А.Шепс Самолеты Первой мировой войны. Страны Антанты

SPAD SA.2 1915 г.

   Проект этого самолета созрел у известного французского конструктора М. Бешеро еще перед войной. Он предполагал, что с началом боевых действий понадобится самолет для борьбы с самолетами противника. Для обеспечения обстрела переднего сектора было желательно установить пулемет в носовой части. Кроме этого, машина должна быть легкой и маневренной.
   Эту задачу М. Бешеро решил довольно оригинально. Кабина стрелка была вынесена перед винтомоторной установкой одностоечного биплана. Она крепилась системой стоек и раскосов в обход диска винта. Фюзеляж и кабина имели деревянный каркас. Кабина и капот двигателя облицовывались алюминиевым листом, а хвостовая часть - полотном.
   Кабина стрелка имела полутурель со шкворневой установкой 7,69-мм пулемета "Льюис" или 7,62-мм "Мадсен". От вращения винта стрелка защищала специальная решетка. Крепление кабины осуществлялось двумя деревянными V-образными стойками, а металлическими раскосами к центроплану. Пилот располагался за двигателем и топливным баком, по задней кромке крыла, в котором был сделан вырез для лучшего обзора.
   Крыло двухлонжеронное, деревянной конструкции, обтягивалось полотном. Стойки деревянные, крепились тросовыми расчалками и легкими полустойками в местах пересечения расчалок.
   Оперение обычной схемы, нерегулируемое. Стабилизатор трапециевидной формы и треугольный киль, а также рулевые поверхности имели деревянный каркас и обтягивались полотном.
   Шасси жесткое, на V-образных деревянных стойках с хвостовым костылем. На самолете устанавливался 7-цилиндровый, воздушного охлаждения, звездообразный, ротативный "Гном" (80 л. с.), на некоторых машинах "Гном-Моносупап" (100 л. с.).
   Для обслуживания двигателя кабина стрелка откидывалась вперед. Позднее на самолете установили двигатель "Рон" (110 л. с.).
   Первый вылет самолет совершил 21 мая 1915 года, и сразу же началось серийное производство. Всего построено более 100 машин всех модификаций. Но схема самолета оказалась не очень удачной: во-первых, при капотировании или повреждении крепления кабины стрелок подвергался смертельной опасности, во-вторых, машина была довольно тяжелой, и поэтому при
низкой скорости и большом радиусе виража ее невозможно было считать полноценным истребителем. Появление же сначала отсекателей, а затем синхронизатора позволило создать машины с лучшими летными характеристиками. Большая часть машин (67 из 110 построенных) поступила в Россию.
  
  
Модификации
   SPAD SA.2 - самолет с двигателем "Гном" (80 л. с.). Построено 42 машины для ВВС Франции и 57 для России.
   SPAD SA.4 - установлен более мощный двигатель "Рон" (110 л. с.), 1 машину получили французы, а 10 передали России.
  
  
  
ЛЕТНО-ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКИ
  
   SPAD SA.1 SPAD SA.2 SPAD SA.4
   1915г. 1915г. 1916 г.
   Размах, м 9,10 9,55 9,50
   Длина, м 7,30 7,30 7,30
   Площадь крыла, кв.м 24,5 25,3 25,3
   Сухой вес, кг 425 535 565
   Взлетный вес, кг 710 815 960
   Двигатель: "Гном" "Рон" "Гном"
   мощность, л. с. 80 110 80
   Скорость максимальная, км/ч 112 135
   Скорость подъема на высоту
   2000 м, мин,сек 20,0 12,5
   Дальность полета, км 200 250
   Потолок, м 3000 4300 3500
   Экипаж, чел. 2 2 2
   Вооружение 1 пулемет 1 пулемет 1 пулемет

В.Шавров История конструкций самолетов в СССР до 1938 г.

"Спад" с передней кабиной ( "Спад" с кабиной, SA-2). Самолет имел оригинальную схему. К обычному одноместному фюзеляжу была пристроена перед двигателем и винтом кабина для наблюдателя-стрелка. Получился как бы обтекаемый фюзеляж, разрезанный винтом. Передняя кабина крепилась на двух стойках-кронштейнах к нижним узлам шасси и в третьей точке - к центроплану, в обход диска винта. Была поставлена предохранительная решетка, чтобы наблюдатель не попал нечаянно под винт. В носу этой кабины был пулемет, перемещавшийся на полутурели с вертикальными дугами. Двигатель - "Рон" в 80 л. с., с 1917 г. - в 110л. с. Всего было 50 самолетов, которые успешно применялись на фронтах. Однако мощности 80 л. с. в 1916-1918 гг. уже было недостаточно и летные качества самолета отставали от требований. При двигателе в 110л. с. они были несколько лучше, но таких "Спадов" под маркой SA-4 было всего 6 экземпляров. Однако и на тех и на других русские летчики (например летнаб Ю. А. Братолюбов с летчиком А. А. Козаковым) сбивали немцев.

Схема самолета особой популярностью не пользовалась из-за ряда несчастных случаев, вызванных недостатками конструкции кабины. Иногда она даже отваливалась в воздухе при простреле креплений.


Самолет||"Спад" SA-2/"Спад" SA-4
Год выпуска||1915/1915
Двигатель , марка||"Рон"/"Рон"
   мощность, л. с.||80/110
Длина самолета, м||7,3/7,3
Размах крыла, м||9,55/9,5
Площадь крыла, м2||25,3/25,3
Масса пустого, кг||535/565
Масса топлива+ масла, кг||85/100
Масса полной нагрузки, кг||280/295
Полетная масса, кг||815/960
Удельная нагрузка на крыло, кг/м2||32,2/38
Удельная нагрузка на мощность, кг/лс||10,4/7,9
Весовая отдача,%||34/31
Скорость максимальная у земли, км/ч||112/135
Время набора высоты||
   1000м, мин||8/6
   2000м, мин||20/12,3
   3000м, мин||?/34
Потолок практический, м||3000/3500
Продолжительность полета, ч.||2/2

J.Davilla, A.Soltan French Aircraft of the First World War (Flying Machines)

Societe Anonyme pour l'Aviation et ses Derives (SPAD)

  In 1913 Armand Deperdussin was jailed on fraud charges and the existence of the Societe Provisoire des Aeroplanes Deperdussin was endangered. The assets of the company were obtained by a syndicate headed by Louis Bleriot. With original designs being produced by the firm's chief engineer, Louis Bechereau, a new company was formed. It retained the name SPAD; this time, however, SPAD stood for Societe Anonyme pour l'Aviation et ses Derives. The Deperdussin factory built Caudron G.3s and G.4s under license while Bechereau began the manufacture of his own projects.


