The fast and rugged Spad XIII was among the most successful fighters of the First World War , in a class with the legendary Fokker D.VII and Sopwith Camel. It was flown by some of the most famous air heroes of the war, such as Guynemer, Fonck, Nungesser, Lufbery, Luke, and Rickenbacker.

The original Spad aircraft manufacturing company was formed by Armand Deperdussin in 1910. The acronym Spad was derived from the company's formal name, Soci้t้ pour les Appareils Deperdussin. Spad was taken over in 1914 by the famous aviation pioneer, Louis Bl้riot, when the firm was experiencing serious financial difficulties. Bl้riot renamed the company Soci้t้ pour l'Aviation et ses D้rives, thus retaining the same acronym.

Louis B้chereau, a talented designer who stayed with Spad after the reorganization of the company, was responsible for the successful series of Spad fighters in World War I. In 1915, he recognized the design limits of the then popular air-cooled, rotary engines that powered most French aircraft. A fixed, water-cooled engine, capable of generating at least 150 horsepower, was in his view the power plant of the future. At this time, just such an engine was undergoing trials. It was a new Hispano-Suiza V-8, designed by that company's founder and chief designer, a Swiss-born engineer named Marc Birkigt. The engine was a great step forward in that it had a much better power-to-weight ratio than previous water-cooled designs, as well as many other modern features. The new Hispano-Suiza engine was just what B้chereau was calling for. He designed his next airframe around the advanced Hispano-Suiza motor; the result was the famous Spad VII. By the fall of 1916, Spad VIIs were entering French squadrons and were well received. More than five-and-a-half thousand Spad VIIs were built.

The Spad XIII was a larger, improved version of the earlier Spad VII with, among other improvements, two fixed, forward-firing Vickers machine guns and a more powerful 200-horsepower Hispano-Suiza 8Ba engine. (Later Spad XIIIs had 220- and 235-horsepower Hispano-Suiza V-8 engines.) The prototype Spad XIII made its first flight on April 4, 1917, and by the end of the following month, production aircraft were arriving at the front. The aircraft was particularly noted for its robust construction and its ability to dive at high speed, features that made it one of the best dog-fighting airplanes of the war.

The Spad XIII was produced and deployed in great numbers. By the end of 1918, the parent company and eight other French manufactures had built 8,472 of the sturdy fighters. Almost every French fighter squadron was equipped with them by the end of the war, as well as the American units that were part of the American Expeditionary Force. Spads were also used by the British, the Italians, the Belgians, and the Russians. At the conclusion of hostilities, contracts for an additional 10,000 Spads, 6,000 of which were to be produced for the United States, were cancelled.

Surprisingly, given the large number built, only four Spad XIIIs remain. The one in the NASM collection, nicknamed Smith IV, was assigned to Lt. A. Raymond Brooks, U.S. Army Air Service, who named it after the college attended by his sweetheart and future wife. It was the fourth of his airplanes so named, hence Smith IV.

The Ray Brooks Spad XIII was built by the Kellner et Ses Fils piano works in August 1918. It was delivered to Colombey-les-Belles in September 1918 and assigned to the 22nd Aero Squadron, U.S. Army Air Service, where it was given the number "20" and assigned to Brooks. The aircraft was a replacement for another of the same type in which Brooks had earlier crashed. Brooks achieved one of his six personal aerial victories in Smith IV. Five other victories were scored with Smith IV while flown by other pilots.

After the war, Major Robert L. Walsh, a member of General William Mitchell's staff, proposed the idea of sending two Spad XIIIs to the United States, one of which was Smith IV. The airplane toured the country as part of Liberty Bond drives. It was then transferred to the Smithsonian Institution by the U.S. Air Service in December 1919.

For many years the NASM Spad XIII was displayed at the Smithsonian. Time eventually took its toll and by the 1980s Smith IV's fabric was rotting and tattered, its tires missing, and the airplane was in a general state of disrepair. In 1984-1986, it was fully restored and placed back on public display in the museum's First World War aviation gallery.

Aircraft of the Smithsonian

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome The SPAD S.VII Fighter Plane   The SPAD S.VII was a revolutionary new aircraft introduced by the French in 1916. Originally designed for a rotary engine, it seems ironic that due to a shortage of engines, a Hispano Suiza water cooled V-8 was utilized. This was the beginning of the end for rotary engines. The SPAD was an excellent aircraft and very sturdy. When fitted with a 180 h.p. engine it could fly at almost 22000 feet and attain nearly 120 mph. The only shortcoming of the Spad was a single machine gun instead of two. This aircraft at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is painted in the colors of the French ace Georges Guynemer. He shot down 34 German aircraft with a SPAD S.VII. Guynemer was part of the elite Storks squadron. All his aircraft were named "Old Charlie" (Vieux Charles). The pale yellow color of the aircraft is called "Ecru" and was the color of unbleached linen.Thirty years ago Cole Palen had an original SPAD S.XIII and bequeathed it to the Air Force Museum. I had the privilege to see this aircraft fly again at Cole Palen's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in the Fall of 2000.  1916 SPAD S.VII Taking off.   The SPAD and Sopwith Camel in the skies over Old Rhinebeck. The SPAD landing.   All photos ฉFred Sgrosso 2000 and were taken on October 1st, 2000. You may have noticed that I use the upper case when referring to the SPAD aircraft. That is because SPAD actually is S.P.A.D.; an abbreviation of the company name that Louis Blériot renamed when he took over the original bankrupt SPAD company(Deperdussen) in 1914. He managed to keep the same abbreviated SPAD name even thought the actual name was different. This was done because the SPAD name was well known. Over 6000 SPAD's were produced with Britain , Belgium, Russia, and the United States utilizing this aircraft. The Spad S.VII evolved into the SPAD S.XII which Eddie Rickenbacker flew to become our American ace in WWI.   This page was created on 8November2000.

