SPAD S.VII questions

[Knusel]

Good evening Gentlemen,

the SPAD S.VII was one of the most distinguished aircraft types of its era with a very lenghty and widespread service. It scored kills from 1916 until 1920 and produced aces from eight nations. However, a few questions remain:

1. Exactly how many of them were built ?
2. What are the precise SPAD S.VII scores of Gabriel Guérin and Claude Haegelen ?
3. Did Portuguese pilot Alberto Lello Portela score his three kills in the SPAD S.VII ?
4. Are Georges Guynemer's and Francesco Baracca's SPAD S.VII's currently exhibited in museums ?
5. Why is William Kennedy-Cochran-Patrick not included in "Fallen Eagles", a book by Norman Franks about British Empire airmen who died in flying accidents ?

Cheers,

Michael

[Pips]

According to Davilla and Soltan's excellent French Aircraft Of The First World War, approximately 3,500 SPAD VII's were built between 1916 and 1919.

The lack of clarity over the total number produced is due to the number of companies producing the VII, poor record keeping, double counting (irregular) of refurbished VII's and (in some instances) poor quality control resulting in completed aircraft being refused as suitable for front line service number.

The manufacturer's involved in the production of the SPAD VII were SPAD, Bleriot, Les Ateliers d'Aviation L. Janoir, Societe d'Etudes Aeronautiques (SAE), Les Ateliers de Construction Regy Freres, Les Ateliers de Construction d'Appareils d'Aviation Roger Somer, Gremont Aeronautiques, Mann Egerton & Co, Bleriot (aeronautiques Ltd of Brooklands, Kellner et ses Fils and Construction Aeronautique Edmond de Marcay.
It was the latter company that would continue SPAD VII production well into 1919.

[Knusel]

Hello Pips,

thanks for your post.
Yes, the production figures for the French WW1 aircraft types are a mess.
Hardly anything can be found about the different Nieuport types.
The generally accepted total for the SPAD S.XIII is 8472 but I also found "8472 ordered, but only 7300 completed". What's your opinion?

Cheers,
Michael