SPAD SA.1, SA.2, SA.3, and SA.4

  Of all the problems that faced early aircraft designers, one of the most challenging was finding a way for combat aircraft to fire a fixed machine gun without damaging the propeller. The SPAD firm and Bechereau took a novel approach to this problem. The new design was intended to give the gunner an unobstructed field of fire ahead of the aircraft while maintaining the agility and safety (from rear attack) of the tractor configuration. This design was felt to be so promising that a French patent (No.498.338) was applied lor on 27 February 1915. Originally, the plane was a tractor biplane with a gunner's nacelle suspended in front of the propeller by struts attached to the upper and lower wings. This made access to the engine too difficult and the design was modified (Addition No.22.088) to permit the nacelle to be hinged to the undercarriage struts.
  The SPAD SA.1 was in many ways a conventional biplane. The fuselage was of wooden construction with four spruce longerons faired top and bottom with stringers. Later, lateral ducts ("cheeks") were added to either side of the engine compartment; these were later retrofitted to early versions of the A series when they were brought in for maintenance. It seems likely that these were to ensure adequate engine cooling. The fuel and oil tanks were mounted on top of the fuselage and in front of the pilot. The wings featured a novel design unique to the SPAD firm. At the intersection points of the landing and flying wires was a two-part articulated auxiliary strut. The genius of this design was that it permitted a biplane with large span wings to be braced as a single-bay structure. This gave the appearance of a two-bay aircraft, although the A series actually had only a single bay of struts. Otherwise, the wings were quite conventional, of equal span and chord with ailerons on both upper and lower wings. The engine was a 80-hp Le Rhone mounted in the nose and in front of this the gunner's nacelle (or "pulpit") was attached to the landing gear. This arrangement enabled the nacelle to be moved out of the way to start the engine (although it could be started with the nacelle in place) or for maintenance. The nacelle was built of ash longerons and covered with plywood. In addition to the struts to the landing gear, the nacelle was supported by a bearing attached to the rear bulkhead and seated on the propeller shaft. An additional attachment came in the form of two struts from the top wing to an L-shaped pylon built into the aft bulkhead. Armament consisted of a 7.7-mm Lewis machine gun mounted on a vertical track. The tail had wood framing and a steel tube elevator spar. The tail was of the same triangular outline used in later SPAD designs.
  To facilitate communication between gunner and pilot there was a communication tube passing from the gunner's compartment through the propeller hub to the pilot's cockpit. This was of critical importance because the crewmen were separated from each other by a noisy engine and, while the gunner could fire the gun, it was the pilot who had to maneuver him into position to use it.
  The SPAD SA.1 was evaluated in May 1915. Complaints about the type included inadequate cooling because of the location of the nacelle and excessive vibration in the gunner's nacelle. The excellent field of fire was praised. It was suggested that better results might by obtained if the gunner was replaced by four fixed machine guns. In fact this modification was carried out and became the Type G. (See below.)
  The flight tests recorded the following data: span 9.10 m; length 7.30 m, height 2.60 m; area 21.35 sq. m, maximum speed 150 km/h; climb to 500 m in 2 min. 10 sec.; 1,000 m in 4 min. 33 sec.; 1,500 m in 5min 45 sec; 2,000 m in 7min. 40 sec.; 2,500 m in 11 min. 35 sec. ;and 3,000 m in 16 min. 5 sec.
  Although the SPAD SA.1 was considered a successful design, it was not produced in large numbers (approximately ten were built) because an improved version, the SA.2, became available.
  The SA.2 was powered by a more powerful 110-hp Le Rhone 9J engine. The only other differences from the SA.1 consisted of minor changes to the nacelle attachments, gun mount, and horizontal tail surfaces (which now had parallel leading and trailing edges). The prototype flew on 21 May 1915. A total of 42 SA.2s were ordered by the Aviation Militaire; an additional 57 were purchased by the Imperial Russian Air Service. However, Shavrov identifies the Russian SA.2s as being fitted with 80-hp Le Rhone engines. The wings of some, if not all, Russian SA.2s and SA.4s had a center-section, unlike the French machines, which had the two upper wing panels joined in the center.
  The SA.2s were never formed into a single escadrille by the French, but were instead divided among the reconnaissance units to provide fighter escort. It is clear that the SA.2 was not liked by the French crews. The gunners felt that the pulpit position was hazardous and meant certain death if an accident should occur during landing - the gunner would almost certainly be crushed by the engine. The occupant of the nacelle also was at risk of injury or death from the adjacent propeller. In addition, the pilots noted that the cockpit, which was located in the middle of the fuselage, meant that the view was very poor, especially during landing.
  The SA.2s had a short life in French service. By 1 February 1916 there were only four still in front-line service with an additional live in service with training units. N 49 had only one SA.2 on strength in late March 1916; less than two months later this aircraft was no longer listed with N 49.
  Although the SA.2 had only briefly served at the front, the SPAD firm continued a number of developments and modifications to its basic layout. The SA.3 was similar to the SA.2 but featured two gunners, one in the nose pulpit and another in a separate cockpit behind the wing. The rear gunner was in the position occupied by the pilot in the SA.1 and SA.2. Indeed, the only major change was the fitting of dual controls and providing a rearward-firing machine gun. This certainly represented a logical development of the A series, since one of the advantages of the tractor layout was that it permitted a rearward-firing gun for defense against stern attacks. The sole example ot the SA.3 was given the serial number S.40. Although the SA.3 was not pursued further, the basic layout for a front and rear gunner was repeated in may of Bechereau's subsequent designs, including the SPAD C, D, E, and F. The idea of gunners with dual controls would also appear in the contemporary Ponnier twin-engine lighter (see above).
  The SPAD SA.4 was an SA.2 airframe fitted with an 80-hp Le Rhone engine, possibly because of cooling problems with the 110-hp Le Rhone 9J. The other basic change was that ailerons were fitted to the top wing only. Also, the wings were positioned a few millimeters further aft than on the SA.1 and SA.2; this may have been intended to offset the tail-heaviness found on the earlier SPADs. The first flight of the SPAD SA.4 was on 22 February 1916. Only 11 were built. One was evaluated by the Aviation Militaire and the remaining ten were purchased by the Imperial Russian Air Service. However. Shavrov identifies the Russian SA.4s as being fitted with 110-hp Le Rhone 9J engines. It is possible that Shavrov had confused the SA.2 with the SA.4 by assigning the more powerful engine to the later type. Another possibility is that these designations were unique to the IRAS. In any event, this was the last variant of the SPAD SA series to see combat service. While the type was shunned by its aircrews and rapidly withdrawn from service, many of the innovations of the series found their way into Bechereau's elegant and far more successful SPAD 7 and 13.
  The STAe system of designations for SPAD aircraft are not known, but may have been as follows:
   SPAD SA.1 = SPAD 1
   SPAD SA.2 = SPAD 2
   SPAD SA.3 = SPAD 3
   SPAD SA.4 = SPAD 4


