The Blériot-SPAD S.61 was a French

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

developed in 1923. Designed by André Herbemont, 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 (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

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 PZL, may refer to: Places * PZL, an IATA airport code for Phinda Airfield in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * PZL, a location code for the Złotów County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, in the system of the vehicle registration plates of Polan ...

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* January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

, Pelletier d'Oisy won the cross-country

Coupe Michelin The Michelin Cup refers to a number of competitions sponsored by the French tyre manufacturer Michelin for long-distance flight made in aeroplanes. The first Michelin prize was announced in March 1908. The principal prize, to be awarded annually f ...

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 The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. 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 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 Lorraine-Dietrich was a French language, French automobile and aircraft engine manufacturer from 1896 until 1935, created when r ...

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 () is the aerial warfare Military branch, 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 26,000 military personnel an ...

** 2nd Fighter Regiment ** 3rd Fighter Regiment ** 4th Fighter Regiment ** 11th Fighter Regiment ; *

Royal Romanian Air Force The Air Force branch of the Royal Romanian forces in World War II was officially named the (ARR, ), though it is more commonly referred to in English histories as the (Royal Romanian Air Force, FARR), or simply (Romanian Air Force). It provided ...

- 100 purchasedPassingham & Noël 1989, p. 17 ; *

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

Operational history

Variants

Operators

Specifications (S.61/2)

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading