The Blériot-SPAD S.61 was a French fighter aircraft developed in 1923. Designed by André Herbemont, the S.61 was a conventional biplane, abandoning the swept upper wing used by Herbemont in several previous designs. The prototype S.61 was evaluated by the French Air Force alongside the S.51 as a potential new fighter, but like its stablemate, was rejected. The Polish Air Force (which had also purchased the S.51) was impressed enough to order 250, as well as purchase licences for local production. The Romanian Air Force also ordered 100 aircraft. About 30 were built in Poland, by the CWL (Centralne Warszaty Lotnicze - Central Aviation Workshops, a predecessor of PZL).
Apart from their military service, S.61s were used in France for racing and record-setting attempts. On 25 June 1925, Pelletier d'Oisy won the cross-country Coupe Michelin in an S.61,[1] and another of the type won the 1927 competition and was placed second in 1929. An S.61 was also used by Jean Callizo in his fraudulent attempt on the world altitude record that saw him stripped of his Légion d'Honneur. A Polish S.61 placed second in the Capitaine Echard race at the Zürich aerial meeting in 1927.
The S.61 (known in Poland simply as Spad S.61) had a poor reputation in Poland due to numerous crashes, many attributed to a weak wing mounting. During the period from 1926 to 1931, 26 pilots were killed while flying the S.61.[2]
Variantsedit
S.61/1
prototype for French evaluation, powered by a 320 kW (430 hp) Lorraine-Dietrich 12E W-12 engine with supplementary supercharger.[3]
S.61/2
production version for Poland and Romania, powered by a 340 kW (450 hp) Lorraine-Dietrich 12E W-12 engine with supplementary supercharger.[4]
S.61bis
converted S.61/2, powered by a 320 kW (430 hp) Lorraine-Dietrich 12E W-12 engine with supplementary supercharger.[5]
S.61/3
single machine with reduced wingspan, powered by a 320 kW (430 hp) Lorraine-Dietrich 12E W-12 engine with supplementary supercharger.[6]
Blériot-SPAD S.61/9 photo from L'Aérophile July,1929single S.61/6d modified for 1929 Coupe Michelin race, powered by a 170 kW (230 hp) Lorraine 7Ma Mizar radial engine.[13]
S.61Ses
(Ses for Sesquiplane) This was the final version of the Bleriot S.61, fitted with sesquiplane wings, powered by a 340 kW (450 hp) Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb W-12 engine. (1 built).[10]
^Grey, C.G., ed. (1928). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. p. 87c.
Bibliographyedit
Kotelnikov, V.; Kulikov, V. & Cony, C. (November 2001). "Les avions français en URSS, 1921–1941" [French Aircraft in the USSR, 1921–1941]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (104): 37–43. ISSN 1243-8650.
Passingham, Malcolm; Noël (October 1989). "Les avions militaires roumains de 1910 à 1945". Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French). No. 239. pp. 14–15, 17–21.
Further readingedit
Taylor, John W. R.; Alexander, Jean (1969). Combat Aircraft of the World. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 129–130.
Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 164.
World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 890 Sheet 42.
December 15, 2023
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The Bleriot SPAD S 61 was a French fighter aircraft developed in 1923 Designed by Andre Herbemont the S 61 was a conventional biplane abandoning the swept upper wing used by Herbemont in several previous designs The prototype S 61 was evaluated by the French Air Force alongside the S 51 as a potential new fighter but like its stablemate was rejected The Polish Air Force which had also purchased the S 51 was impressed enough to order 250 as well as purchase licences for local production The Romanian Air Force also ordered 100 aircraft About 30 were built in Poland by the CWL Centralne Warszaty Lotnicze Central Aviation Workshops a predecessor of PZL S 61Role FighterManufacturer Bleriot and CWL PZL under licenceDesigner Andre HerbemontFirst flight 6 November 1923Primary users Polish Air ForceRomanian Air ForceNumber built ca 350 plus 30 built under licence in Poland Contents 1 Operational history 2 Variants 3 Operators 4 Specifications S 61 2 5 See also 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 Further readingOperational history editApart from their military service S 61s were used in France for racing and record setting attempts On 25 June 1925 Pelletier d Oisy won the cross country Coupe Michelin in an S 61 1 and another of the type won the 1927 competition and was placed second in 1929 An S 61 was also used by Jean Callizo in his fraudulent attempt on the world altitude record that saw him stripped of his Legion d Honneur A Polish S 61 placed second in the Capitaine Echard race at the Zurich aerial meeting in 1927 The S 61 known in Poland simply as Spad S 61 had a poor reputation in Poland due to numerous crashes many attributed to a weak wing mounting During the period from 1926 to 1931 26 pilots were killed while flying the S 61 2 Variants