Foreign Service

Russia
  In Russian service the SPAD SA.2 and SA.4 were known as SPADs "with cabin." Shavrov estimates that 50 SA.1s and six SA.4s were used by Russia, while other sources state that 57 SA.2s and ten SA.4s were obtained. There were victories credited to pilots who flew the SPAD SA.2s and 4s, A.A. Kozakov and observer-pilot Yu. A. Bratolyubov being one such successful team. It was reported that "insufficient construction" of the forward cockpit resulted in the pulpit falling off when the mounting had been damaged by bullets. This appears to be the main reason the type was disliked by Russian pilots. There was a report that one gunner's neck was broken when his scarf became caught in the propeller.
  The No.1 Fighter Squadron and the 2nd Guard Air Squadron had SPAD SA.2s on strength. The latter unit had three SA.2s in June 1917; these had serials 95, 98, and 100. The 1st Turkastan Air Squadron of the 11th Air Division had two SA.2s and one SPAD SA.4 with serials 54, 78, and 68 (or 63).
  As of April 1 1917 there was a total of 25 SPAD SA.2s and SA.4s still in service. This represented more than ten percent of the Russian fighter force at that time. It would appear that at least a few of the SA.2s and SA.4s saw service during the Russian civil war. As of 9 December 1917 a total of 19 SPAD fighters of all types, including SA.2s and SA.4s, were listed on strength.
  

SPAD SA.1 Two-Seat Fighter with 80-hp Le Rhone 9C
   Span 9.55 m (other sources state 9.10 m); length 7.29 m; height 2.60 m; wing area 25.36 sq. m
   Empty weight 421 kg; loaded weight 708 kg
   Maximum speed: 135 km/h at sea level; endurance 2.75 hours
   Armament: one 7.7-mm Lewis machine gun mounted on a swivel in the gunner's pulpit
   Approximately 10 built

SPAD SA.2 Two-Seat Fighter with 110-hp Le Rhone 9J
   Dimensions same as SA.1 except length 7.85m (other sources state 7.30 m)
   Empty weight 414 kg; loaded weight 674 kg
   Maximum speed: 140 km/h at sea level; climb to 1,000m in 6 minutes 30 seconds; climb to 2,000 m in 12.5 minutes; climb to 3,000 m in 23 minutes 30 seconds; ceiling 4,000 m; endurance 3 hours
   Armament: one 7.7-mm Lewis machine gun mounted on a swivel in the gunner's pulpit
   A total of 52 were built for the Aviation Militaire

SPAD SA.2 Two-Seat Fighter with 80-hp Le Rhone 9C in Russian Service
   Span 9.55 m (other sources state 9.10 tn); length 7.3 m; height 2.60 m; wing area 25.3 sq. m
   Empty weight 535 kg; loaded weight 815 kg
   Maximum speed: 112 km/h; climb to 1,000 m in 8 minutes; climb to 2,000 m in 20 minutes; ceiling 3,000 m; endurance 2 hours
   Armament: one 7.7-mm Lewis machine gun mounted on a swivel in the gunner's pulpit
   A total of 47 were built for the IRAS
  
SPAD SA.4 Two-Seat Fighter with 80-hp Le Rhone 9C
   Span 9.55m; length 7.85 m (other sources state 7.35 or 7.290 m); height 2.60 m
   Maximum speed: 154 km/h at sea level; climb to 1,000 m in 5 minutes; climb to 3,000 m in 23.5 minutes; endurance 2.5 hours
   Armament: one 7.7-mm Lewis machine gun mounted on a swivel in the gunner's pulpit
   One built for the Aviation Militaire

SPAD SA.4 Two-Seat Fighter with 110-hp Le Rhone 9J in Russian Service
   Span 9.5 m; length 7.3 m; wing area 25.3 sq. m
   Empty weight 565 kg; loaded weight 960 kg
   Maximum speed: 135 km/h: climb to 1,000 m in 6 minutes; climb to 2,000 m in 12.3 minutes; climb to 3,000 m in 34 minutes; ceiling 3,500 m; endurance 2 hours
   Armament: one 7.7-mm Lewis machine gun mounted on a swivel in the gunner's pulpit
   A total of 11 were built for the IRAS


SPAD SB

  The SPAD SB designed by Bechereau was a monoplane with a crew of two. The construction was simplified to permit rapid series production. The fuselage was to be molded from stamped metal and the two halves joined. The engine, landing gear, fuel tank, seat, and wings were then to be attached to the fuselage. It was obviously intended as a means of providing the Aviation Militaire with a modern military aircraft that could be mass produced. It is not known if it was meant primarily for the reconnaissance or the fighter role. The SB was probably never built and may have remained a 1914 patent only. Unfortunately for the SPAD firm, Bechereau's design did not appear until 1915. The monoplane at that time had fallen into disfavor and only biplanes were being ordered in large numbers. Consequently the SPAD SB was not selected lor production.



SPAD SC

  The SPAD SC first appeared in August 1915 and seems to have been a more powerful version of the SPAD SA.3. It was powered by a 220-hp Renault engine (as opposed to the SA.3's 110-hp Le Rhone engine) and had a crew of three: a pilot in the center of the fuselage, a gunner in a pulpit in front of the propeller, and a second gunner in the rear fuselage behind the pilot. Although it is likely that the more powerful engine resulted in an improved performance over the SPAD SA.3, by this time the SA series was held in contempt by French aircrews because of the inherent danger of the pulpit design as well as the type's poor performance. The prototype of the excellent Nieuport 11 had also appeared in the summer of 1915 and the Aviation Militaire selected this more modern design to fill the fighter requirement.

W.Green, G.Swanborough The Complete Book of Fighters

SPAD SA.1 France

   The acronym SPAD originally signified the Societe Provisoire des Aeroplanes Deperdussin. In 1913, following Armand Deperdussin's involvement in a major financial scandal, the company went into liquidation. Its assets, including the services of its chief designer, Louis Bechereau, were acquired in August 1914 by a syndicate headed by aviation pioneer Louis Bleriot. This retained the SPAD acronym which now stood for Societe Pour Aviation et ses Derives. The first fighter designed by Bechereau for the new SPAD organisation, the SA.1 was of somewhat bizarre concept, attempting to offer effective forward-firing armament while retaining a tractor engine arrangement. Powered by an 80 hp Le Rhone rotary engine and first flown on 21 May 1915, the SA.1 was of so-called "pulpit” type in that the observer/gunner occupied a small plywood nacelle ahead of the propeller. A two-seat unstaggered equi-span single-bay biplane, with auxiliary intermediate struts stiffening the points of intersection of the flying and landing cables and giving the superficial impression of a two-bay arrangement, the SA.1 was of fabric-covered wood and wire construction. The armament consisted of a single 7,7-mm Lewis gun with limited traverse and elevation mounted in the forward nacelle, which was supported by two V-struts pivoted to the undercarriage struts and secured to the propeller hub by an extension of the propeller shaft revolving in a ball-race attached to the rear of the nacelle. The entire nacelle had to be swung downwards to provide access to the engine. Very limited production (possibly fewer than a half-dozen) of the SA.1 was undertaken for the Aviation Militaire before, by November 1915, it gave place to the SA.2. Neither SA.1 nor its successor proved popular with the aircrews, the observer/gunner inevitably being crushed by the engine in the event of the aircraft nosing over.

