Canadian Warplanes 1: S.P.A.D. S.VII Scout

SPAD S.VII‍

The SPAD S.VII Scout was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by the Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés (SPAD) during the First World War.  Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and rugged aircraft with good climbing and diving characteristics.  It was also a stable gun platform, although pilots used to the more manoeuvrable Nieuport fighters found it heavy on the controls.  It was flown by a number of the famous aces.

(RAF Photo)

S.P.A.D. S.VII Scout flown by Canadian Captain William S. Stephenson, ca. 1917.

The Société Anonyme Pour l’Aviationet ses Dérives (SPAD) S.VII was a single-seat biplane fighter powered by a 134-hp Hispano-Suiza 8Ac Vee piston engine.  The S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and rugged aircraft with good climbing and diving characteristics.  It was also a stable gun platform, although pilots used to the more manoeuvrable Nieuport fighters found it heavy on the controls.  It was flown by a number of famous aces, such as France’s Georges Guynemer, Italy’s Francesco Baracca, and America’s Eddie Rickenbacker.

           Very early in the development of the S.VII, the British RFC and RNAS had shown an interest in this new French fighter.  An initial order for 30 aircraft was made but difficulties in early production were such that the delivery rate was very low, production being barely enough for French units alone.  As the RFC was encountering an increasing opposition over the Front, measures were taken to set up production of the S.VII in the United Kingdom.  The first British-built S.VII was flown and tested in April 1917, and the first aircraft was reported to have performance equal to that of French models.  There were however differences between the two types.  

          The British were worried about the light armament of the S.VII.  Most German fighters were now carrying two guns and various experiments were made to fit an extra machine gun on the S.VII.  One aircraft was fitted with an extra Lewis machine gun on the top wing and evaluated at Martlesham Heath in May 1917, while frontline units also made field modifications with Foster mounts as used on the S.E.5a.  The resulting drop in performance was considered too drastic for the installation to become standard, and most SPAD S.VIIs continued to fly with a single .303 Vickers machine-gun.

Other distinguishing featuresof the British-built S.VIIs included a gun fairing and a solid cowling accesspanel.  The gun fairing partially coveredthe gun and extended rearwards, replacing the windshield.  This, however, seriously limited pilot visionto the front and, though it was retained on training aircraft, standing orders weregiven to have it removed on aircraft destined to frontline units inFrance.  The bulged engine access panellocated under the exhaust pipe on British models was made of a solid sheet ofmetal, in place of the louvered panel fitted on French production models.  Some British SPAD S.VIIs were also fitted withsmall spinners on the prop hub.

           It quickly became apparent that the British production linesof the S.VII had lowerquality standards than their French counterparts, resulting in aircraft with lowerperformances and handling.  Poor fabric sewing,fragile tailskids and radiators of insufficient effectiveness plagued the BritishSPAD S.VIIs.  Photographic evidence showsthat a number of British SPAD S.VIIs had the cylinder banks fairings, or even theentire upper engine cowling, cut out to compensate for the ill-functioning radiators.  Most British S.VIIs were usedfor training purposes, frontline units being equipped with French-built models.  After some 220 aircraft had been produced, Britishproduction of the S.VII was halted in favour of better British types that werebecoming available.

           The total number of aircraft produced seems uncertain, sources varying from 3,825 to some 5,600 SPAD S.VIIs built in France, 220 in the United Kingdom and approximately 100 in Russia. (Internet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPAD_S.VII.)

‍

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3390913)

S.P.A.D. S.VII Scout (Serial No. A8798).

(SDA&SM Photo)  

S.P.A.D. S.VII Scout (Serial No. B9913), British built version.

(Author Photos)

S.P.A.D. S.VII Scout (Serial No. B9913), (103), CF-RFC.  The Canada Aviation and Space Museum's SPAD was built in England in 1917 by Mann Egerton and Company Limited.  Its British service history is unknown, but in 1918 it was transferred to the United States for use in the Army Air Service.  Colonel J. B. Jarret, who operated a museum at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, obtained the SPAD in 1932 from aviation junk dealer Arrigo Balboni of California.  Balboni claimed that the aircraft had been featured in the motion picture Wings (1927).  From 1949 until 1964, the Spad passed between the hands of several private owners.  From 1964 onward, it was displayed and flown at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, until this Museum purchased it in 1965.  The Museum has restored the Spad on numerous occasions: little of the original woodwork remains.  (CA&SM)

‍