J.Davilla Italian Aviation in the First World War. Vol.2: Aircraft A-H (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 74)

Ducrot S.L.D.

  Commendatore Vittorio Ducrot had suggested to the military authorities that they convert his furniture manufacturing business to war production to make torpedo boats and seaplanes. The technical staff of Turin’s “Direzione Tecnica dell Aviazione Militare” was sent to the firm to assist in the company’s aircraft production plans. FBA Type Hs flying boats, Savoia S.8s and S.9s were already being built. In 1918 200 Macchi M.7 fighter flying boats were also ordered, but apparently none had been completed by the end of the war. During the wartime Ducrot had completed over 500 aircraft and a large amount of spare parts.
  Like many factories, Ducrot had been manufacturing aircraft and spare parts since February 1916 and now wanted to try its hand at creating an all-new design. The S.L.D. fighter would help to replace the Nieuport fighters in service, as well as the Hanriot HD.1s coming into service. The SPAD 7s and 13s were to be purchased directly from the Bleriot SPAD firm which resulted in delayed deliveries and a cash drain on the country. Therefore, an indigenous Italian design that was equivalent to those fighters would be most welcome by the Italian military and generate significant sales.
  This is why, early in 1917 the Ducrot plant in Palermo (Sicily) began to develop a single seat fighter designated S.L.D.: S for Manlio Stiavelli (the designer), L for Guido Luzzatti (designer) and D for Ducrot (manufacturer).
  The S.L.D. fighter had a streamlined fuselage of monocoque construction and with a very small cross section which was suspended between the wings. The skin was made from moulded layers of birch ply, layered at 45° angles for maximum strength. The equal span wings had a single interplane strut per side and the minimum of bracing wires to reduce the drag.
  The prototype was equipped with a 200-hp Hispano Suiza 35 engine. Another machine was built for static tests.
  Completed in summer 1918, the S.L.D. flew for the first time during the following October, too late to complete its test program before the general slowdown of aeronautical industrial activity decreed by the Commissariato dell Aeronautica shortly after the armistice.


Ducrot S.L.D. single-seat fighter with one 200-hp Hispano Suiza 35 engine
  Wingspan 7.80 m; length 7.00 m; wing area 22.00 sq m
  Empty weight 610 kg;
  Loaded weight 810 kg; payload 200 kg
  Maximum speed 300 km/h; climb to 5,000 m 13 minutes 10 seconds (another source states 10 minutes); ceiling 7,000 m