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{{Short description|French WW1 fighter aircraft}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{|{{Infobox aircraft begin
 | name=AI (MoS.27, MoS.29 & MoS.30)
 | image=Ferte-Alais Air Show 2004 19.jpg
}}{{Infobox aircraft type
 | type=fighter/trainer
 | national origin=[[France]]
 |manufacturer=[[Morane-Saulnier]]
 | first flight=August 1917
 | introduced=February 1918
 | retired=
 | status=
 |primary user=[[French Air Force]]
 | number built=1210<ref name="Donald"/>
 | developed from= [[Morane-Saulnier AC]]
 | variants with their own articles=
}}
|}

The '''Morane-Saulnier AI''' (also '''MoS.27''', '''MoS.29''' and '''MoS.30''') is a French [[Monoplane#Parasol|parasol-wing]] fighter aircraft that was produced by [[Morane-Saulnier]] during World War I.<ref group=note name=designations>Morane-Saulnier used letters for designations, while official government designations used numbers. Contemporary use was generally in Roman numerals, as MoS.XXVII, MoS.XXIX and MoS.XXX, but Arabic numerals were also used. Both MS and MoS were used interchangeably as an abbreviation of Morane-Saulnier.</ref>

==Development and design==
The AI evolved via the AC from the [[Morane-Saulnier Type N]], but with a parasol wing. It had a rigidly braced wing with ailerons replacing the N's wing warping. It was intended to replace the [[Nieuport 17]] and [[SPAD VII]] in French service, in competition against the [[SPAD XIII]] and [[Nieuport 28]]. It was ordered as a back-up for the SPAD XIII, in case the ongoing problems with its Hispano-Suiza continued to be unresolved. 

Its [[Gnome Monosoupape]] ''9N'' {{cvt|120|kW}} [[rotary engine]] was mounted in the nose, in a tight fitting circular open-front cowling. The strut braced constant chord two-spar parasol wing was slightly swept back, and fitted with horn-balanced [[aileron]]s. The spars and ribs of the circular section teardrop-shaped fuselage were wood, wire-braced and covered in fabric, and faired out with wood stringers.<ref name="Holmes"/> Unlike most previous Morane-Saulnier designs, the AI's fuselage did not end in a horizontal knife edge, but rather came to a point which extended to the rear of the rudder and elevators. 

Production aircraft were given service designations based on whether they had 1 [[Vickers machine gun]] (designated ''MoS 27''), 2 Vickers guns (designated ''MoS 29'') or none (designated ''MoS.30'').<ref name="Donald">Donald 1997, p. 659.</ref><ref name="Lamberton"/>

==Operational history==
[[File:Morane-Saulnier AI with the French Air Force.jpg|thumb|French Morane-Saulnier AI]]
The AI was briefly operated by a number of escadrilles from February 1918, but by mid-May 1918, most had been withdrawn from operations, and replaced by [[SPAD XIII]]s due to structural problems.<ref name="Holmes">Holmes, 2005. p 36.</ref> After that problem had been resolved, the aircraft were returned to service, but as advanced trainers, with new purpose-built examples being designated ''MoS 30 E.1''.<ref name="Lamberton">Lamberton 1960, p. 84.</ref> Many were used post-war after having been sold off as surplus, as aerobatic aircraft, including one which was flown by [[Charles Nungesser]] for a tour across the US.

Fifty-one MoS 30 E.1s were purchased by the [[American Expeditionary Force]] as pursuit trainers.<ref name="Lamberton"/>

==Variants==
;[[Morane-Saulnier AC|MoS.23 C.1/AC]]
:Rigidly-braced shoulder-wing monoplane precursor.
;MoS 27 C.1
:Fighter variant with one {{cvt|7.7|mm|3}} [[Vickers machine gun]] and powered by a {{cvt|120|kW}}  [[Gnome Monosoupape 9N]] or NI rotary engine.
;[[Morane-Saulnier AF|MoS 28 C.1/AF/AFH]]
:Biplane derivative with a {{cvt|120|kW}} [[Gnome Monosoupape 9N]] rotary engine. The AFH sub-variant was fitted with floats and intended for shipboard use.
;MoS 29 C.1
:Fighter variant with two {{cvt|7.7|mm|3}} Vickers machine guns and powered by a {{cvt|120|kW}}  [[Gnome Monosoupape 9N]] or NI rotary engine.
;MoS 30 E.1
:Unarmed single seat advanced trainer with either a {{cvt|90|kW}} [[le Rhone 9Jb]] or a {{cvt|100|kW}} [[le Rhone 9Jby]] rotary engine.
;MoS 30bis E.1
:Variant of the MoS 30 with a de-rated {{cvt|67|kW}} [[le Rhone 9Jby]].

In addition one undesignated example was built with a wood monocoque fuselage, and fitted with a {{cvt|130|kW}} Le Rhone 9R rotary and two {{cvt|7.7|mm|3}} Vickers machine guns. 

Post-war, examples in civilian use were re-engined with the {{cvt|100|kW}} Clerget 9Ba rotary engine in a shorter cowling.

==Operators==
[[File:Morane-Saulnier AI with the Belgian Air Force.jpg|thumb|Belgian Morane-Saulnier AI]]
In addition to military operators, the Morane-Saulnier AI was popular with French aerobatic pilots and a number carried civil registrations.
;{{BEL}}
*[[Belgian Air Force]]
[[File:Morane-Saulnier AI with the Swiss Air Force.jpg|thumb|Swiss Morane-Saulnier AI]]
;{{CSK}}
*[[Czechoslovak Air Force]] – operated a single MoS.30.
;{{FRA}}
*[[French Air Force]]
**[[Escadrille 156|Escadrille MS 156]]
**[[Escadrille 158|Escadrille MS 158]]
**[[Escadrille 161|Escadrille MS 161]]
;{{JPN}} 
*[[Imperial Japanese Army Air Service]] – evaluated a single MoS.30 in 1922.
;{{USSR}}
*[[Soviet Air Force]] – four aircraft, used for tests and trials.
;{{SUI}}
*[[Swiss Air Force]] – operated at least one aircraft.
;{{USA}}
*[[American Expeditionary Force]] – operated 51 MoS.30 trainers.

