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SPAD S.XI

1917 WORLD WAR 1

History of SPAD S. XI

Frenchman Louis Bechereau's storied engineering career spanned decades and featured several popular designs during the First World War (1914-1918). Hired by Armand Deperdussin as design director for the Societe de Production des Airplanes Deperdussin ("S.P.A.D."), Bechereau provided the early SPAD S.VII and later the SPAS S.XIII.

Between these two well-known designs, the oft-forgotten SPAD S. XI was a two-seat reconnaissance biplane that attempted to meet the C2 specification of the Air France service. The SPAD S. XI did not prove to be an absolute success like other SPAD designs and only had a short wartime shelf life, suffering from problems throughout its career.

This resulted in a rather limited production range of around 1,000 aircraft in the series.

To meet the requirements of the French Air Service (Aeronautique Militaire), Bechereau tried to continue the proven qualities of his previous single-seat biplane. A longer fuselage was required when a second observer/gunner cockpit was installed behind the pilot. Parts of the wings were cut away for better visibility, while many other qualities of the design were kept in line with the times - front-engine driven twin-blade wooden propellers, parallel struts and cables to strengthen and control "up and down" wing structure and belts Conventional fin with fin. The landing gear is drivable, although connected by reinforced struts, and the stern is supported by a simple skid. The pilot receives a fixed forward-firing 7.7mm Vickers series machine gun, and the observer can The optional 7.7mm Lewis machine gun is operated on a training stand.

The aircraft appears under the company designation "SPAD 11", also written as SPAD S. XI.

Power for the S. XI is provided by a 200-horsepower Hispano-Suiza 8Bc Series water-cooled V-8 engine, with a top speed of 112 mph, a mission duration of approximately 2.25 hours, and a service cap which is reported to be at 23,000 A climb rate of 9,850 feet at 9,850 feet was achieved in approximately 12.5 minutes. Some airframes also feature a Renault 12-cylinder engine instead of the Hispano-Suiza unit mentioned above, although this powerplant actually reduces performance figures and is unpopular.

SPAD S. XI entered the war in 1917 and ultimately proved unsuccessful. The improved single-seat fighter featured a larger two-seat design that made the airframe difficult to maneuver, while the performance of the chosen engine proved to be mediocre.

The characteristics of this type replaced some existing types that were in service with the French Armed Forces at that time, allowing the aircraft to still be used in large numbers. It remained on the cutting edge until the fall of 1918 when it was replaced by the SPAD S. XVI - itself a direct descendant of the S. XI, albeit with a 250 hp Lorraine-Dietrich engine.

These turned out to be no better than the originals, but still in action.

Operators outside of Air France's services became Belgium, Italy, Japan, Russia (in Soviet times), Uruguay and the United States (American Expeditionary Force - "AEF").