SPAD VII Period: World War I Uses: Fighter First Flight: April 1916 Display Status: On the Museum Floor. (JPG - 20 k) ฉ Canada Aviation Museum (Canada) The French SPAD was a success from its introduction. Early versions climbed slowly, but a more powerful engine and increased wing-area improved performance in the subsequent SPAD VII. SPADs serving in the air forces of Belgium, Britain, Italy, and Russia were built in Britain and Russia. SPADs also went to the United States, Peru, Portugal, Brazil, Greece, Rumania, Siam (now Thailand), and Yugoslavia. SPAD VII production totalled 3 825 aircraft, with many continuing to fly well after World War I. (JPG - 33 k) ฉ Canada Aviation Museum (Canada) The SPAD was the aircraft flown by nearly all the French aces. Its strength and thin wings resulted in good diving ability which French pilots used to advantage in their fighting style. Relatively poor results achieved by SPAD VIIs in British hands may have been due to a mismatch between the aircraft's flying characteristics and the close-combat aerobatic tactics favoured by the Royal Flying Corps. A Canadian, Major A.D. Carter, was the highest scoring Royal Flying Corps SPAD pilot with twelve victories in this type. Museum Example Registration #: B9913 (RFC) Manufacturer: Mann, Egerton & Company, Great Britain Manufacture Date: 1917 Construction #: 103 Aquisition Date: 1965 Provenance: Purchase The museum specimen was built in England in 1917. Its British service history is unknown, but in 1918 it was sent for air service in the United States. After a number of owners and rebuilds, this aircraft was displayed and flown at the United States Air Force Museum in 1964-65. In 1965 it was purchased by the Canada Aviation Museum. The aircraft has been restored so often that little of the original woodwork remains. Specifications Wing Span: 7.8 m (25 ft 7 7/8 in) Length: 6.1 m (20 ft) Height: 2.3 m (7 ft 6 1/2 in) Weight, Empty: 500 kg (1,102 lb) Weight, Gross: 705 kg (1,554 lb) Cruising Speed: Unknown Max Speed: 193 km/h (120 mph) Rate of Climb: 2,000 m (6,560 ft)/4.7min Service Ceiling: 6,553 m (21,500 ft) Range: 1.5 hours (Endurance) Power Plant: one Hispano Suiza 8ab, 180 hp, V-8 engine Additional Photographs The Canada Aviation Museum's Digital Archive contains additional photographs of this aircraft. Images are provided for non-commercial study or research purposes only (see note below) and may not be reproduced or published without the prior consent of the Canada Aviation Museum. Find out more about our photo archive and other search engine options here.

SPAD Aircraft by Paul Thompson Spad A2 Amodel Spad A2. 1/72nd scale. Kit decals go on okay but the lettering is too large. I've used some of the Part detail set. The kit is rather crude, but the PE addresses most issues. I've gone for a worn and beat-up appearance since most examples in the Datafile had seen better days. I left the gun off 'cos I felt like it. Ho hum. In the end I messed up the paint a lot and clogged the nice grillwork on the nacelle, but it's included on the site anyway since I think it gives a reasonable impression, although not a model that bears getting too close to. SPAD XIII This Spad is a recent quicky done purely for the barking mad colour scheme. On reflection I should have replaced the struts rather than just thinning them. I made no attempt to correct the kit (Revell), just added a cockpit and rolled copper rigging. Three SPADs A Tale Of Three Spads - These are the Dragon and Testors Spads XIII, and the AJP Spad VII. SPAD VII This is the 1/48th AJP Maquettes SPAD 7. Spad VII This is a Blue Max Spad 7, for a long time the only game in town except the very hard to fing JMGT kit. To be honest I made a pig's ear of this, but so long as you don't get too close (about 20 feet)it looks not too bad. Decals are by Aeromaster, except the top wing roundels since these where too big. Couldn't find any aftermarket so finally used 2 sets of very translucent Propagteam decals from a Smer Sopwith Camel, and had a go at overpainting the red to blend it in. Spad VII This is a Special Hobby Spad 7 in 1/48th. Built at the same time as the Blue Max Spad, the interplane struts where used from the latter kit by mind-boggling brainfade. Still fun though. Equipped with twin machine guns and a larger engine, the SPAD S.XIII was based upon the smaller SPAD S.VII. Built in large numbers, it was fast and powerful but difficult to fly. The SPAD S.XIII was flown by many of the famous aces including Georges Guynemer and Eddie Rickenbacker. With 18 victories, Irish ace William Cochran-Patrick scored more victories with the SPAD S.VII and SPAD S.XIII than any other ace. Units Belgian Air Service: 10me French Air Service: Spa93, Spa159 Royal Flying Corps: 19, 23 Specifications Country: France Manufacturer: Soci้t้ Anonyme Pour L'Aviation et ses D้rives Type: Fighter First Introduced: September 1917 Number Built: 8,472 Engine(s): Hispano-Suiza 8 BEc 8 cylinder liquid cooled inline V, 235 hp Wing Span: 26 ft 11 in Length: 20 ft 8 in Height: 7 ft 11 in Empty Weight: Gross Weight: 1,801 lb Max Speed: 138 mph at 6,560 ft Ceiling: 21,820 ft Endurance: 2 hours Crew: 1 Armament: 2 Vickers .303 machine guns Books