editS 61 1 prototype for French evaluation powered by a 320 kW 430 hp Lorraine Dietrich 12E W 12 engine with supplementary supercharger 3 S 61 2 production version for Poland and Romania powered by a 340 kW 450 hp Lorraine Dietrich 12E W 12 engine with supplementary supercharger 4 S 61bis converted S 61 2 powered by a 320 kW 430 hp Lorraine Dietrich 12E W 12 engine with supplementary supercharger 5 S 61 3 single machine with reduced wingspan powered by a 320 kW 430 hp Lorraine Dietrich 12E W 12 engine with supplementary supercharger 6 S 61 4 single machine with a 360 kW 480 hp Lorraine Dietrich 12Ee W 12 engine 7 S 61 5 three machines with a 340 kW 450 hp Hispano Suiza 12Gb W 12 engine 8 S 61 6 racer prototype converted from the S 61bis powered by a 320 kW 430 hp Lorraine Dietrich 12E W 12 engine with supplementary supercharger 9 S 61 6a single racer dd S 61 6b The S 61 6a converted with extra fuel tankage for the 1924 Coupe Michelin race dd S 61 6c single aircraft built to contest world airspeed record destroyed in the attempt dd S 61 6d single aircraft built for unsuccessful attempt on world airspeed record 10 dd S 61 7 Powered by a 340 kW 450 hp Lorraine Dietrich 12Eb W 12 engine with Rateau supercharger for world altitude record attempt 11 S 61 8 A single S 61 5 refitted with a 370 kW 500 hp Hispano Suiza 12Hb V 12 engine 12 S 61 9 nbsp Bleriot SPAD S 61 9 photo from L Aerophile July 1929single S 61 6d modified for 1929 Coupe Michelin race powered by a 170 kW 230 hp Lorraine 7Ma Mizar radial engine 13 S 61Ses Ses for Sesquiplane This was the final version of the Bleriot S 61 fitted with sesquiplane wings powered by a 340 kW 450 hp Lorraine Dietrich 12Eb W 12 engine 1 built 10 Operators edit nbsp PolandPolish Air Force 2nd Fighter Regiment 3rd Fighter Regiment 4th Fighter Regiment 11th Fighter Regiment nbsp RomaniaRoyal Romanian Air Force 100 purchased 14 nbsp Soviet UnionSoviet Air Force One aircraft used for tests and trials Specifications S 61 2 edit nbsp Bleriot SPAD S 61 3 view Aero Digest August 1930Data from Jane s all the World s Aircraft 1928 15 Aviafrance S 61 2 4 General characteristicsCrew 1 Length 6 6 m 21 ft 8 in Upper wingspan 9 62 m 31 ft 7 in Lower wingspan 8 96 m 29 ft 5 in Height 3 1 m 10 ft 2 in Wing area 30 m2 320 sq ft Empty weight 1 012 kg 2 231 lb Gross weight 1 522 kg 3 355 lb Powerplant 1 Lorraine Dietrich 12E W 12 water cooled piston engine 340 kW 450 hp Propellers 2 bladed fixed pitch propellerPerformance Maximum speed 260 km h 160 mph 140 kn Range 400 km 250 mi 220 nmi Service ceiling 8 500 m 27 900 ft Time to altitude 4 000 m 13 000 ft in 9 minutes 29 seconds Wing loading 50 7 kg m2 10 4 lb sq ft Power mass 0 2108 kW kg 0 1282 hp lb Armament 2 fixed forward firing 7 7 mm 0 303 in Vickers machine gunsSee also editRelated lists List of Interwar military aircraftReferences edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bleriot SPAD S 61 Raids Records et Performances l Aerophile 197 1 July 1925 Wojciech Sankowski Intrygujace Spady in Lotnictwo z szachownica nr 6 Parmentier Bruno 26 November 2001 SPAD S 61 1 Aviafrance in French Paris Retrieved 2 March 2018 a b Parmentier Bruno 4 December 2001 SPAD S 61 2 Aviafrance in French Paris Retrieved 2 March 2018 Parmentier Bruno SPAD S 61bis in French Paris Retrieved 2 March 2018 Parmentier Bruno 3 December 2001 SPAD S 61 3 Aviafrance in French Paris Retrieved 2 March 2018 Parmentier Bruno 3 December 2001 SPAD S 61 4 Aviafrance in French Paris Retrieved 2 March 2018 Parmentier Bruno 4 December 2001 SPAD S 61 5 Aviafrance in French Paris Retrieved 2 March 2018 Parmentier Bruno 3 December 2001 SPAD S 61 6 Aviafrance in French Paris Retrieved 2 March 2018 a b Parmentier Bruno 4 December 2001 SPAD S 61Ses Aviafrance in French Paris Retrieved 2 March 2018 Parmentier Bruno 4 December 2001 SPAD S 61 7 Aviafrance in French Paris Retrieved 2 March 2018 Parmentier Bruno 4 December 2001 SPAD S 61 8 Aviafrance in French Paris Retrieved 2 March 2018 Parmentier Bruno 4 December 2001 SPAD S 61 9 Aviafrance in French Paris Retrieved 2 March 2018 Passingham amp Noel 1989 p 17 Grey C G ed 1928 Jane s all the World s Aircraft 1928 London Sampson Low Marston amp company ltd p 87c Bibliography editKotelnikov V Kulikov V amp Cony C November 2001 Les avions francais en URSS 1921 1941 French Aircraft in the USSR 1921 1941 Avions Toute l Aeronautique et son histoire in French 104 37 43 ISSN 1243 8650 Passingham Malcolm Noel October 1989 Les avions militaires roumains de 1910 a 1945 Le Fana de l Aviation in French No 239 pp 14 15 17 21 Further reading editTaylor John W R Alexander Jean 1969 Combat Aircraft of the World New York G P Putnam s Sons pp 129 130 Taylor Michael J H 1989 Jane s Encyclopedia of Aviation London Studio Editions p 164 World Aircraft Information Files London Bright Star Publishing pp File 890 Sheet 42 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bleriot SPAD S 61 amp oldid 1169471089, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
