Bréguet 14, part one. South and Central American users.

 

The Bréguet 14 was a French bomber and reconnaissance biplane of the World War I. It was manufactured in large numbers during and after the conflict. It was used by the French Aéronautique Militaire (French Aeronautical Corps) but it was also exported to many countries all around the globe, among them, the following ones:

• Argentina: The Aeroposta Argentina (Argentine Air Mail) employed three Breguet 14 built by Latécoère for aerial mail duties. They arrived at Buenos Aires in late 1925 and served mainly in the Buenos Aires-Asunción  and Buenos Aires-Montevideo aerial routes. They were reported to be still in active in December 1934 when they were written off.
• Brazil: Brazil bought 16 Breguet 14 A.2 and B.2 in 1919. Four Breguet 14 B.2 served with 1a Esquadrilha de Bombardeio (1st Bombing Squadron), based at Santa María, Rio Grande do Sul, and six Breguet 14 A.2 served with the 3a Esquadrilha de Observaçao (3rd Observation Squadron), based at Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sul. Apart from those machines, six more Breguet were locally assembled. 
  They served until 1928 when those squadrons were disbanded and their aircraft sent to the Escuela de Aviaçao (Aviation School) at Campo dos Alfonsos, in Rio de Janeiro. 
  Another unit, Esquadrilha de Aperfeiçoamento (Operational Conversion Squadron) was based at Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paulo, with six Breguet 14 A.2 in strength. This unit saw combat action during the Paulista Revolt of July 1924. During that month that squadron flew 11 bombing and reconnaissance sorties losing one aircraft to an accident. The Breguet remained there from August to September 1924 , this time as part of the Destacamento de Aviaçao (Air Detachment), of the Brazilian Army. 
  In 1927 every Brazilian Breguet 14 were withdrawn.
• El Salvador: One Breguet 14 B.2 was acquired from France in the mid-1920s. This machine was used for good will flights to both Honduras and Nicaragua in 1926. Unfortunately, it crashed in March 1927 while delivering smallpox vaccine to Managua.
• Guatemala: Three Breguet 14 were shipped to Guatemala by a French air mission in 1918. Anyway the main instructor with the mission died and the crates where the aircraft were, they were sent back to France unassembled. However, we drawn a what-if looking Breguet 14 in Guatemalan colours.
• Paraguay: One Breguet 14A.2 was employed by the Governmental Forces during the Paraguayan Civil War of 1922-1923. It was destroyed during a forced landing at the Ñu-Guasu airfield in the city of Luque, close to the capital, Asunción.  
• Uruguay: The Uruguayan Escuela Militar de Aeronáutica (Military Aeronautical School, forerunner of the Uruguayan Military Aviation) bought six Breguet 14A.2 in 1921. Three Breguet 14T Sanitaire (AKA Breguet 14TS. It was the aerial ambulance version) were acquired in 1927 and one additional 14TS was acquired in June 1928. The 14.A.2 served with the Escuela Militar de Aeronáutica until 1928 when they were replaced by the Potez 25. 
  The 14TS were regrouped in their own unit, named 'Aviación Sanitaria' (Sanitary Aviation), the first of that kind in South America. They served until 1931 when they were replaced by the Farman F.190

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bréguet_14

2. Flying Machines Press  - French Aircraft of the First World War

3. http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/user/every/paraguay-af-all-time-aircraft-used-listing.htm

4. https://www.histarmar.com.ar/AVIACION/EloyMartin/LOS-COMIENZOS-DE-LA-AVIACION-POLICIAL.pdf (translated)

5. https://www.fau.mil.uy/es/noticias/69-los-aviones-ambulancia-al-servicio-del-estado.html (translated)

6. Helion - 08 Aerial Operations in the Revolutions of 1922 and 1947 in Paraguay The First Dogfights in South America

Morane-Saulnier P

 

Thanks to the success of the Morane-Saulnier Type L and Type LA Morane-Saulnier sought to design an improved parasol in 1916. By September 1915 the Nieuport 11 and 11 had replaced the Types L and LA in the frontlines of the Aéronautique Militaire in the fighter role. Although parasols were still useful in the reconnaissance role, the common feel was that with the advent of the Fokker E.III in 1915, a more powerful version of the Type L was needed.