Max speed, 84 mph (135 km/h) at sea level.
Endurance, 2.75 hrs.
Empty weight, 928 lb (421 kg).
Loaded weight, 1,562 lb (708 kg).
Span, 31ft 4 in (9,55 m).
Length, 23 ft 11 in (7,29 m).
Height, 8 ft 6 1/2 in (2,60 m).
Wing area, 273 sq ft (25,36 m2).


SPAD SA.2 France
  
   Evolved from the SA.1, from which it differed essentially in having a 110 hp Le Rhone 9J engine, modified nacelle attachments and gun mount, and a revised horizontal tail with parallel leading and trailing edges, the SA.2 was introduced in November 1915. The 7,7-mm Lewis gun was provided with an unusual mounting, being suspended between two curved vertical steel tubes hinged at their top to a vertical pylon and rotating at their base through some 180 deg, thus providing both elevation and traverse. SPAD apparently received contracts for 100 SA.2 two-seat fighters, of which 57 were supplied to the Russian Imperial Air Service and at least one was completed as an SA.3. The remainder were supplied to the Aviation Militaire, but these saw relatively limited use at the Front, where, on 1 February 1916, only four SA.2s were with operational units, a further five being recorded with (presumably) training elements.

Max speed, 87 mph (140 km/h) at sea level.
Time to 3,280 ft (1 000 m), 6.5 min.
Endurance, 3.0 hrs.
Empty weight, 913 lb (414 kg).
Loaded weight, 1,485 lb (674 kg).
Dimensions as for SA.1 apart from a length of 25 ft 9 in (7,85 m).


SPAD SA.4 France

   Despite the patent obsolescence of concept of the basic Type A design, it was surprisingly taken a stage further as late as February 1916 when the SA.4 made its debut. This reverted to the 80 hp Le Rhone 9C rotary - possibly owing to cooling problems with the 110 hp 9 J - and was apparently intended solely for the Russian Imperial Air Service, which had received more than half of the total production of the SA.2. In the event, only 10 SA.4s were built by SPAD for Russia, the first example flying on 22 February 1916. One example was supplied to the Aviation Militaire. Armament was similar to that of the SA.2 and at least some of the Russian SA.4s had a revised upper wing in which outboard panels were attached to a centre section (earlier models had had two wing panels meeting on the centreline). The SA.4 had ailerons on the upper wing only, the chord of this wing being increased over that of the lower.

Max speed, 96 mph (154 km/h) at sea level.
Time to 3,280 ft (1000 m), 5.0 min, to 9,840 ft (3000 m), 23.5 min.
Endurance, 2.5 hrs.
Span, 31 ft 4 in (9,55 m).
Length, 25 ft 9 in (7,85 m).
Height, 8 ft 6 1/2 in (2,60 m).

H.Nowarra, G.Duval Russian Civil and Military Aircraft 1884-1969

The Imperial Air Service also received 57 Spad A.2s and 10 A.4s. These rather peculiar machines, fitted with the 80 and 110 h.p. Le Rhone respectively, featured a ‘pulpit’ nacelle in front of the propeller for the observer/gunner, this nacelle being braced by struts to the undercarriage and top wing, and carrying a ball-race on its rear bulkhead in which revolved a propeller shaft extension. Both types were understandably unpopular with the French, for even in a minor crash the observer was ‘meat in the sandwich’! The Russian crews had no choice but to fly these machines; the French Air Force had abandoned them with alacrity.

J.Herris, D.Mechi The Spad A Series (A Centennial Perspective on Great War Airplanes 104)

Spad S.A.Prototype

  At the start of WWI the SPAD company began to make the Caudron G.3 and then the G.4 under license. Early on the chief designer, Louis Bechereau, realized a fighting airplane would need a forward-firing gun because "a hunting animal does not get his dinner by running away from it."
  Bechereau had been chief designer for Deperdussin, so he modified a Deperdussin design into the TT, a two-seater with gunner in front. Unfortunately, the gunner had to stand to fire the gun over the propeller arc, creating a lot of drag and limiting performance. The engine vibration also made aiming difficult.
  So Bechereau choose a different configuration when designing a fighting aircraft from scratch. There was no synchronizing gear for machine guns available when the SPAD S.A. was designed, so that limited Bechereau's choices.
  Bechereau chose to place the gunner in front of the propeller in his own nacelle, or "pulpit" as it was popularly called. This gave him an excellent field of fire and of view like that of gunners in pusher aircraft, but with lower drag since the "lattice" structure supporting the tail was replaced by a more streamlined fuselage. Bechereau was granted patent number 22.088 for this design. The configuration required the engine and propeller within the fuselage and a relatively complicated support structure for the nacelle.
  Both monoplane and biplane designs were contemplated, but the monoplane was abandoned in favor of the biplane. A second patent, 022.088, was filed on 7 June 1915, two weeks after the first flight of the S.A.prototype. This patent addressed the nacelle support system.
  Bechereau submitted a third patent, 0488.191, on 4 June, 1915, describing a new system of interplane bracing for biplanes. This was incorporated into the S.A.prototype. This allowed a long-span wing with two bays of bracing be rigged as a single-bay wing; this reduced the amount of bracing cable exposed to the airstream, reducing drag.
  Bechereau incorporated two features in the SPAD A that were used in all subsequent wartime SPADs. One was the hinging of the landing gear half-axle so that it moved up and down to more neatly track the forces encountered when the wheel contacted the ground while moving down and forward. The second was the aileron control system, also used on subsequent SPADs.
  The S.A.prototype was built in the spring of 1915 and the first flight was on 21 May 1915. Because of the interest expressed by the Army, it was immediately presented to the SFA (Service de Fabrication Aeronautique) at Meudon, where it was tested by the Commission d'Examen des Avions et Moteurs. Lieutenant Toussaint, secretary of the Board of Examiners, wrote a short report on 29 May 1915 and submitted more complete reports on 2 and 3 June 1915. Extracts from the two reports are given in the table.
  The report of 2 June 1915 ended in remarks concerning the good and bad points of the aircraft divided into five categories.

Advantages
   1. The field of fire and observation of the gunner is nearly unobstructed.
   2. According to the manufacturer it is possible to replace the gunner with a special armament: for example, several machine guns that could be controlled by the pilot with a line-of-sight [perhaps a gun sight] that makes it possible for the pilot to aim, etc.

