SPAD S.XIII - WikiHQ

featuring a mainly wooden structure with a fabric covering. It was however generally larger and heavier than its predecessor. Other changes were made to the ailerons, the rounded tips of the tailplanes, the bulkier cowling accommodating the gear-drive Hispano-Suiza 8B engine, and enlarged fin and rudder with a curved trailing edge.

The S.XIII featured relatively conventional construction, that being a wire-braced biplane with a box-shaped fuselage and a nose-mounted engine, except for its interposed wing struts located halfway along the wing span, which gave the fighter the appearance of being a double-bay aircraft instead of a single-bay. The fuselage consisted of four square-section longerons, with wooden struts and cross-members while braced with heavy-gauge piano wire. Wire cable was used for the flying and landing wires.

thumb|A SPAD S.XIII of the American [[103rd Aero Squadron - note exposed aileron bellcrank protruding from lower wing, also used for the A.2 "pulpit fighter" and S.VII.]]

thumb|A SPAD S.XIII at Air Service Production Center No. 2, Romorantin Aerodrome, France, 1918

To enable a two-hour endurance, the S.XIII was fitted with several underbelly fuel tanks held within the forward fuselage area which fed into the main service tank in the upper wing center section with an engine-driven pump. Similar pumps were used for supplying pressurised oil and water circulation between the engine's radiator and a header tank was housed within the upper wing. The circular nose radiator incorporated vertical Venetian-style blinds to regulate engine temperatures. saving some over the Vickers' , for the guns alone. By the end of the war, about half of American S.XIIIs had been converted.

The powerplant of the S.XIII was a geared Hispano-Suiza engine, at first a 8Ba providing , These improvements produced a notable improvement in flight and combat performance. At least one American observer believed at the time that the French were giving the American SPAD XIII squadrons lower-quality engines from their least favored manufacturers while keeping the best for themselves. The reliability issues were an acceptable price to pay for improved performance, however, improved build quality and changes to the engine improved serviceability.

At the beginning of 1918 the Aviation Militaire issued a requirement for a more powerful fighter, in a C1 (Chasseur single-seat) specification. SPAD responded by fitting the Hispano-Suiza 8Fb in the SPAD XIII airframe. The structure was strengthened and improved aerodynamically, retaining the dimensions of the SPAD XIII. Twenty SPAD XVII fighters were built and issued to units with GC 12 (Les Cigones).

Operational history

250px|thumb|A SPAD XIII painted to represent the aircraft flown by [[Arizona native Frank Luke Jr., the first aviator awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration in the United States, in World War I.]]

Armée de l'Air

Deliveries to the commenced During May 1917, only one month following the type's first flight. The new aircraft quickly became an important element in the French plans for its fighter force, being expected to replace the SPAD S.VII as well as remaining Nieuport fighters in front line service.

However the slow rate of deliveries disrupted these forecasts and by the end of March 1918, only 764 of the planned 2,230 had been delivered.

Eventually, the S.XIII equipped nearly every French fighter squadron, 74 escadrilles, during the First World War. At the end of the war, plans were underway to replace the S.XIII with several fighter types powered by the Hispano-Suiza 8F, such as the Nieuport-Delage NiD 29, the SPAD S.XX and the Sopwith Dolphin II. These plans lapsed following the signing of the Armistice of 11 November 1918, which ended the First World War and the SPAD S.XIII remained in French service as a fighter aircraft until 1923, Aces of the United States Army Air Service who flew the S.XIII include Eddie Rickenbacker (the United States' leading First World War ace with 26 victories) and Frank Luke (18 victories). Andrews attributes the S.XIII's natural stability, which made it a steady gun platform, as the key for its success.

USAAS

Other Allied forces were quick to adopt the new fighter as well and the SPAD XIII equipped 15 of the 16 operational USAAS pursuit squadrons by the Armistice. Prior to the United States entry into the war, American volunteers flying with the Allies had been flying the type. Nearly half of the 893 purchased by the United States were still in service by 1920. In the United States, some S.XIIIs were re-engined with Wright-Hispano engines and used to prepare pilots for the new Thomas-Morse MB-3 fighter (which used SPAD-type wings) in 1922. The Wright-Hispano engines were unable to match the performance of the original powerplant. The type was used as an interim fighter while awaiting delivery of British-built aircraft.

Corpo Aeronautico Militare

The S.XIII was also acquired by Italy for the Corpo Aeronautico Militare.

;

Imperial Russian Air Service

;

Serbian Air Force

;

Soviet Air Force – Taken over from the Imperial Russian Air Force.

; Siam

Royal Siamese Aeronautical Service – Locally designated B.Kh.3 ().

; Kingdom of Spain

Spanish Air Force

;

Turkish Air Force

; United Kingdom

Royal Flying Corps
No. 19 Squadron RFC – One aircraft
No. 23 Squadron RFC – December 1917 – May 1918.

;

United States Army Air Service
13th Aero Squadron
22nd Aero Squadron
27th Aero Squadron
28th Aero Squadron
49th Aero Squadron
93rd Aero Squadron thumb|A SPAD S.XII of the [[13th Aero Squadron, November 1918.]]
94th Aero Squadron
95th Aero Squadron
103rd Aero Squadron
139th Aero Squadron
141st Aero Squadron
147th Aero Squadron
213th Aero Squadron

;

Uruguayan Air Force

Surviving aircraft

Belgium

SP49 – on static display at the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels.

France

S4377 – airworthy with the Memorial Flight Association in La Ferté-Alais, Île-de-France.
S5295/S15295 – on static display at the Musée de la Grande Guerre du pays de Meaux, on loan from the Musée de l'air et de l'espace in Paris, Île-de-France.

United States

S7689 Smith IV – on static display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
S16594 – on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. It is painted to represent Eddie Rickenbacker's aircraft.
S15155 – on static display at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport 44th Street Sky Train Station in Phoenix, Arizona. Includes parts from three different aircraft and is painted to represent a SPAD XIII flown by Frank Luke.

Specifications (SPAD S.XIII)

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

Andrews, C.F. Profile No 17: The SPAD XIII C.1. Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications, 1965.
Bruce, J.M. The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing). London: Putnam, 1982. .
Bruce, J.M. "The First Fighting SPADs". Air Enthusiast, Issue 15, April–July 1981, pp. 58–77. Bromley, Kent: Pilot Press. ISSN 0143-5450.
Bruce, J.M. "Spad Story: Part One". Air International, Vol. 10, No. 5, May 1976, pp. 237–242. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll.
Bruce, J.M. "Spad Story: Part Two". Air International, Vol. 10, No. 6, June 1976, pp. 289–296, 310–312. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll.
Bruce, J.M., Michael P. Rolfe and Richard Ward. AircamAviation Series No 9: Spad Scouts SVII–SXIII. Canterbury, UK: Osprey, 1968. .
Maurer, Maurer, ed. The U.S. Air Service in World War I: Volume I: The Final Report and a Tactical History. Washington, D.C.: The Office of Air Force History, USAF, 1978.
Sharpe, Michael. Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes. London: Friedman/Fairfax Books, 2000. .
Winchester, Jim. Fighter: The World's Finest Combat Aircraft – 1913 to the Present Day. New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing, Inc. and Parragon Publishing, 2006. .

External links

Spad S. XIII shown in Belgique maximum card
Spad XIII in the United States Air Service with pursuit group histories
The NMUSAF's SPAD S.XIII Page