View source for SPAD S.XI

{|{{Infobox Aircraft Begin
|name=SPAD S.XI
|image=Spad XVI.jpg
|caption=Spad XVI at National Air and Space Museum
}}{{Infobox Aircraft Type
|type=Reconnaissance aircraft
|manufacturer=[[Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés|SPAD]]
|designer=[[Louis Béchereau]]
|first flight=
|primary user=[[History of the Armée de l'Air (1909–1942)|''Aéronautique Militaire'']]
|more users=[[Red Army]]
|number built=1,000 
}}
|}
The '''SPAD S.XI''' or '''SPAD 11''' is a French two-seat [[biplane]] [[reconnaissance aircraft]] of the First World War. The SPAD 11 was the work of [[Louis Béchereau]], chief designer of the [[Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés]] (SPAD), who also designed the highly successful [[SPAD 7]] and [[SPAD 13]] single-seat [[fighter aircraft]]. It was developed under military specification C2, which called for a two-seat fighter aircraft. As a result of its failure to meet the levels of performance and agility demanded by the C2 specification, the SPAD 11 was used, along with the more successful [[Salmson 2]] and [[Breguet 14]], to replace ageing [[Sopwith 1½ Strutter]] and [[Dorand AR]] reconnaissance aircraft. Persistent problems with the SPAD 11 led to its early replacement by the '''SPAD S.XVI''' or '''SPAD 16''' variant.

The SPAD 11 had some resemblance to Béchereau's single-seat fighters and employed much the same method of simple construction. Longer and heavier than the fighters, the SPAD 11's lower wings were designed with cut-outs to improve the observer's view of the ground. The aircraft was armed with a single 0.303-inch (7.7&nbsp;mm) [[Vickers machine gun]] firing forward and a single [[Lewis machine gun]] of the same calibre on a flexible mount for the observer. Testing of the SPAD 11 showed poor performance, said to be little better than that of the [[SPAD S.A]] of 1915 and it was rejected as a C.2 class fighter aircraft, being reclassified as an A.2 reconnaissance aircraft.

Further problems were encountered with the SPAD 11's [[Hispano-Suiza 8]]B engine. Some aircraft were fitted with a 12-cylinder [[Renault]] engine, but this lowered the aircraft's poor performance yet more. Handling problems were encountered, including tail-heaviness, making the aircraft tiring to fly, and a propensity to stall. In spite of these flaws, the SPAD was still superior to the Sopwiths and Dorands, and 12 squadrons were fully equipped with SPAD 11s. Some 1,000 SPAD 11s were built, most of which were out of service by the autumn of 1918, in most cases replaced by the SPAD S.XVI.

Three [[Belgium|Belgian]] squadrons used the SPAD 11 and two from the United States. The SPAD 11 was unpopular in American service, as in French, and so much so that one of the two squadrons issued with SPADs replaced them with [[Sopwith 1½ Strutter]]s. [[Uruguay]] purchased a small number of aircraft after the war and some examples are known to have been used by Russia and Japan.

A single SPAD 11 was modified as a [[night fighter]], fitted with a searchlight on a framework mounted ahead of the propeller, under the Cn2 specification.<ref name="Complete p542"/>

==SPAD S.XVI==
The SPAD 16 was a development of the SPAD 11. It was essentially a SPAD 11 with a [[Lorraine-Dietrich]] engine of 240&nbsp;bhp, or 250&nbsp;bhp according to some sources. The new engine, while more powerful, resulted in a heavier aircraft and performance was slightly inferior to the SPAD 11. The original handling problems were largely unresolved.

The SPAD 16 arrived at the front line around the end of 1917. It equipped 27 French squadrons and 305 two-seater SPADs, mainly SPAD 16s, which were in service with French reconnaissance squadrons at the armistice, as opposed to 530 Salmson and 645 Breguet reconnaissance aircraft. The SPAD 16 served with five post-war French squadrons.

Six SPAD 16s were bought by the United States. One of these, flown by [[Billy Mitchell (general)|Billy Mitchell]], is preserved at the [[National Air and Space Museum]]. He personally flew reconnaissance missions in it when the [[Second Battle of the Marne]] started in the [[Château-Thierry]] sector, in July 1918.

The exact number of SPAD 16s built is uncertain but was probably around 1,000.

==Operators==
;{{BEL}}
*[[Belgian Air Force]]
;{{FRA}}
*[[French Air Force]]
;{{JPN}}
*[[Imperial Japanese Army Air Service]]
;{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} 
*[[Corpo Aeronautico Militare]]
;{{RUS}} / {{USSR}}
*[[Imperial Russian Air Force]]{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}
*[[Soviet Air Force]] - Postwar.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}
;{{flag|Uruguay}}
*[[Uruguayan Air Force]]
;{{USA}}
*[[American Expeditionary Force]]

==Specifications (SPAD S.XI A.2)==
[[File:SPAD XI drawing.jpg|thumb|SPAD XI drawing]]
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=The Complete Book of Fighters<ref name="Complete p542">Green and Swanborough 1994, p. 542.</ref>
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        General characteristics
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|crew=2
|capacity=
|length m=7.84
|length ft=
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|span m=11.21
|span ft=
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|height m=2.80
|height ft=
|height in=
|wing area sqm=30.00
|wing area sqft=
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=679
|empty weight lb=
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|gross weight kg=1035
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|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
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|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=[[Hispano-Suiza 8]]Bc
|eng1 type=water-cooled [[V-8 engine]]
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|eng1 hp=220
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        Performance
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|endurance=2.25 hr
|ceiling m=7,000 |ceiling ft=22,965
|ceiling note=<ref>Angelucci 1983, p. 44.</ref>

|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|time to altitude=3,000 m (9,850 ft) in 12.6 min
|more performance=
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns= 1× fixed forward firing [[Vickers machine gun]] and 1× flexibly mounted [[Lewis gun]] in rear cockpit<ref name="Munson ww1 p164">Munson 1967, p. 164.</ref> 
|bombs= 
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|avionics=
}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Angelucci, Enzo. ''The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, 1914-1980.'' San Diego, California: The Military Press, 1983. {{ISBN|0-517-41021-4}}.
*{{cite journal |last1=Cony|first1=Christophe|title=Aviateur d'Observation en 14/18 (3ème partie et fin) |journal=Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire |date=August 1997 |issue=53 |pages=16–20 |trans-title= |language=French |issn=1243-8650}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Cortet|first1=Pierre|title=Rétros du Mois |journal=Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire |date=May 1998 |issue=62 |page=5 |trans-title=Retros of the Month |language=French |issn=1243-8650}}
* Davilla, James J., & Soltan, Arthur M., ''French Aircraft of the First World War.'' Stratford, Connecticut: Flying Machines Press, 1997. {{ISBN|0-9637110-4-0}}
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Complete Book of Fighters''. New York: Smithmark, 1994. {{ISBN|0-8317-3939-8}}.
* Munson, Kenneth. ''Aircraft of World War I''. London: Ian Allan, 1967. {{ISBN|0-7110-0356-4}}.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://collections.nasm.si.edu/code/emuseum.asp?style=browse&currentrecord=1&page=search&profile=objects&searchdesc=SPAD%20XVI&quicksearch=SPAD%20XVI&newvalues=1&newstyle=single&newcurrentrecord=2 SPAD 16] at the National Air and Space Museum
* [http://www.usaww1.com/Spad_XIII.php4 Photos of Billy Mitchell's Spad XVI]

{{SPAD aircraft}}

[[Category:1910s French military reconnaissance aircraft]]
[[Category:SPAD aircraft|S.XI]]
[[Category:Biplanes]]
[[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1917]]