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SPAD S.A

1915 WORLD WAR 1

SPAD S. A Story

The French-born SPAD SA was developed as a "combat reconnaissance aircraft" that briefly served in armed reconnaissance missions during the First World War (1914-1918). The series was introduced in 1915, when the Allies were a long way from having a viable synchronizer/interrupt device (allowing machine guns to fire through spinning propeller blades).

Societe Pour L'Aviation et ses Derives (S.P.A.D.) offered the A-Series Scouts as a hasty solution with sufficient frontal firepower that previous attempts lacked. It houses the observer/gunner in an open-air cabin in front of the nose and propeller blades/engines - the pilot maintains control of the aircraft from the traditional tail position and below the upper wing assembly.

The SPAD S.A was the company's first military aircraft, and it would go on to produce some of the more classic biplanes throughout the conflict.

At least two aircraft made up the SG variant, which replaced the gunner with a nacelle-mounted machine gun. One is a new build and the other is converted from existing stock.

The S.H was a proposed form that died out as a serial fighter - however, it did set the stage for future SPAD biplanes to some extent.

As a double-wing design, the S.A series retains several traditional features. Biplane wing assemblies use upper and lower wing sections connected by parallel struts and appropriate cables. The wheeled landing gear is also connected by sturdy struts and cables, while the stern is supported by a simple skid. The fuselage of the aircraft is rounded at the front, plate-side along its length, and covered at the rear by a small long vertical tail. The horizontal stabilizer is mounted on the front of the rudder and in the middle.

Dimensions include a length of 7.29 meters and a wingspan of 9.55 meters.

In practice, the design of A.2 has been found to have many limitations. Communication between the two - both in the open cockpit - was hampered by engine and wind noise, not to mention the chaos encountered in mid-air firefights. The pilot's field of view is limited by the main planes of the upper and lower wings and the extended nose section, which is not helpful for landing, take-off and combat.

Additionally, the position of the nose gunner - and activation in a fragile nacelle structure - made the landing maneuver very dangerous for the crew. In addition to this, the A.2 hardly saw any combat action in the early stages of the French air battle.

Many A.2s were soon shipped to Allied Russia as newer and better mounts arrived in France. Production spanned from 1915 to 1916, although only 107 were delivered. In Russian hands, the A.2 saw a slightly more useful, longer lifespan, as the country had no fighter jets available to fight Germany and the heart of Austria-Hungary.

However, it is important to note that even the Russian pilots did not take this French creation very seriously. The A.2 continued to fly the Soviet flag under the care of the "Worker and Peasant Aviation Fleet" and was finally abandoned.