==Survivors==
[[File:Morane-Saulnier AI, Fantasy Of Flight Museum.jpg|thumb|Morane-Saulnier AI at Fantasy Of Flight]]
Three AIs are flown from [[La Ferté-Alais]].<ref name="Donald"/>

The [[Fantasy of Flight]] collection in [[Polk City, Florida]] has an AI tested by the United States Army Air Service in 1918 at McCook Field in Ohio until being sold off for private use. It subsequently joined the Tallmantz Collection which was then acquired by Fantasy of Flight in 1985 and restored in the late 1980s.<ref>[http://www.fantasyofflight.com/aircraftpages/morane.htm "Morane A1."] ''Fantasy of Flight.'' Retrieved: 25 March 2012.</ref>

Another AI, formerly flown by [[Charles Nungesser]] is at the [[Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome]], and was flown in the weekend airshows there.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://oldrhinebeck.org/ORA/morane-saulnier-a-1/ | title=Morane-Saulnier A-I | date=24 February 2021 }}</ref>

==Specifications (MoS 27 C.1, 150 hp Monosoupape)==
[[File:Morane-Saulnier MS.30E.1 or AI colour 3-view drawing.jpg|thumb|Morane-Saulnier MS.30E.1 or AI, as aerobatic aircraft]]
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=War Planes of the First World War: Volume Five Fighters<ref name="Bruce v5p122-3">Bruce 1973, pp. 122–123.</ref>
|prime units? = met
|crew=1
|length m=5.65
|span m=8.51
|height m=2.40
|wing area sqm=13.39
|empty weight kg=421
|gross weight kg=649
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=[[Gnome Monosoupape 9N]]
|eng1 kw=112
|max speed kmh=225
|endurance=1 hours 45 minutes
|ceiling m=7,000
|ceiling note=<ref>Angelucci 1983, p. 45.</ref>
|time to altitude=2 minutes to {{cvt|1000|m}}
|guns =1 x {{cvt|7.7|mm|3}} [[Vickers machine gun]] forward of cockpit, later MoS.29 had two Vickers, and the MoS.30 trainer was unarmed.
}}
<!-- ==See also== -->
{{aircontent
<!-- include as many lines are appropriate. additional lines/entries with carriage return. -->
|see also=
|related=<!-- related developments -->
|similar aircraft=<!-- similar or comparable aircraft -->
*[[Kondor E 3]]
*[[Fokker D.VIII]]
*[[LFG Roland D.XVI]]

|lists=<!-- related lists -->
}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=note}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* Angelucci, Enzo. ''The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, 1914-1980.'' San Diego, California: The Military Press, 1983. {{ISBN|0-517-41021-4}}.
* Bruce, J.M. ''War Planes of the First World War: Volume Five Fighters.'' London: Macdonald, 1972. {{ISBN|0-356-03779-7}}.
*{{cite book|last=Bruce|first=J.M.|title=Morane-Saulnier Type AI|series=Windsock Mini Datafile 5|publisher=Albatros Publications|location=Herts, UK|year=1989|isbn=9780948414831}}
* {{cite book|last1=Davilla|first1=Dr. James J.|last2=Soltan|first2=Arthur |title=French Aircraft of the First World War|publisher=Flying Machines Press|location=Mountain View, CA|year=1997|isbn=978-1891268090}}
* Donald, David, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft.'' Ottawa, Canada: Prospero Books, 1997. p.&nbsp;659. {{ISBN|1-85605-375-X}}.
* Holmes, Tony. ''Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide''. London: Harper Collins, 2005. p.&nbsp;36. {{ISBN|0-00-719292-4}}.
*{{cite journal |last1=Kotelnikov|first1=V.|last2=Kulikov|first2=V.|last3=Cony|first3=C.|name-list-style=amp |title=Les avions français en URSS, 1921–1941 |journal=Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire |date=December 2001 |issue=105 |pages=50–56 |trans-title=French Aircraft in the USSR, 1921–1941 |language=fr |issn=1243-8650}}
* Lamberton, W.M. ''Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War.'' Herts, UK: Harleyford Publications Ltd., 1960, pp.&nbsp;84–85.

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Lacaze |first1=Henri |last2=Lherbert |first2=Claude |title=Morane Saulnier: ses avions, ses projets |date=2013 |publisher=Lela Presse |location=Outreau, France |isbn=978-2-914017-70-1 |language=fr|name-list-style=amp|trans-title=Morane Saulnier: Their Aircraft and Projects}}
*{{cite book |last1=Owers |first1=Colin A. |title=French Warplanes of WWI: A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes |date=2020 |publisher=Aeronaut Books |location=n.p. |isbn=978-1-935881-93-3|volume=1: Fighters|series=Gret War Aviation Centennial Series (43)}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Morane-Saulnier AI}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlW4lzbNYVo Cole Palen flying Old Rhinebeck's Morane AI in early August 1990]

{{Morane-Saulnier aircraft}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1910s French fighter aircraft]]
[[Category:Morane-Saulnier aircraft|AI]]
[[Category:1910s French military trainer aircraft]]
[[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Parasol-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1917]]
[[Category:Rotary-engined aircraft]]