Designed as a pre-war racer, the Morane Saulnier Type N sacrificed nearly everything for speed, (just over 100 mph was blisteringly fast in 1913). Built for straight-line speed, stability and manoeuvrability characteristics suffered. The ‘N’ were a handful to fly, but was fast for its time. When war broke out the following year, aircraft were used for observation and proved invaluable in that role. Shortly thereafter, the need yo deny the enemy the benefits of aerial observation became important. The Germans soon introduced the Fokker Eindecker with its single synchronized machine gun firing straight ahead through the propeller. While lacking a synchronized gun of their own, the French began experimenting with armoured propellers designed to deflect bullets fired through the propeller arc. First tried on the parasol wing Morane Saulnier Type L, bullet deflectors were soon fitted to the propellers of the Type Ns, which had been pressed into service as fast scouts.
