Blériot-SPAD S.61

S.61
Role	Fighter
Manufacturer	Blériot, and CWL/PZL under licence
Designer	André Herbemont
First flight	6 November 1923
Primary users	Polish Air Force; Romanian Air Force
Number built	ca. 350, plus 30 built under licence in Poland

The Blériot-SPAD S.61 was a French

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

).

Operational history

Apart from their military service, S.61s were used in France for racing and record-setting attempts. On 25 June

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]

Variants

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

S.61bis

S.61/3

S.61/4

S.61/5

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

S.61/6b:The S.61/6a converted with extra fuel tankage for the 1924 Coupe Michelin race

S.61/6c:single aircraft built to contest world airspeed record; destroyed in the attempt

S.61/6d:single aircraft built for unsuccessful attempt on world airspeed record.^[10]

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

S.61/9

S.61Ses

Operators

Poland

Polish Air Force
- 2nd Fighter Regiment
- 3rd Fighter Regiment
- 4th Fighter Regiment
- 11th Fighter Regiment

Romania

Royal Romanian Air Force - 100 purchased^[14]

Soviet Union

Soviet Air Force
- One aircraft, used for tests and trials.

Specifications (S.61/2)

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928,^[15] Aviafrance:S.61/2^[4]

General characteristics

Crew: 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 propeller

Performance

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-guns

References

^ "Raids, Records et Performances". l'Aérophile: 197. 1 July 1925.
^ Wojciech Sankowski, Intrygujące Spady in: Lotnictwo z szachownicą 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 & Noël 1989, p. 17
^ Grey, C.G., ed. (1928). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. p. 87c.

Bibliography

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.