The new design was given the denomination of "P" by Morane-Saulnier, that single letter standing for "parasol". It was a complete redesign of the Type LA with an important number of changes. It was powered by a Le-Rhône 9Jb engine which yielded 110 hp of power. Its fuselage was completely faired with a circular cross-section which contributed to the streamlining of the airplane and its higher speed. The tail unit was similar to that of the Type LA. Armament varied and some machine were field-modified with a 0.303 in Vickers machine gun on top of the wing shooting outside propeller's arc plus a second machine gun on a mounting behind observer's cockpit. The Type P was tested on 31st March 1916 and was accepted for service with the Aéronautique Militaire under the designation of MoS.21. A total of 565 Type Ps were manufactured.

The Type P was used to complement many French reconnaissance aircraft, but it didn't replace the Caudron G.4, Farman M.F.11 and Farman F.40, which were French's main recon aircraft at the time. Many of the French recon and bombing squadrons were assigned some Type Ps which were used for various kinds of missions like short-range reconnaissance, light bombing and spy-dropping behind enemy lines. 

A total of two Escadrilles (Squadrons) were fully equipped with the Type P. The first of which was the MS. 140 created in September 1917 with a total of 13 Type Ps. This squadron was part of the 4e Armée (4th Army) as an Army Co-Operation Unit. The second one was MS.215 which was formed in September too and was assigned to the 6e Armée (6th Army) with also 13 Type Ps in strength. They also served with some other squadrons. However, they didn't stay in active service for long time as they were obsolete by mid-1916. In spite of the large number of built machines, only 118 were in service by August 1917. These were 61 at the frontlines, 52 at the RGA (Réserve Générale de l'Aviation - General Aviation Reserve), three under reparation and two probably serving as a source of spare parts. Both MS.140 and MS.215 were re-equipped with SPAD 16 by early 1918.

Apparently, the Type P was withdrawn from the frontlines due to a mixture of structural failure, pilot error or improper handling of the aircraft by ground crews as it seems that the type required some extra mechanic works. During fall of 1917 the Type P was withdrawn from active service and on 9th August 1917 a memo was issued by the Aéronautique Militaire's HQ to replace all Type Ps with the MoS.26, which was an improved version with a strengthened fuselage a circular engine cowling and the addition of an enlarged spinner to improve aeronautics. It's unknown how may MoS.26 were built.

A fighter version was also built by fairing over the observer's position and with a synchronized Vickers 0.303 in machine gun placed on the nose. Two prototypes were tested and performance was satisfactory. However, it was found that the parasol obstructed pilot's vision. A second prototype was built with a lower wing and the pilot's position aft of the wing which was equipped with an adjustable seat which allowed him to see over the wing at will. This second prototype was armed with two synchronized Vickers 0.303 in placed on the nose and had bigger fuel capacity. This new fighter's performance was only slightly better than the Type P and was not selected for use.

In addition, the Type P was exported to various countries:

