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A privately owned Alcyon wearing markings of No 51 Escadrilles de Servitude | |
Role | Basic trainer |
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National origin | France |
Manufacturer | Morane-Saulnier |
First flight | 1949 |
Status | Several flown by private owners |
Primary user | French Air Force |
Number built | 208 |
The Morane-Saulnier Alcyon (en: Kingfisher) is a two or three-seat basic training monoplane designed and built in France by Morane-Saulnier...
The production version that followed was designated the MS.733, with five pre-production aircraft and 200 production aircraft. The aircraft were delivered to the French Navy , the French Air Force and the Cambodian Air Force . Seventy of the French Air Force aircraft were fitted with machine guns for gunnery training and some of these were later converted for counter-insurgency operations (and re-designated MS.733A) for use in Algeria. After the war, some aircraft were sold to Morocco.
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MS.733A MS.733 gunnery trainers modified for counter-insurgency role; it served from 1955 to 1959. It was replaced by the T-28S Fennec The COIN upgrade included a SFOM 83 reflector sight (suspended from the cockpit roof), two x 7.5mm MAC 1934/M39 machine guns in the wings (with 500 rounds each), and two under-wing hardpoints. Typical hardpoint loadout used paired Matra Type 14 rocket rails, which held four (stacked 2 x 2) SERAM 28 kg (62 lb) T10 heavy rockets and had a smaller hardpoint between the rocket rails rated for a 50 kg (110 lb) bomb.
Morane-Saulnier Alcyon (en: Kingfisher) is a two or three-seat basic training monoplane aircraft.
Morane-Saulnier Alcyon (en: Kingfisher) is a two or three-seat basic training monoplane aircraft.