RODEN 604 SPAD VII c.I (EARLY WWI MAIN FRENCH FIGHTER) 1/32 SCALE
DESCRIPTION:
The aircraft builder SPAD was founded in 1911 by Armand Deperdussin. On the eve of WWI it was bankrupted; however, the manufacturer was purchased by the celebrated pilot and designer Louis Blériot. The first wartime products of the firm, the SPAD A.2 and SPAD A.4, were unsuccessful. Although these types were put into production, they did not find great success with the French Army.
In 1915 Germany produced the first true fighter, the Fokker Eindekker E.III, which quickly gained supremacy in the air. The Allies needed to it back as soon as possible. While the Nieuport company counted on a fighter with a conventional rotary engine, SPAD's chief designer Louis Béchereau decided to risk designing a machine around the new Hispano Suiza V8 engine designed by Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt. Blériot convinced the military authorities of the necessity of purchasing a large quantity of these engines, and Hispano Suiza opened a branch in France. Even while he still awaited the engine and had only its scale mock-up to hand, Béchereau designed the prototype SPAD V. After the installation of the engine and its first flights the fighter impressed the military commission, and the Blériot firm received a preliminary order for 286 planes.
During the process of being put into production the plane was visually altered a little bit, while remaining conceptually similar to the prototype. It was officially named the SPAD VII c.1 and it figures in the history of aviation as one of the best fighters of its time. Test flights lasted since April, 1916 and in August of the same year the first machines appeared at the Front. Generally the SPAD VII c.1 received superlative reviews from fighter pilots, and only the rather unreliable operation of the innovative engine detracted from its advantages. The engine builders gradually brought it to perfection which is why the SPAD VII c.1 in due course became a legend in several air forces. It was not so easy to fly or so maneuverable as the Nieuport fighters, but it had a very strong construction, a high speed, and it was forgiving of pilot errors; for a significant number of learner pilots this was an essential quality.
FEATURES:
* Brand: Roden
* Title: WW I SPAD VII c.1
* Number: 604
* Scale: 1/32
* Type: Full kit
* Released: 2008 New tool
* Topic: SPAD VII » Propeller (Aircraft)
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