MORANE SAULNIER MS-410C.1 - FRANCE & FINLAND - 1940/1942

Description

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 was a French fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Morane-Saulnier starting in 1938. It was France’s most numerous fighter during the Second World War and one of only two French designs to exceed 1,000 in number. At the beginning of the war, it was one of only two French-built aircraft capable of 400 km/h (250 mph) – the other being the Potez 630. While the M.S.406 was entering squadron service in 1939, an upgrade series was initiated with the aim of improving the design. The result was the M.S.410, which included the adoption of a stronger wing, simpler fixed radiator in place of the earlier retractable design, an arrangement of four belt-fed MAC guns in place of the earlier pair of drum-fed weapons, and the fitting of exhaust ejectors for additional thrust.[26] The added thrust boosted the top speed to 509 km/h (316 mph; 275 kn), resulting in an improvement of about 16 km/h (10 mph; 9 kn) over the M.S.406. Production of the M.S.410 had only just started when France fell during June 1940, by which point only five examples of the type had been completed. Production was allowed to continue under German supervision, converting earlier 406s to the 410 standard, but many of these aircraft received only the new wings. Altogether, a total of 74 planes were modified. Finland "Ilmavoimat" (Finish air force) received 76 M.S.406 and 11 M.S.410. (Scale : 1/72e)