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With Swiss seal of approval...

The Morane Saulnier MS 406

From original to model

An independent part of the collections of the Hanover-Laatzen Aviation Museum are the more than 1,000 scale models, primarily of the international standards 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32.

Such true-to-original miniatures allow viewers of museum technology history to gain an ‘overview’, not only of the individual exhibit (sometimes even as the only possibility of a real three-dimensional display if there is no surviving original), but also of lines of development in aircraft construction by means of possible sequencing and juxtaposition. Sometimes they even close gaps in the presentation of the originals. The quality of their craftsmanship alone is a pleasure to behold.

Today, in our ‘Model of the Month’ section, we present the Morane Saulnier MS 406, the most important fighter aircraft of the French Air Force in 1940 and, as an export and licence-built aircraft, also the backbone of the Swiss Air Force beyond the Second World War. 

The Aviation Museum is displaying a 1/72 scale miniature in the colours of the Swiss Confederation from 1939 in its model showcases in Hall 1.

Our 1/72 scale model of the French standard fighter. The Swiss Army tested the type and decided to introduce it and build it under licence. The miniature shows such an MS 406, named D.3800 in Switzerland.

The model: 

The 39-part kit with decal set from the British company FROG dates from the early 1960s. Understandable tolerances in the accuracy of fit and a somewhat rough detailing in places required a little rework, so we filled here and there and fitted the cockpit with control sticks, rudders and an instrument panel. The antenna wire was made from plastic flash. Apart from that, the model was built ‘right out of the box’ or from the plastic bag in which most ‘small’ kits from British companies were sold at the time: After all, we wanted to see the double history - of the original as well as the kit - documented...

Layout of the kit in 1/72nd scale. The kit in the 1968 edition offered a colourful version of the Swiss Air Force in addition to the French Air Force.

The original: 

Designed in 1935 as a further development of the Morane Saulnier MS 405, tested in 1936 and put into service with the Armée de l'Air in 1938, the MS 406, a single-seat, single-engine, low-wing monoplane of mixed construction, became the standard fighter aircraft of the French armed forces until its capitulation in 1940, with over 1,000 units delivered. Powered by a 12-cylinder in-line Hispano-Suiza HS-12 Y-31 engine, it reached speeds of 485 km/h and, with a 20 mm motorised cannon and two 7.5 mm machine guns in the wings, was quite well armed at the beginning of the Second World War. Its performance characteristics were probably similar to those of the Hawker Hurricane.

In fact, until the collapse of the Allied front in June 1940, the type's firing successes and own losses were in balance, which neutral Switzerland must have noted with friendly interest, as the Swiss had already decided in 1938, after purchasing and testing a few examples of the MS 406, to introduce it into their air force under the designation D.3800 and, as D.3801, even to further develop it under licence. This type was then, among other things, more strongly motorised, replaced the grinding spur at the tail with a wheel and had a modified weapon installation with a smooth wing edge. In addition to around 80 of the original French version, a total of 207 examples of the D.3801 were put into service with the Flugwaffe, built by DoFlug Altenrhein, a subsidiary of Dornier-Werke on the Swiss side of Lake Constance, among others.

Compact, but not inelegant. The MS 406 is a good example of the first powerful ‘modern’ fighter aircraft of the early 1930s.

Together with its opponent in the Battle of France, the German Messerschmitt Bf 109, the MS 406 formed the backbone of Swiss air defence during the war years - both types were used in the proverbial ‘armed neutrality’ to intercept and land foreign aircraft in Swiss airspace, which incidentally did not always take place without the use of weapons...

Under construction and during the extensive painting work for the eye-catching neutrality livery. The decals of that version only included white crosses and the identification. The kit comes from the Aviation Museum's large collection of model kits.

After the summer of 1940, the ‘406’ continued to fly in the French air force of the Vichy government as well as in the Free French Army in Exile and with various allies of the German Reich, such as the Bulgarian and Finnish armed forces, which were equipped with captured war material. In Switzerland, both types, the D.3800 and D.3801, were operated in decreasing numbers and tasks well into the 1950s.

Bottom view of our model with the antenna mast folded in. By today's standards, the poor detailing of the cab and the undercarriage bays in particular was standard until the early 1980s, especially in this kit class. 

Datenblatt der MS 406

Einsitziger einmotoriger Jäger in Gemischtbauweise: Metall/ Holz/ Leinwand. Tiefdecker mit geschlossenem Cockpit und Einziehfahrwerk. Länge 8,17 m, Spannweite 10,61 m, Startmasse 2.500 kg, Reichweite rund 800 km, Antrieb 1 x Hispano Suiza HS-12 Y-31 mit 860 PS, 3-Blatt-Verstelluftschraube, Höchstgeschwindigkeit 485 km/h in 5.000 m Höhe. Bewaffnung 1 x 20 mm MK, 2 x 7,5 mm MG.

In front of the hangar, ready to defend the Swiss air against any intruder. The prominent neutral colouring could not always prevent the sharp use of weapons..

Hereinspaziert!

Konnten wir Sie neugierig machen auf unsere Sammlungen mit über 40 Originalen und originalgetreuen Nachbauten, noch einmal so vielen Triebwerken und Hunderten von Ausrüstungsgegenständen sowie unserer Modellsammlung? Dann freuen wir uns auf Ihren Besuch in der Ulmer Straße am hannoverschen Messegelände: Wir sehen uns!   

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You can contact the author of the Model of the Month series here: Autor-MdM