01/31/2012. Flown for the first time on February 8, 1936, the Morane-Saulnier M.S.350 was a small single-seat open-cockpit aerobatic biplane with equal-span wings, the independent main legs of the fixed landing gear being fully faired and fitted with streamlined wheel spats. Powered initially by a Renault 453/01 engine, the prototype was soon fitted with a 220 hp Renault Bengali 6Q/01 inverted four-cylinder in-line engine.

Despite lack of service orders for the type, the M.S.350 gained a remarkable reputation thanks to a series of breathtaking demonstrations by the famous French aerobatic and test pilot Michel Détroyat at air shows in France and Switzerland in the period up to September 1939. The aircraft was then much modified and fitted with a new Zenith carburettor to permit prolonged inverted flight.

Recovered from storage post-war the M.S.350 was reregistered as F-BDYL to Jean René Cliquet of Lourdes; two years later, May 25, 1956, it was registered to Morane-Saulnier at Puteaux. It saw limited use till December 8, 1964 when it was damaged beyond repair in Italy and subsequently scrapped. The registration was cancelled on February 3, 1965.