Disadvantages
   1. The nacelle could obstruct cooling, although there was no overheating experienced during the 55-minute flight conducted on 31 May 1915. [This became a problem in operational service.]
   2. The placement of the gunner could cause apprehension in the men assigned to that position due to the danger of serious injury if the aircraft is overturned on landing. The attachment of the nacelle to the propeller shaft is also criticized because with use it could possibly experience severe vibration. Currently there are very marked vibrations in the rear of the gunner. [Passage underlined in the report.] According to the manufacturer it would be possible to replace this configuration with another incorporating additional bracing to the upper wing. This would give greater safety but would significantly increase drag.

Prototype S.A.Flight Test Results
Characteristic Test 1 Test 2 Test 3
Fuel 68.5 kg, Oil 24 kg As Test1 As Test1
Payload 74 kg (pilot Maurice Prevost), observer 82 kg (Lt ArdouinDumazet) As Test1 74 kg (pilot Maurice Prevost), observer 82 kg (unknown)
Rate of climb
500 m 2 min 10 sec 2 min 5 sec 2 min 50 sec
1000 m 4 min 33 sec 5 min 45 sec 6 min 40 sec
1500 m 7 min 40 sec 9 min 30 sec -
2000 m 11 min 35 sec - 16 min 0 sec
2500 m 16 min 5 sec 20 min 30 sec 21 min 45 sec
3000 m 21 min 5 sec - 33 min 0 sec
3270 m - - 50 min 0 sec
Top Speed - 150 km/h at ground level -
- 142 km/h at 2,100 m -
- 137 km/h at 3250 m -
Stall Speed - 89 km/h at ground level -
On Test 3 the maximum ceiling "seemed to be" 3400 m.

Notes:
  - The aircraft tested was not provided with a machine gun. It would be interesting to carry out tests under real conditions, and to require that all fighting aircraft be presented with a machine gun, or a model of one, and the required mounting structure.
  - At the present time there does not exist for the gunner a means of access to the nacelle.
  - The visibility for the pilot could be improved.
  - According to the tests, the aircraft presented by SPAD meets the conditions imposed for fighting machines except that the time to climb to 2,000 m was 11 minutes 35 seconds instead of the required 10 minutes.
  - The large wing area is a good quality of the airplane. The wing loading is 28 kg/m2 (5.7 lb per square foot). This figure does not appreciably exceed the figures for the Caudron G.3 and Morane Parasol. From that point of view the airplane presents a certain safety factor, which a static test could confirm.

  On 3 June 1915 Lt.Toussaint wrote a supplementary report concerning two climbing tests carried out at Meudon on 2 and 3 June 1915.
  The prototypes wing bracing was described in patent number 0488.191 and the detail design was described in the Manual d'Aviation de la Premiere Guerre Mondiale, Tome II. The vertical members in the middle of the span were not true struts; they were intended only to act as vibration dampers and to limit deflection of the wings at mid-span. The complicated bracing in the cabane structure was not as effective as the designers expected, so production aircraft had diagonal bracing between the front cabane struts. Early photos of the prototype show no bracing between the upper wing and nacelle and it was probably flown that way at least once. Cables were added from the upper wing to the nacelle but it is not known when this was done.

Disposition of the Prototype

  The prototype was given the SFA number S-11 and returned to the manufacturer. SPAD retained it for tests for an unknown time before returning it to the military. Photographed at Buc in March 1916, the aircraft was almost completely modified into the standard S.A.1 configuration; the difference is that the original horizontal tail surfaces had been retained. There also appears to be only a single bracing strut between the tailplane and the fuselage and no national markings.


Prototype S.A.Specifications
Wingspan 9.10 m (29 ft. 10 inches)
Length 7.30 m (23 ft. 11 inches)
Height 2.60 m (8 ft. 6 inches)
Wing Area 23.85 m2 (256.5 ft2)
Tailplane Area 1.5 m2 (16.1 ft2)
Elevator Area 1.25 m2 (13.5 ft2)
Rudder Area 0.6 m2 (6.5 ft2)
Engine 80 hp Le Rhone
Propeller Chauviere of 2.55m (100.4 in.) diam., 2m pitch
Airframe Wt. 237 kg (522.5 lb)
Engine, prop, hub 140 kg (308.6 lb)
Fuel & oil 95 kg (209.4 lb)
Fuel & oil tanks 23 kg (50.7 lb)
Payload 180 kg (396.8 lb) (pilot, gunner, gun & ammo)
Gross Wt. 675 kg (1488.1 lb)



Spad S.A.1

  The SPAD S.A.1 was the first new two-seat fighter brought into service in the Aviation Militaire Francaise (French Military Aviation); all preceding two-seat fighters were adaptations of existing aircraft.
  Following the tests carried out on the prototype in May and June 1915, on 5 June the Ministry of War directed the commandant the SFA at Meudon to buy the prototype and place an order for 10 type SA.1 production aircraft from the SPAD company.

The Ministerial Order Stated:

  Because of the tests carried out by the type S.A.L. (sic), the heavy artillery section with the 80 hp Le Rhone and because of the potential which it will present as a fighter, I decide to put in an order for ten of this type. Moreover, you will proceed to purchase the test machine, which will be issued to the General Reserve where it will accomplish a flight of three hours endurance. I draw your attention the advantage there would be to be able to provide the 10 aircraft referred to above with 110 hp Le Rhone instead of the 80 hp Le Rhone.
  There are several items to note:
   1. The aircraft is described in the text as being of type S.A.L. This name is found in other period documents and requires an explanation. It is a result of a typographical error due to the use of the lower case letter "I" on typewriters of the time to stand for the number "1". Because of this similarity someone transformed the "1" into "L". This error was corrected almost immediately in later reports as of 12 June 1915.
   2. This order required the prototype of carry out a flight of 3 hours endurance with the Reserve Generale Aeronautique (Aeronautical General Reserve, R.G.A.). This was the wish expressed by Lt. Toussaint, secretary of the Centre d'Essais Aeriens Militaires (Military Aviation Test Center) on 29 May 1915. The test was intended to determine whether the cooling of the 80 hp Le Rhone was adequate in spite of the restricted cooling airflow due to the nacelle. (In retrospect the cooling would never be satisfactory for any SA type.)
   3. As early as the first order for the machine, the French military wanted to install the more powerful 110 hp Le Rhone 9J. This only became available in production quantity a few months later for installation on the SA.2.
  A 30 June 1915 War Ministry message to G.Q.G. Aeronautics notes the fate of the prototype: The Bechereau S.P.A.D. test aircraft will be delivered to Buc next 2 July and assigned to the R.G.A. after reception if no new modification is necessary.
  The prototype was photographed at Buc in March 1916, by which time it had been modified into the S.A.1 configuration, except that the triangular horizontal tailplane was retained. It was assigned the SFA number S-11, but at the time of the photograph the number had not been painted on the rudder or longerons. Unanswered questions include: Why was the triangular tailplane retained when so much effort was spent changing everything else? At what time was the SFA number assigned? Was the SFA number ever applied to the prescribed locations on the aircraft? What was the final fate of the aircraft?
  The British RFC, which had only the Vickers FB-5 Gunbus at the time, very early on expressed an interest in the SPAD S.A. Two RFC officers, Major S. Lewis (commander of No.3 Squadron) and Captain T. O'Brian, examined a dismantled SA and submitted the following report on 2 August 1915:

Report on the New SPAD Biplane

  This was dismantled. It appears to be a well-designed machine.
  The passenger sits in a nacelle fixed in front of the propeller. This gives a perfect field of fire and view.
  It is about the same speed as the Morane biplane with the same engine, probably rather faster.
  It probably lands faster and is harder to get into a smaller field.
  It would be expensive in observers if piloted by indifferent pilots. A French flying officer told me that it was easier to fly than either a Morane Parasol or a Nieuport.
  I consider that it should be tried when re-assembled.
  Instead of a passenger, five or six machine guns can be fixed in the nacelle and fired from the pilot's seat.
  It cannot be flown without the equivalent of a passenger's weight in front.

