The SPCA 40T, also designated the SPCA VII, was a

mailplane A mail plane is an aircraft used for carrying mail. Aircraft that were purely mail planes existed almost exclusively prior to World War II. Because early aircraft were too underpowered to carry cargoes, and too costly to run any "economy class" ...

built in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the late 1920s.

Design

The 40T was a high-wing monoplane of conventional layout with a thick-sectioned, cantilever wing.''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft'', p.2860 The flight deck and cargo bay were fully enclosed, and the latter could be adapted to seat five passengers.Taylor 1989, p.835 The fixed undercarriage consisted of divided main units with spatted wheels, plus a tailskid. Construction was of metal throughout. The two 40Ts were followed by a single example designated 41T with more powerful Salmson 9Nc engines that first flew on 12 December 1931. Services Aeriens de Madagascar operated the 41T between

Tananarive Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "An ...

and

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

(where the route connected with Imperial Airways). Eventually, the 40Ts were fitted with this same engine, at which time they were redesignated SPCA 218.

Variants

* 40T – initial production version with

Salmson 9Ac Between 1920 and 1951 the Société des Moteurs Salmson in France developed and built a series of widely used air-cooled aircraft engines.Gunston 1986, p. 158. Design and development After their successful water-cooled radial engines, develop ...

engines (2 built) * 41T – version with

Salmson 9Nc Between 1920 and 1951 the Société des Moteurs Salmson in France developed and built a series of widely used air-cooled aircraft engines.Gunston 1986, p. 158. Design and development After their successful water-cooled radial engines, develop ...

engines (1 built) * 218 – original 40Ts refitted with

engines (2 converted)

Operators

* Services Aeriens de Madagascar

Specifications (40T)

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Madagascar – Air services; historical pictures
{{SPCA aircraft 1920s French mailplanes SPCA aircraft Trimotors High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1929