Morane-Saulnier MS.1500 Épervier

The Morane-Saulnier MS.1500 Épervier, meaning Sparrowhawk, was a French two-seat ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft of the 1950s, designed and built by Morane-Saulnier to meet a French Air Force requirement for a tactical reconnaissance and counter-insurgency aircraft for use in Algeria. It was a tandem two-seat low-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed tailwheel landing gear, and it was to be powered by a Turbomeca Bastan turboprop of about 700 horsepower. The first prototype flew on 12 May 1958 with a smaller 402 horsepower Turbomeca Marcadau turboprop, and a second prototype was built, but the type did not enter production. It was designed to carry six rocket pods and six 50 kilogram anti-personnel bombs.