  Did the officers mistake a Rhone 9C for a 9J, or was there actually a 110 hp Rhone installed? The 1915 model of the 110 hp Le Rhone, which had a smaller diameter than the eventual 9J, was being tested in August 1915 in Moranes and Nieuports, but it tended to routinely burn its valves and was abandoned. Apparently there was an S.A.2 with the 1915 model engine received around 20 October 1915, but it was not sent to the front until it had a 9J installed. Because the British officers looked at a dismantled aircraft, it may have been the S.A.2 that had the early model engine and after testing it was dismantled for repairs, which is reasonable considering the history of the early engine. How far the dismantling had progressed was not mentioned; the engine may have been removed. In any case a later, undated, anonymous British report was less than complimentary:
  In this machine the passenger is slung in a small fuselage in front of a tractor propeller. This arrangement is considered to be unnecessarily dangerous and it is not justified by the objects attained as regards arc of fire.
  All the Spad machines are of similar type and are considered to be of no interest in their present form.
  In his book "One Man's War", Bert Hall describes a macabre episode at Avord on 11 October 1915 at Escadrille N68:
  The first Spads were powered by an 80 hp Rhone engine and had a little wicker nacelle out in front of the actual body of the machine where the observer sat and did his fighting. The pilot sat back of the top wing, the ship being a biplane.
  The front nacelle was attached to the top wing and to the landing carriage. The first one they tried turned over taking off and mashed the observer flat as a flapjack. Everyone on the field tried to argue them out of trying the second one, but nothing would do but a test flight. So a second one was hauled out and two Frenchmen hopped it. It was their last hop. The pilot was a friend of mine, and I regretted his death a great deal. His name was Lieutenant Stromeyer. The machine took off all right but when Stromeyer tried to pull it out of a gradual dive, the front nacelle came off and the wings buckled up. And that was the end of the first model Spad. The design was washed out and a new one was developed. (Stromeyer survived, gunner Soldat Michel was killed.)
  The first SFA number S.A.1 was S-1 and it was sent to Escadrille MS 23 at Chalons-en-Champagne during the summer of 1915. Photos show an aircraft that is almost but not quite the final configuration. A steel fitting at the top of the inverted "L" gun mount is not seen on later S.A.1 aircraft starting with S-3. No photo is available of S-2.
  The prototype had no diagonal bracing between the front cabane struts but S-1 had these cables. Photos of S-3 show tie rods between mid-points of the false struts between the wings. The first S.A.2, S.12, appears to be the first aircraft to have incidence bracing between the false struts. On S-1 the front of the fuselage and side ducts were different shape and the three holes for exhaust and oil seen on later production aircraft are missing from the forward fuselage.
  Delivery of the ten S.A.1 aircraft got underway in September 1915 when they started to arrive at Buc. They joined the R.G.A. about October and were then delivered to some frontline escadrilles. Only MS 23 can be positively identified. French fighter units were in the midst of standardizing on the Nieuport 10 and then the Nieuport 12 two-seaters and the single-seat Nieuport 11. The underpowered S.A.1 aircraft were soon replaced by the more powerful S.A.2s, and after frontline service were sent to serve out their lives at the flying schools.


S.A.1 Specifications
Wingspan, Upper 9.100 m (29 ft. 11 inches)
Chord 1.544 m (5 ft.)
Length 7.300 m (23 ft. 11 inches)
Height 2.600 m (8 ft. 6 inches)
Wing Area 25.35 m2 (276.9 ft.2)
Empty Wt. 425 kg (937.0 lb)
Useful Load 300 kg (661.4 lb.)
Total Wt 710 kg (1,565.3 lb.)
Engine 80 hp Le Rhone 9C rotary
Propeller 2.55 m (8 ft. 4 in) diam. Chauviere
Ceiling 4,300 m (14,108 ft.)
Endurance 2 hr. 45 min.
Top Speed 135 km.h (83.4 mph) at sea level
Climb Rate
  1000 m 6 min. 30 sec.
  2000 m 12 min. 30 sec.
  3000 m 23 min. 30 sec.



Spad S.A.2

  From the beginning the French military authorities wanted more power and performance and the additional weight and drag of the gun and mounting reduced performance compared to the unarmed prototype, making additional power essential. Finally, availability of the more powerful 110 hp Le Rhone 9J enabled production of the more powerful SA.2. Visually, the SA.2 adopted larger cooling vents to help cool the more powerful engine.
  A purchase order for 40 SPAD SA.1, SA.2, and SA.3 aircraft was dated 6 September 1915. Each aircraft was priced at Fr 17.000 for a total cost of Fr 680.000. The prototype had been purchased for Fr 28,000. The following is extracted from a dispatch send on 2 September 1915.
  In the conference of the inspectors of aviation material for the armies on 20 August, the pilots at the front expressed the desire that the replacements of planes and engines of the three SPAD escadrilles to be formed would be sent to 2nd reserve of supply. This provision would make it possible to hasten the use of the planes while waiting for the delivery of the rolling stock (ground equipment) and the accessories other than the replacements.
  The dispatch proves that French Military Aviation originally wanted to establish up to three escadrilles of fighters equipped with SPAD SA aircraft. The three escadrilles were to be S 67, S 68, and S 69. S 67 was to be formed on 10 October 1915, S 68 on 30 October, and S 69 formed in November. This did not happen because the military passed the SA.2 aircraft out in small numbers to various escadrilles as was done with the SA.1. The French may have wanted to test their operational abilities without crippling any one escadrille. However, superior aircraft were in the pipeline and the career of the SA series was short.
  The September purchase order was for 29 SA.2 aircraft, ten SA.1 aircraft, and one SA.3 aircraft. With the modification of the prototype into an SA.1, that makes a total of 41 SPAD SA series in French service.

