page_title: Morane-Saulnier MS.760 Paris
section_title: Operational history
hierarchical_section_title: Morane-Saulnier MS.760 Paris / Operational history
caption_attribution_description: English: Morane-Saulnier MS-760C Pari III at the Paris Air Show
context_page_description: The Morane-Saulnier MS.760 Paris is a French four-seat jet trainer and liaison aircraft designed and manufactured by Morane-Saulnier.
  The Paris was based upon an earlier proposed trainer aircraft, the MS.755 Fleuret. Following the failure of the French Air Force to select the Fleuret, Morane-Saulnier opted to develop the design into a liaison aircraft and compact business jet. The primary difference between the two designs was the altered seating arrangement, the original side-by-side seating two-seat cockpit was modified to allow for the addition of another row of two seats to accommodate passengers. The Paris retained the flight characteristics of the Fleuret along with the option for installing armaments, which maintained its potential for use as a military trainer as well for civil aviation. On 29 July 1954, the prototype performed the type's maiden flight.
  The primary operator of the Paris was the French air services, who used the type for liaison purposes between 1959 and 1997.
context_section_description: On 18 July 1956, the French government requisitioned a batch of 50 aircraft, including 14 of which that were destined for the Navy, from Morane-Saulnier. The first plane was delivered on 9 February 1959 to Naval Air Station (N.A.S.) Dugny-Le Bourget, before going to the C.E.P.A. (directly translated as Aeronautical Practical Experiment Center - in English this would probably be "Flight Test Centre") in 1959-60, for the flight tests necessary to develop training programs and materials. The type was also purchased by several countries such as Brazil and Argentina; 36 planes were license-built by Fabrica Militar de Aviones (FMA) in Argentina. The MS.760B Paris II, with various systems improvements and integral fuel tanks in the leading edges of the wing, first flew on 12 December 1960.
  Between September 1962 and November 1974, a fleet of six MS.760Bs were flown on training duties by the Rijksluchtvaartschool based at Groningen Airport in the north of the Netherlands. From 1958 to the early 1970s, a single MS 760 was used as a flying classroom at the "College of Aeronautics" at Cranfield, United Kingdom; the aircraft was equipped to study stability and control together with performance as part of the MSc course.
  The 14 MS.760 were assigned to Flight 11.S from 9 February 1959 onwards. The last plane, No. 88, was delivered on 27 July 1961. In 1965, MS.760 No. 48 was briefly assigned to Flight 3.S based at N.A.S Hyères. From 1970 onwards, all the 12 remaining MS.760s were assigned to Flight 2.S based at N.A.S. Lann-Bihoué. During May 1972, these aircraft were dispatched to the S.R.L. On 1 September 1981, this unit became Flight 57.S. Their missions were to provide various forms of training, such as Dassault Super Étendard and Vought F-8 Crusader pilot instrument flight rules (IFR) flight, all-weather flights, advanced training for new pilots, proficiency training for other pilots and A.L.P.A. (admirals commanding the carriers and Naval Aviation), and first and second Aerial Regions liaisons. Eight MS.760 Paris were on the unit's flightline. During October 1997, following 40 years of service, the aircraft were retired at Landivisiau Naval Air Station.
  The MS.760s of the Argentine Air Force performed active combat operations during the suppression of the 1963 Argentine Navy Revolt, during which they were used to bomb a rebel-held radio station as well as the Punta Indio naval airfield, resulting in the destruction of several aircraft on the ground. During 2007, after 48 years of continuous service, the Argentine Air Force retired their last Paris.
  During 2009, a private company, JetSet International Ltd, purchased in excess of 30 retired MS760s from the French and Argentinian governments, along with the acquisition of the type certificate, tooling, components, engineering plans and drawings from SOCATA, the successor company to Morane-Saulnier. The company reportedly had ambitions to refurbish existing airframes and to install current-generation jet engines and avionics for the purpose of selling them on to operators for approximately $550,000. That same year, a new two-ship aerial demonstration team, called Team MS760 Aerobatics, was formed, intending to use a pair of the refurbished aircraft.
caption: The sole MS.760C Paris III six-seat aircraft at the Paris Air Show in June 1967
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