• Brazil: In 1919 Brazil acquired a single Type P which was modified to not be able to fly. This version was called "Rouleur" or "Penguin" by the Frenchs and in Brazil, it was used to train pilots how to taxi. It received the serial 1325 and was written off shortly later, in 1920. As we couldn't find a pic of the Brazilian Type P, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Japan: A single Rouleur or Penguin was obtained by Japan in 1919 which was used to train pilots how to taxi. Just its Brazilian counterpart, we couldn't find any pic, so the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Russian Empire: The Imperial Russian Air Service bought an unknown number of Type P from France. Most of these machines were powered by a 110 hp Le-Rhône engine, although some aircraft were uprated with 120 hp Le-Rhône ones. The Type P was clearly better than the Type L or the LA, but Russian pilots found the Type P harder to fly. Some few machines seem to have been locally built in Russia, but due to unpopularity among the pilots it was never used in large numbers.
• United Kingdom: The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) obtained a single Type P in 1916, which, with the serial number MS.746, was tested by the No.2 Aircraft Depot at Candas, in the Somme Department in France. Based on a favorable report of the Type P an order for three additional machines was placed, with some of them being armed with a machine gun and a fairing for a camera and wireless, with a machine gun for the observer in every airplane. 
  Due to a shortage in the Le-Rhône engine, deliveries were delayed. However, once that issue was solved, additional 20 machines were ordered and by September 1916 forty-four additional airplanes were ordered too. Some of those machines were equipped with the fairing for the camera and the observer's gun, but the synchronized forward-firing machine gun was not present in every machine. Instead a Lewis was mounted on top of the wing, firing outside propeller's arc. It's known that some Type Ps served with No.3 and No.1 Squadrons.
  The Le-Rhône engine was still short on supply, and some were finished with an 80 hp Le-Rhône. Of the 36 Type Ps that served with the RFC, nine did so with the No.3 Squadron. By January 1917 every Type P had been relegated to training units. 
  A total of 106 Type Ps were ordered, both of the MoS.21 and MoS.26 variants. The No.3 Squadron used some few MoS.26. By October 1917 the MoS.26 were sent to No.2 Aircraft Depot and those remaining to were relegated to Pilot School No.1 AD at St. Omer, Pas-de-Calais, in France and No.1 Reserve Training Squadron at Gosport, Hampshire, United Kingdom.

Sources:

1. Flying Machines Press - French Aircraft of the First World War

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_P

Macchi M.7 & M.7ter

The Macchi M.7 was an Italian flying boat fighter that was designed both by Alesandro Tonini and manufactured by Macchi. It was similar in most aspects to the earlier M.5 but it featured an slightly modified hull and it was powered by an Isotta Fraschini V6 engine. The first airplane rolled out from the factory in mid-1918, so, due to the end of the World War I only 17 of them served with the Italian Navy.
As the war ended and they had a surplus of airplanes, they sold two to Argentina (who re-sold their ones to Paraguay), other two to Sweden in 1919 and some years later, in 1921 Brazil bought three of them.
In 1920 a new racing version, named M.7bis was designed, featuring a lighter structure and a smaller span-wings. It came foruth at the 1922 Schneider trophy that was hold in Naples.
There was also a third version, the M.7ter which featured a redesigned strengthned hull, a better wing configuration and a new tail. As it was thought to be an airplane designed to operate from seaplane tenders (in fact, it operated from the Giuseppe Miraglia seaplane tender) a version with foldable wings, named M.7terAR was built. It became the standard Italian flying boat fighter during the 1920s as, in 1924 six Italian naval squadrons were equipped with them and more of 100 of them were built, some of them serving until the early 1940s in private flying schools.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macchi_M.7
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Avro 504O

The Avro 504O was a floatplane version of the 504N which was made in 1925 at Manchester.
It was powered by the same Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVc which could deliver up to 180hp of power.

• Brazil: The Brazilian Navy bought some 504O to equip some floatplane squadron. Anyway further information is unknown so the drawing should be considered as speculative
• Chile: The Chilean Navy also had some 504O in service, most probably to replace the previous outdated 504L floatplanes. Unfortunately any graphical info seems impossible to find and the drawing should be taken as speculative.
• Greece: The Greek Navy bought some of them in 1925 together with some 504N and they even produced some of their own in the Kratiko Ergostasion Aeroplanon (State Aircraft Factory) in 1935 before switching to the more advanced Avro 621 Tutor. The 504O served, just like the 504N until 1936.
• Japan: The Imperial Japan bought some 504O most probably to replace the outdated 504L. However as we couldn't find precise information, the drawing should be taken as speculative.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_504

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

3. http://greek-war-equipment.blogspot.com.es/2010/10/1920-1936-avro-504.html

4. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/108778

Avro 504N - American Users

The Avro 504N was an upgraded version of the previous 504K and it was used by the next American users:

• Argentina: Apparently the Argentinean Army Air Service bought at least one of them to test it. Further details are unfortunately, unknown.
• Brazil: The Brazilian Navy's Air Service had some of them under service, most probably replacing the old 504Ks. However as we couldn't find further information, the drawing is speculative.
• Canada: The Royal Canadian Air Force had some 504N in service. Further details are unknown.
• Chile: Apparently it was also used by the Chilean Army Air Service, however any further detail is unknown, so it should be considered as speculative.

