Morane-Saulnier G

The Morane-Saulnier G was a two-seat sport and racing monoplane built in France before the First World War. It developed the racing monoplanes designed by Leon Morane and Raymond Saulnier after they left Borel, and like them was a wire-braced, shoulder-wing monoplane of fabric-covered wood, except for steel tube undercarriage struts. It was a sporting success: Roland Garros took second place in the first Schneider Cup in April 1913 in a floatplane version, and on 28 September 1913 he became the first person to cross the Mediterranean by air, flying from Frejus to Bizerte. Licence production was arranged in Russia, Sweden and Britain, and when some aircraft were modified with parasol wings the result became the basis for the Morane-Saulnier L. A Type G is preserved at the Museo del Aire in Madrid.