Morane-Saulnier Type L: "First Fighter"

Various aircraft have been described as the “first fighter”. Like a lot of discussions around technological firsts, it’s a somewhat pointless debate since the answer depends on what you consider important. The first purpose-built fighter was the Vickers F.B.5 Gunbus, though the slow, awkward two-seat pusher couldn’t keep up with its prey. The first effective fighter was the Fokker Eindecker, though its success had less to do with the airframe than with the German development of a reliable synchronization system that allowed its machine gun to fire through the propeller arc without hitting the blades.

You could make a case that the Morane-Saulnier Type L was the first fighter-like fighter, at least in the configuration developed for the French tennis star and pilot Roland Garros in 1915. This was the first high-performance, single-seat aircraft with a fixed forward-firing machine gun that the pilot aimed by maneuvering the aircraft.

Like the Gunbus and the Eindeckler, the Type L airframe predated the war. It was developed from the parasol-winged G-19 that first flew in 1913. This was part of a line of successful designs from the French firm Morane-Saulnier. The parasol arrangement refers to a single wing suspended by struts above the fuselage, a form well suited to observing the ground. The parasol configuration was common for monoplane fighters during the First World War and much of the Interwar Period.

The Type-L was designed as a two-seat aircraft, with pilot and observer seated back-to-back. The observer's relatively forward position made for a compact airframe. With the wing overhead, the observer's downward view was unimpeded by a lower wing as it would have been in a mid or low-wing tractor (front-engine) monoplane or biplane aircraft.

The Type-L used wing warping rather than ailerons for roll. Control cables attached to the trailing edge of a relatively thin and flexible wing were used to deform its surface. This form of wing warping, common on very early aircraft, had several disadvantages. The additional exposed cables added parasitic drag. Pressure from high speeds and/ or heavy control inputs could deform the thin wing in unexpected ways making it difficult to control the aircraft. The Type L’s direct successors, the Type LA and P, used ailerons as did most aircraft after this early period of the war.

The Type-L wasn’t an outstanding aircraft. It was notoriously difficult and dangerous to fly. It nevertheless saw service in over fifteen countries on both sides of the War. Licensed models were manufactured in Germany, Sweden and Russia.

First Fighter

The Type L is famous for being used by Roland Garros to shoot down three German aircraft in April of 1915. This was a special single-seat arrangement made for the tennis star that used a forward-firing Hotchkiss M1909 light machinegun, as well as an armoured propeller to deflect bullets. The French, like the Germans, had been developing a synchronization mechanism to permit a machine gun to fire between the spinning blades. However, it took the Entente powers substantially longer than the Germans to develop an arrangement that worked reliably. The armoured propeller was a compromise that subsequently also saw service on the purpose-built Type-N fighter.

Garros’ April spree was cut short when his aircraft was hit by ground fire and forced to land in German-held territory. He survived uninjured and was taken prisoner, but the aircraft was captured and studied by the Germans. The discovery prompted them to quickly put an interrupter gear-equipped aircraft into service. The Fokker Eindecker took a very heavy toll on Entente aircraft until an effective generation of Entente fighters, notably the French Nieuport 11 and the British Airco DH2, could be brought into service in 1916.

Ultimately, the Type L can be considered the starting gun in a race to develop aircraft for destroying opposing aircraft and defending one’s own. It introduced (or, perhaps, hastened) a new dimension of violence to the battlefields of the First World War.

The Model

This model is designed at 1/48 scale to be FDM printed with a standard .5mm nozzle. It would probably work nicely in SLA at 1/72. In that case, scale the parts by a factor of .667

The model is designed to be rigged. This is easiest with elasticized thread. The rigging used in the example was taken from an old gym sock. Instructions for rigging are provided below.

The Type L went through various changes over its service life. This model shows the modified version used by Garros. This is an early version  which has widely-spaced wheel struts when viewed from the side. If there's interest, I might design a version with the later narrow wheel strut arrangement. A Hotchkiss M1909 is modeled and the propeller is shown with deflector plates. Garros flew this modified aircraft without an observer in the second seat. It’s not clear whether the observer's place was left uncovered or whether the second seat was removed.

Garros’ modified aircraft did not have the normal cutout in the central rear portion of the wing. The completed model shown in the photos is incorrect in this respect. A second version of the fuselage with the suffix “NoCutout” will be added to correct this.  

Printing, Building, and Rigging the Model

Print the main fuselage part at .2mm layer height. You may be able to get away with finer layers, especially if your printer is well calibrated, but I can't guarantee it. The struts are challenging to print. Everything else can be printed as fine as you like. 

Building the model should be pretty straight forward. Cut away the supports with a side cutter. Just remember to remove the support delicately, and make sure that any stringing between the support and the model has been cut. The struts are thin and delicate. If you break one, glue it back together with CA glue. 

Once you have the parts separated from their supports, it may be a good idea to reinforce the struts by coating them lightly with Mod Podge or another slightly diluted PVA glue. 

Rigging is easier than it looks. It is easiest to work with elasticized thread. The model shown in the photos was rigged with thread from an old gym sock. You can find thinner thread at a sewing store. 

Follow the provided rigging diagram. Make sure that each hole in the wing is open using a needle or hobby drill bit. Pass a loop of thin copper wire through the hole and open the loop once it's through. Put an end of the thread through the loop and pull the wire and thread back through the other side. Secure the tread in the hold with a dab of CA glue. Secure the ends of the tread with CA glue. Trim the tread once it's dry. 

When using CA glue, it is easier to work with small amounts because they dry faster. Apply it with a toothpick. Once the thread is in place you can secure it with more glue.

This is the order of operations that I would follow when building this model:

1) Remove the parts from the supports and finish them with sandpaper or files to remove stringing and imperfections. It's easiest to paint the model if it's printed in white. 

2) Prime the model with Mod Podge or diluted PVA glue. 

3) Paint the model. It works well to outline the wing ribs and edges in light grey then paint over this with very light coats of yellow-white until the grey highlights are barely visible. For any metallic parts, paint them in glossy black before applying metallic paint.  

4) Rig the model.

A couple of parts have been added to make painting easier:

The prop centre part is there to make it easier to paint the metallic centre of the propeller. File back the centre on the prop and glue on the painted part. 

The wheel mask helps make a smooth circular border around the tire. Paint it black and glue it at the centre of each side of the wheel with PVA glue.