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The SPCA 30, also known as SPCA Type III, was a French
In 1928, the French ''
PictureAirspot (in Russian)
{{SPCA aircraft 1930s French bomber aircraft SPCA aircraft Twin-boom aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1931 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft
bomber aircraft
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an aircraf ...
built by the Société Provençale de Constructions Aéronautiques
The ''Société Provençale de Constructions Aéronautiques'' (SPCA) was a French aircraft manufacturing company, with its head office in Paris and its workshop in La Ciotat near Marseille.
History
Founded by Georges Philippar in 1925, SPCA bega ...
(SPCA).
Development and design
In 1928, the French ''Service Technique de l'Aéronautique
The ''Service technique de l'aéronautique'' (STAé) was a French state body responsible for coordinating technical aspects of aviation in France. Formed in 1916 as the Section technique de l'aéronautique the STAé continued until 1980 when its ...
'' (the government body responsible for producing specifications for aircraft for the Frech armed forces) drew up requirements for a four-seat ''Multiplace de Combat'', a multi-role aircraft capable of day and night bombing, reconnaissance and long–range escort duties. In response, SPCA designed an all-metal twin boom
A twin-boom aircraft is characterised by two longitudinal booms (extended nacelle-like bodies). The booms may contain ancillary items such as fuel tanks and/or provide a supporting structure for other items. Typically, twin tailbooms support ...
low wing monoplane, the SPCA 30, the only twin boom aircraft entered into the contest. The aircraft's central fuselage had two open cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
s offset to port, and a machine gun mount in the nose, while two more machine gun mounts were in the tailbooms.
Two prototypes were completed late in 1930. The first one, registration
Register or registration may refer to:
Arts entertainment, and media Music
* Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc.
* ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller
* Registration (organ), th ...
''F-AKCA'' was fitted with two Lorraine-Dietrich 18Kd water-cooled W engine
A W engine is a type of piston engine where three or four cylinder banks use the same crankshaft, resembling the letter W when viewed from the front.
W engines with three banks of cylinders are also called "broad arrow" engines, due to their shap ...
s engines, and made its first flight on 1 February 1931. On 7 August, ''F-AKCA'' was being demonstrated at Villacoublay airfield when the aircraft suffered severe vibration when the engines were brought back to full power, with the tailbooms being displaced by more than a metre, leading to tearing of the skin of the aircraft's tailbooms. Despite the damage, the pilot managed to land the aircraft. The accident was eventually found to be due to flutter, caused by weakness of the wings in torsion
Torsion may refer to:
Science
* Torsion (mechanics), the twisting of an object due to an applied torque
* Torsion of spacetime, the field used in Einstein–Cartan theory and
** Alternatives to general relativity
* Torsion angle, in chemistry
Bi ...
(i.e. twisting), which was exacerbated by the unbalanced control surfaces. The second prototype, ''F-AKCB'', with two 650 hp Hispano-Suiza 12Nb
The Hispano-Suiza 12N was one of two new V-12 engine designs first run in 1928 and was manufactured by Hispano-Suiza's French subsidiary for the Armee d'l'Air. It produced about , was the first to use nitriding, gas nitride hardening and introdu ...
engines, flew on 6 May 1933. The original bulky landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
was later replaced by a lighter one.
Operational history
The SPCA 30, together with other competing aircraft such as the Blériot 137 and the Breguet 410, were rejected in favour of Amiot's proposal, the Amiot 140, which later entered production as a 5-seat night bomber, the Amiot 143.Specifications
See also
References
* *External links
Picture
{{SPCA aircraft 1930s French bomber aircraft SPCA aircraft Twin-boom aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1931 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft