Spad S.VII

Engine : 150 hp Hispano-Suiza 8Aa liquid-cooled V-8

Wing span : 7.77 m

Length : 6.13 m

Operating weight : 700 kg

Max.speed : 190 km/h at 2000 m

Ceiling : 5300 m

Endurance : 2.15 Hr.

Armament : 1 machinegun

Spad S.VII N6210, Royal Naval Air Service

Designed around the new V-8 Hispano-Suiza engine, the Spad S.VII soon became known as being one of the most stable gun platforms flying around during the first world war. Despite some structural weaknesses, it was highly popular amongst its pilots.

Spad S.VII in the markings of French ace Georges Guynemer.

Guynemer gained fame as a real sharpshooter in his Spad S.VII ((a stable gun platform in its own right) before disappearing without trace in the Poelkapelle area near the Belgian/French border.

(Airfix 1/72 scale kit boxtop artwork - The Aviation Buffs Archive Collection)