Morane N armament

[Mark66]

Hi all

I wonder If I can get some definite info on the armament for the Morane-Saulnier type N. There are web-photos showing Type Ns with each of the three main Allied types, Hotchkiss, Vickers and Lewis. The general conclusion I draw from the pics is as follows:
French typically used the Hotchkiss.
RFC users in 1916 used a Lewis.
The Vickers looks to have been just too bulky, based on the one pic I've seen.

But none of this is actual data - just my impression. Does anyone have info regarding 'normal' armament for this early fighter?

Mark66

[Old Man]

Regarding the Type N, Sir, you have it pretty much right: Hotchkiss for French machines and Lewis for English ones.

The matter is complicated when looking at photographs because there is no ready 'tell' to distinguish between the airframe of the Type N, with its 80 hp motor, and the later versions with 110 hp motors, the Type I and Type V. English 110 hp Moranes were fitted with a Vickers gun, synchronized (probably with the French Alkan gear). Only about a half dozen or so were at the front, after the start of the Somme fighting, and they were withdrawn by September. Czarist Russia employed a number of 110 hp Morane 'Bullet' types, and these generally carried a Vickers gun.

[Mark66]

Thanks Old Man (sounds like a line straight out of a RFC mess!)

Mark66