Sources:

1. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/108754

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Avro 504K - Latin American users, part one

Now it comes the turn for the various latin-American users of this trainer airplane.

• Argentina: The government of the Argentinean president Hipólito Yrigoyen authorised on 31st July 1920 the purchase of various airplanes, among them there were twenty-two Avro 504K powered by a LeRhône 9J engine. They served in the trainer role until 1928 when they were being replaced by the domestically produced FMA version of the 504R Gosport airplane.
• Bolivia: Apparently, Bolivia had some 504 in their Air Corps during the 1920s, however we couldn't find graphical info and the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Brazil: In 1920 the Brasilian authorities adquired 17 Avro 504k, five of them powered with the Gnome engine and the rest with the LeRhône engine. It was the first airplane adquired by the Brasilian navy destined to operate from land airfields. They were retired in the year 1928 when the government bought the newer N/O version.
• Guatemala: Guatemala funded their Escuela Militar de Aviación (Military Aviation School) back in 1913 and, on 1st May 1920 they renewed their airplane fleet by adquiring some 504Ks.
• Paraguay: There it seems that at least one Avro 504K served with the Paraguayan flying school and some sources claim that it crashed. Anyway we couldn't find any graphical evidence of how it looked like, so the drawing should be considered as speculative.

Sources:

1. http://www.amilarg.com.ar/avro-504.html (translated)

2. https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_504 (translated)

3. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escuela_Militar_de_Aviación_(Guatemala) (translated)

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_504

5. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Ansaldo SVA - Foreign Users, First Entry

We start a new saga of airplanes!. This time we take a deep look into the Italian Ansaldo SVA.

The Ansaldo SVA was a saga of Italian reconnaissance airplanes designed and employed during The Great War and employed also in many other post-war conflicts.

There were various versions:

• SVA1: Later identification of the SV prototype
• SVA2: Pre-production series of the SVA.
• SVA3: Interceptor version. Powered by an SPA 6A engine. Featured one upper-wing mounted fiat machine-gun. AKA 'SVA Ridotto'
• SVA4: Reconnaissance version. Featuring one Vickers Machine gun on the left side and two photo-cameras.
• SVA.5: Recon-Bombing version. Two side mounted frontal Vickers Machine guns and equipped with bomb racks under the fuselage. Some versions were tested with early radio equipment.
• SVA.6: Purely reconnaissance version of the SVA.5. One wing-mounted Fiat machine gun. Equipped with two cameras.
• SVA.7: Recon/bomber of the SVA.6. Racks for 6 bombs under the fuselage.
• SVA.8: AKA Ansaldo A.201/A.202 Prototype of an armoured ground attack variant. It was powered by an Isotta-Fraschini engine. It was written off from inventory in May 1923.
• SVA.9: Two-Seat trainer of the SVA.5. One of them was modified in order to perform the flight over Vienna with the cockpit of the pilot and the observer reverted.
• SVA.10: Two-seat Reconnaissance version.
• ISVA/SVA Am: Floatplane fighter version (ISVA) or floatplane observation airplane (Am), made on request of the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy)
• SVA AP: AP stands for 'Ansaldo Postale' which was just a regular SVA.5 powered by an V6 Isotta-Fraschini employed as a postal airplane.

Now the users covered in this post are:

