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

SPAD SE

  Although his most famous creations were to be fighters, Bechereau produced a credible bomber prototype in 1915. Despite the failure of the SPAD D, the SPAD firm decided to contribute a bomber design to the 1916 concours. However, Bechereau was given a very short amount of time to design ami build it.
  Bechereau's design was much larger than the preceding SPAD SD and was powered by two pusher engines. The front pulpit was eliminated, replaced with a more conventional machine gun position in the extreme nose. Another machine gun was located in the mid-fuselage area behind the wings. Two pilots were seated side by side in separate cockpits. The aircraft was powered by two 220-hp Renault engines, each mounted on one of the wings.
  Both the Morane-Saulnier S and the SPAD SE were selected as winners of the competition, but only the Morane-Saulnier design was chosen for mass production. The SPAD SE was not developed further, possibly so the SPAD firm could concentrate on fighter designs.


SPAD SE Four-Seat Heavy Bomber with Two 220-hp Renault Engines
   Span 24,30 in; length 13.0 tn; height 3.45 m
   Payload 1.200 to 1,300 kg
   Maximum speed: 140 km/h
   Armament would have been one machine gun in the nose and one amidships on swivel mounts.
   One built