Characteristics

  Installation of a more powerful engine in the SA airframe required some changes to the airframe. Because cooling was marginal in the SA.1 and would be an even worse in the more powerful SA.2, the SA.2 had larger cooling ducts and expanded cooling area in the front engine mount. The extra weight of the larger engine partially solved the tail heaviness of the SA.1. Photos indicate the larger cooling ducts were retrofitted to a few SA.1 aircraft. Also, there were SA.4 aircraft with and without the larger ducts. Additionally, a few SA.2 aircraft may have reverted to the 80 hp Le Rhone 9C. This is shown in a photo of S-46 SA.2 with PU 160/PC 100, which indicates the 89 hp engine.
  The SA.2 used a modified gun mount with the addition of a second curved tube so the gun was now mounted between two tubes. Interestingly, S-4 was used to evaluate both the larger cooling ducts and the double-tube gun mount.

Frontline Service

  Starting in December 1915 the SA.2 aircraft were dispensed in small numbers similarly to the SA.1 experience. Deployment of the SA.2 was complete in March 1916. Only four "SPAD-Bechereau" were in frontline service and five were in reserve and training schools. This small number of aircraft at the front were insufficient to supply an escadrille and the idea of forming units specifically with SPAD SA aircraft was not pursued. The SA's poor performance definitely contributed to outcome.
  The majority of the SAs were assigned to the Camp Retranche de Paris (C.R.P.), an assignment that was quiet compared to frontline units. The SA.2 was assigned at different times to Escadrilles N 3, N 23, N 49, N 73, and the C.R.P.
  The SAs contemporaries were likewise primitive, as was the SA series. Aside from the nacelle supporting structure, the SA was otherwise sturdy and had good flying qualities. However, the nacelle configuration was forced on the SA due to lack of a synchronizing gear when it was designed and built. The result limited their operational service to about six months and kept production small.
  On 17 May 1916, N 73 was notified of an incursion by a German reconnaissance aircraft. Caporal Robert Sabatier had no other aircraft so took the training machine, an S.A.2, SFA number S-31. He had no gunner so talked another pilot Caporal Claude Funck-Brentano, into going with him as gunner. Climbing for altitude they spotted three enemy aircraft on their way back to the German lines and immediately went on the attack. The crew of S-31 persisted attacking the enemy despite their aircraft being damaged. One of the three Germans crashed in French lines but the modest performance of the SA made it unable to catch the other aircraft. The SA crew brought their badly damaged aircraft back to their airfield where it was immediately dismantled. Both Frenchmen received the Medaille Militaire. In addition Funckh-Brentano was mentioned in dispatches and was promoted sergeant. He achieved one more confirmed victory before he was killed in aerial combat less than two months later.
  As far as is known, this is the only victory of a SPAD SA in France.
  Around the same time, Escadrille N.67, stationed at Froidos on the Verdun front, received a Spad A.2 that Jean Navarre, the ace nicknamed "the Sentinel of Verdun," wanted to try out, taking on board a young observer, Second Lieutenant Jacques Leps (a future ace with 12 victories), as a gunner. However, he was wounded almost immediately, and Leps flew with another pilot. Leps's account, preserved by the French Air Force Historical Service, is very informative about the aircraft's flight characteristics:
  "On June 19, 1916, I took off for the first time in the Spad A.2 over the lines. We had a dogfight during which there were, naturally, many acrobatic maneuvers by both the Germans and the French. It was the first time the pilot, Sergeant Jules Moulias, had flown this aircraft. When this aircraft dived, it dived much faster than my body. I was leaving my seat, held only vaguely by my tethers and the makeshift roof of the gondola. Firing was impossible. On the contrary, at the pilot's aid, I was literally crushed in my seat: impossible to fire a single shot... The pilot finally realized I couldn't fire. He left the battle zone and returned to the Froidos airfield. The entire squadron, with Captain de Saint Sauveur at the head, was there to see the aircraft land and ask for our impressions. The pilot approached the ground as best he could, at over 100 kilometers per hour, and he flipped over. The pilot was in no danger. But me, in my small gondola, with the large rotary engine spinning behind me? I was literally crushed! The entire squadron rushed over. There were 20, 50 arms pulling me from the wreckage. I regained consciousness, and my first words were: "I don't want to be piloted anymore, I want to pilot!" The emotion was so intense that I was taken directly to another airfield. I never saw that Spad A.2 again..."
  Leps quickly obtained his transfer to flight school... As for the Spad A.2s, he claims that they were grounded. In any case, they disappeared from the squadrons and were relegated to training duties after barely three months of use at the front.


S.A.2 Specifications
Wingspan, Upper 9.555 m (31 ft. 4 inches)
Wingspan, Lower 9.250 m (30 ft. 4 inches)
Chord 1.544 m (5 ft.)
Length 7.300 m (23 ft. 11 inches)
Height 2.600 m (8 ft. 6 inches)
Wing Area 23.36 m2 (250.8 ft2)
Empty Wt. 435 kg (959.0 lb)
Useful Load 300 kg (661.4 lb.)
Total Wt 735 kg (1,620.4 lb.)
Engine 110 hp Le Rhone 9J rotary
Ceiling 4,300 m (14,108 ft.)
Endurance 2 hr. 30 min.
Top Speed 154 km.h (95.7 mph) at sea level
Climb Rate
  1000 m 6 min. 30 sed.
  2000 m 12 min. 30 sec.
  3000 m 23 min. 30 sec.



Spad S.A.4

  Russia had very limited aircraft and aeroengine production in WWI, and France was a major foreign supplier for both. Thus Russia expressed an interest in the SA series and ordered 50 machines from France on 6 March 1916 at a cost of Fr. 17.000 each, or a total of Fr 850.000. The order appears to specify six SA.2 aircraft with 110 Le Rhone 9J and 44 SA.4 aircraft with 80 hp Le Rhone 9C engines. Six additional SA.4 airframes without engines were ordered directly from the SPAD company. The 56 machines left the factory for Russian be the end of June 1916. The S.A.2 aircraft likely had SFA numbers S-42 through S-47 and the SA.4 aircraft likely had SFA numbers S-48 through S-97.
  However opening of Russian records after the fall of the Soviet Union show slightly different number; 60 aircraft with 54 on a military order - 44 with the 80 hp engine (S-48 thought S-91) and 10 with the 110 hp engine. The aircraft with 110 hp engines may have been the 10 additional S.A.2 aircraft on a French purchase order of 17 May 1916, S-92 through S-101) and six airframes without engines ordered directly from SPAD. These could be SFA numbers S-102 through S-107, although no SFA numbers may have been assigned.

The S.A.4 had the following differences from the S.A.2:
  1. A center section which made assembly much easier.
  2. The lower wing ailerons were eliminated.
  3. The two tie rods between the cabane struts were eliminated.
  4. The chord of the lower wing was reduced.
  5. The stabilizer chord was increased to 1.25 m and the small fairing was eliminated.
  6. Moving the airfoil aft on the spars so that the structure of the fuselage would not be disturbed moving the wings aft, which reduced the tail heaviness.