• Argentina: Both Ansaldo SVA.5 and SVA.10 were employed by the Argentinean Servicio Aeronáutico del Ejército (Army Aeronautical Service) both in their first two fighter squadrons and their military flying schools. One SVA.5 became very famous after crossing the Andes twice, piloted by the Captain Parodi.
• Bolivia: Apparently some of them were used by the Bolivian Cuerpo de Aviación (Aviation Corps). We couldn't find graphical evidence so the drawing should be considered as speculative. UPDATE: The only Ansaldo SVA (most probably a SVA.5) to flight over Bolivia was the one belonging to Count Aldo Barbaro, one of South America's aviation pioneers. He flew in many occasions from lake Titicaca in Peru, to the city of La Paz, in Bolivia achieving various records within South American flights and was also the first South American aviator to reach 4000m high on a flight from Arequipa, in Peru to Oruro, in Bolivia. During one of those flights that took place on July 1923, his aircraft malfunctioned while he was approaching La Paz and his plane crashed killing him on the spot. Nowadays Count Aldo Barbaro is a hero both for Peru and Bolivia.
  It seems that in May 1920 an Italian officer, named Evaristo Ruffo, assigned to the military mission in Argentina, crossed the Argentino-Bolivian border to offer the Bolivian government five SVA.5 (among other many aircraft) in order to set-up an aviation school. However the deal couldn't be closed so the aircraft weren't delivered.
  Thanks to our follower Bluewarrior for giving us the information and providing us with photos.
• Brazil: It seems that some SVA were used by the Brazilian navy aeronautical service. As we couldn't information about these airplanes under Brazilian command, it's considered as speculative both the colours and the sub-model.
• Chile: The Italian colony in Chile bought an airplane and, when performing a demonstration flight, it crashed off the shore of Valparaiso in 1924.
• Ecuador: During 1921 Italy sent a military mission to Ecuador in order to form new pilots there. They bought together with them, an Ansaldo SVA.10, a Macchi M.18 a SAML S2 and an Aviatik D.I. The Ecuadorian aviation school opened up on July 1922.
• Georgia: During the Russian civil war, the Soviet Red Army invaded Georgia in 1921. It is known that the Georgians had a tiny air corps comprissed of some Sopwith Camel and some other SVA.10. Basing on how the Camel looked like, we have drawn the SVA.10, speculating of course.
• Latvia: The Latvian aviation corps had some SVA.10 in active during 1924 when one of them was sent for four days to the Estonian capital of Tallinn as a diplomatic action in order to improve relations between both countries.

Source (for Aldo Barbaro's history):
1. The comments and photos left by our follower, Bluewarrior. Thanks to him.
2. http://aviationpioneers.blogspot.com/2010/05/count-aldo-barbaro.html

SPAD S.VII - First entry, foreign users vol. 1

We start this series of entries with another heavyweight of the Great War: The SPAD S.VII

The SPAD S.VII was the first of a successful saga of French biplane fighters. It was designed by Louis Béchereau and was produced by the Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés (SPAD) (Society for aviations and it's derivatives). It was renowned for being a sturdy and hard to destroy airplane with good climbing and diving characteristics. It was also good as a gun platform although apparently it was too heavy and less maneouvrable than the contemporaneous Nieuport fighters. Many famous WW1 aces like Guynemer, Baracca or Pentland flew it.

As it was widely used both in the Great war and in the aftermaths it suffered many small field modifications, being the most notorious one the inclusion of skis by the Russian DUX factory.

This entry covers the usage by the next countries:

• Argentina: Bought two aircraft for evaluation purposes.
• Belgium: Widely used by their national aviation corps (Aviation Militaire) during World War I and the post-war period. Most precisely it was used by the 5éme and 10éme escadrilles (5th and 10th squadrons).
• Brazil: Used by their national military aviation service (Serviço de Aviação Militar) in 1920.
• Chile: Another evaluation-only user. The colours are speculative as we couldn't find any photographic or visual evidence.
• Czechoslovakia: One of the main post-war users. It constituted the backbone of the very early Czechoslovak Army Air Force (Československé Letectvo) and some of them were employed during the brief Polish-Czechoslovak war of 1919.
• Estonia: It's been said that some captured ex-Russian airplanes were among the first airplanes that formed the Estonian aviation regiment in the aftermath of the Great War. Just like Chile we couldn't find any supporting evidence and therefore the colours are speculative
• Finland: Finland used DUX-built airplanes in both versions, with skis and without them. However they didn't see action during the Finnish civil war of 1918, as far as we know.
• Imperial Germany: Germany captured various airplanes during 1917, mostly from the French SPA 31 unit and SPA 65. Most of the SPA 31 retained the unit insignia when flying with their new German-owners.