The Blériot-SPAD S.61 was a French

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

developed in 1923. Designed by

André Herbemont André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French language, French-s ...

, the S.61 was a conventional

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

, abandoning the swept upper wing used by Herbemont in several previous designs. The prototype S.61 was evaluated by the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

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

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

Pelletier d'Oisy ''Capitaine'' Georges Pelletier d'Oisy (1892–1953) was a French aviator and World War I ace. He attempted a circumnavigation of the world in 1924. Pelletier d'Oisy began his aviation career as a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial v ...

won the cross-country Coupe Michelin in an S.61, and another of the type won the 1927 competition and was placed second in 1929. An S.61 was also used by Jean Callizo in his fraudulent attempt on the world altitude record that saw him stripped of his 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.

Variants

;S.61/1:prototype for French evaluation, powered by a

Lorraine-Dietrich 12E The Lorraine 12E Courlis was a W-12 (broad arrow) aero engine produced by the French company Lorraine-Dietrich during the 1920s and 1930s. Variants ;12E: ;12Eb: ;12Ebr: ;12Ed: ;12Edr: ;12Ee: ;12Ew:The standard Eb fitted with a supplementary s ...

W-12 engine with supplementary supercharger. ;S.61/2:production version for Poland and Romania, powered by a

W-12 engine with supplementary supercharger. ;S.61bis:converted S.61/2, powered by a

W-12 engine with supplementary supercharger. ;S.61/3:single machine with reduced wingspan, powered by a

W-12 engine with supplementary supercharger. ;S.61/4:single machine with a Lorraine-Dietrich 12Ee W-12 engine. ;S.61/5:three machines with a

Hispano-Suiza 12Gb Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft en ...

W-12 engine. ;S.61/6:racer prototype converted from the S.61bis, powered by a

W-12 engine with supplementary supercharger. ::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. ;S.61/7:Powered by a

Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb The Lorraine 12E Courlis was a W-12 (broad arrow) aero engine produced by the French company Lorraine-Dietrich during the 1920s and 1930s. Variants ;12E: ;12Eb: ;12Ebr: ;12Ed: ;12Edr: ;12Ee: ;12Ew:The standard Eb fitted with a supplementary su ...

W-12 engine, with Rateau supercharger for world altitude record attempt. ;S.61/8:A single S.61/5 refitted with a Hispano-Suiza 12Hb V-12 engine. ;S.61/9:single S.61/6d modified for 1929 Coupe Michelin race, powered by a Lorraine 7Ma Mizar radial engine. ;S.61Ses: (Ses for Sesquiplane) This was the final version of the Bleriot S.61, fitted with sesquiplane wings, powered by a

W-12 engine. (1 built).

Operators

; *

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...

** 2nd Fighter Regiment ** 3rd Fighter Regiment ** 4th Fighter Regiment ** 11th Fighter Regiment ; * Royal Romanian Air Force - 100 purchasedPassingham & Noël 1989, p. 17 ; * Soviet Air Force - One aircraft, used for tests and trials.

Specifications (S.61/2)

References

Bibliography

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