  The 110 hp 9J was just coming into production when the Russian order was made. The specification of the 80 hp 9C engine likely resulted in earlier delivery, which was urgent. The enemy deployed second line aircraft on the Eastern Front, making maximum performance not as critical as on the Western Front. In addition, cooling problems were always a concern with the SA, and were even more of an issues with the 110 hp engine. Apparently S.A.2 S-48 was modified into the SA.4 with the changes noted above.


S.A.4 Specifications
Wingspan, Upper 9.55 m (31 ft. 4 inches)
Wingspan, Lower 9.25 m (30 ft. 4 inches
Chord 1.544 m (5 ft.)
Length 7.5 m (24 ft. 1 inches)
Height 2.65 m (8 ft. 8 inches)
Wing Area 24.5 m2 (263.7 ft2)
Empty Wt. 414 kg (912.7 lb.)
Useful Load 260 kg (573.2 lb.)
Armament 15 kg (33.1 lb.)
Crew 150 kg (330.7 lb.)
Fuel & Oil 95 kg (209.4 lb.)
Total Wt 734 kg (1,485.9 lb.)
Engine 80 hp Le Rhone 9C rotary
Ceiling 4,300 m (14,108 ft.)
Endurance 3 hr.
Top Speed 140 km.h (87 mph)
Climb Rate
   2000 m 13 min.



Spad S.A.4 (& S.A.2) in Russia

  The Eastern Front was 600 miles wide and the Imperial Russian Air Service (IRAS) did not have enough aircraft to support it in 1916. Arrival of the SA series permitted a partial reorganization of its squadrons into specialized units to oppose the German air units more effectively.
  Starting with the 18th KAO, which received S.A.4 S-53 on 18 June, more than 10 KAO received the S.A.2 and S.A.4 in the summer of 1916. The 18th KAO was followed closely by the 8th, 14th, 19th, 30th KAO, 1st Guards KАO, 2nd Siberian KAO, 4th Artillery Aviation Detachment (Art. AO), and 7th Army Aviation Detachment (Arm KAO). For example, the 4th Art AO received S.A.2 S-47 on 2 September and 7th Art. AO received S.A.4s S-95 and S-100 on 20 August.
  By late 1916 it was obvious the SA was being outclassed by enemy aircraft even though the enemy was using second-rate equipment. The SA could interrupt reconnaissance planes away from their planned missions but for most ot the cases the two-seaters could outrun the SA fighters. Despite this, four claims of aerial victories attributed to Spad A aircraft can be identified in Russian archives.
  On September 6, 1916, a German plane was seen around the airfield of 19th KAO based at Loutsk (today's Ukraine). The commander of the unit, the top Russian ace Shtabs Rotmistr A.A. Kozakov, took off on a single seat Nieuport X to attack it. During the fight, the German plane failed to notice the approach of a Spad A.4 from 19th KAO piloted by Podporuchik G.V. Bashinskiy with Podporuchik Boris A. Guber as observer. The enemy plane tried to escape but was shot down by the Spad, and fell in Berezoluky (Ukraine, 26 km NE Loutsk). The enemy flyers, Ltn Muller and Ltn Berger were wounded and burned their plane before being taken prisoners. This was the first victory by the group and likely by a Spad A in Russia.
  A second victory possibly won by a Spad A from 19th KAO occurred on November 25, 1916, when Podporuchik V.V. Karpov (pilot) and Kornet G.A. Bratolyubov (observer) began an air battle with an enemy aeroplane between Loutsk and Rojychtche (Ukraine). As they met, the German opened fire first and damaged the Russian plane's left wing with explosive cartridges. After Bratolyubov fired an entire clip the German lost altitude. After locating him, the Russian crew fired off another clip and a half. The enemy then descended steeply near the ground and began to dodge, landing near a Russian artillery brigade. The enemy crew escaped after burning their plane, an Aviatik with a Mercedes 160 hp engine, who was recovered by Russian troops with a wing burnt. The fact that the Russian crew was flying a Spad remains unsure, and the claim cannot be identified in German archives.
  On March 3, 1917, Shtabs Kapitan Kotov (pilot and commander officer of 2nd Siberian KAO), flying with observer Kornet Dilinka, claimed while flying a Spad A.2 an enemy aircraft shot down near Dusche. The claim cannot be confirmed in German or Austro-Hungarian archives.
  Then, on May 5, 1917, Spad A.4 S-79 from 30th KAO piloted by Efrietor E.S. Nedzevetskiy with Starshiy unterofitser Rodin as observer, while protecting a photoreconnaissance flight, met an Austro-Hungarian Hansa-Brandenburg two-seater and attacked it at Gura Humorului (Romania). The enemy plane was Brandenburg C.I (U) 63.23 of Flik 1. The pilot, Leutnant Vlastimil Fiala, and observer Oberleutnant Johann Baumgartner, were captured.
  During the winter 1916-1917, IRAS started to receive Nieuports and later Spad VII in numbers. This allowed the elite units to transfer their SA machines to less prestigious units. The more elite units replaced their last SA aircraft in the spring of 1917.
  On May 28, 1917, S.A.4 S-64 was shot down by three Fokker Eindeckers, killing the Russian crew, Feldwebel Bigel (pilot) and Podporuchik Tarkho (observer), from 27th KAO, crashing in Focsani (Romania). The fixed, synchronized guns of the Fokkers made the difference because they were not stellar performers. The Fokkers were also obsolete on the Western Front a year previously.
  Last mention of a Spad A in Russian archives came on June 27, 1917, when S-54 landed by mistake behind the Austrian lines in Krasne, 30 km east of Lviv (Ukraine), and was extensively photographed. According to Austrian documents, pilot Jemeljan Kusmitsch Myskin and mechanic Valentin Konstantinovich Ledilin were taken prisoners. The plane was from 1st Turkestan KAO based at Loutsk (Ukraine).
  Altogether, at least 17 Russian units used the Spad SAs, some to the end of hostilities. The SA soldiered on after the armistice for training. The Russians used the SA series on skis during the winter. Russian aviators had the same complaints as the French aviators. The nacelle support system was complex and could fall off if damaged in combat. One observer had his neck broken when his scarf became entangled in a rotating propeller.



Other designs Derived from the SA

  There is no record of a rumored S.A.5.
  The Spad SC. was a design study for a type derived from the S.A.The design had a 220 hp Renault V12 but was not built.
  The 110 hp Clerget was considered as a replacement for the delayed 110 Le Rhone but was abandoned since the Clergets were reserved for Nieuport two-seaters from August 1915.
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Summary

  Fokker Eindeckers with synchronized guns arrived at the front essentially simultaneously with the SA, making the SA obsolete on arrival. The SA was not a success on operations However, the basic structural design was very strong and with the proper modifications and addition of the Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine, SPAD developed the Spad VII, one of the most successful fighters of the war and sire of the Spad XIII, widely acknowledged as the Allies' best fighter.