitot tube, which gullible people believe is a cannon, and a careless person can get burned on.
Pitot heat, maybe?
Maybe he speaks from experience?
@@hobbesfan4196 the metal tip is heated, to defeat icing, and if running a maintenance check, you run the risk. Also, we had a crew chief who used to tell tourists about it being a gun and they bought it. 😉
It is a cannon, shoots pitots
"We put an extra tube on it, so the germans may think it is a 90 mm gun"
Thanks!
Rest in Peace. Daniel Koblet.
When I first saw the aircraft behind you I thought, "Swiss markings? That's no MS.406; that's a D-3800." The video confirmed my suspicion, albeit as a variant of the D-3800.
I can see this is Bex aerodrome, I used to attend airshows there in 1990s.
Very very nice looking plane !
Can't make a pig out of a sow's ear. Good video !!!
13:37 Wrong. The D 3800 and D 3801 used a Swiss 20 mm W+F FM-K-38 cannon with 90 rounds.
Immer wieder a Augaweid di405 im Himmel zgseh.Dank em Dani Koblet . . Du felsch da man!!😢
Picture of the MS406 mockup is actually a VG33 mockup ;)
The company still exists. It is now Daher Aerospace.
Christian, is the lower antenna retractable or does it fold up into a storage slot?
Chris, your French pronunciation is far better than mine!
Please do a video on Bloch mb fighter and d 520 too
Isn't the upper aircraft at 3:50 an Arsenal VG33 and not a Morane-Saulnier ?
Great episode, it's so rare to see a WW2 French aircraft nowadays !
Actually a VG30, I believe...
It is beautiful in its own way, but it makes you appreciate the logical layout of a modern cockpit. I guess back then the dominating goal was getting a weapon out there which could fight as soon as possible.
Reminds me of the Hawker Hurricane.
So I'm lost. Was this plane used by the Luftwaffe? I seen it on upcoming diecast planes on Oxford diecast and was curious why it bore Luftwaffe markings being a less than ideal french aircraft.
13:28 i thought only the finns upgunned their Moranes. Because i've never seen a D-3800/3801 with more than three guns
Not even the D-3803 was supposed to have more than three 20mm guns
Well, the french also upgraded their MS.406 to a version called the MS.410; they also developped a version called MS.450 that inspired the Swiss version.
Something of the Hawker Hurricane in its silhouette.
Poland bought 120 of them from France in the early summer of 1939... Some of them were already on their way to Poland when the war broke out... First 40 of Morane-Saulnier 406 were to be delivered before end of September 39, next in upocoming months.... None eventually had taken part in the battle... These planes wouldn't have changed the outcome, but would strenghten a bit polish airforce...
Excellent.
i have always had a soft spot for the MS405, dont know why really its a bit funny looking but thats probably why i like it, much like the fiat Topolino
The problem is that this plane is not an MS406 but a very different Swiss version (D3801). The equivalent was the MS410 which was manufactured in around twenty copies before the armistice of 40
In Finland that airplane was modified by installing more powerful Klimov engine and better armament.
Klimov was another developement of original Hispano engine. Incredible, how far this late 1920s engine got.