Société pour l'aviation et ses dérivés
| Company type | Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aircraft manufacturing |
| Predecessor | Aéroplanes Deperdussin / Société de Production des Aéroplanes Deperdussin |
| Founded | 1911 |
| Founder | Armand Deperdussin |
| Defunct | 1921 |
| Fate | Integrated into Blériot company |
| Successor | Blériot-SPAD |
| Headquarters | Laon, Paris (Grenelle), France , France |
Area served | France, Russia, Britain |
Key people | Armand Deperdussin, Louis Béchereau, Louis Blériot |
| Products | Military aircraft, racing aircraft, seaplanes, motorboats |
| Parent | Blériot (from 1921) |
SPAD (Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés) was a French aircraft manufacturer operating between 1911 and 1921. Its SPAD S.XIII biplane became the most widely produced French fighter airplane during the First World War.
Deperdussin
Established in 1911 under the name Aéroplanes Deperdussin, the company was renamed Société de Production des Aéroplanes Deperdussin in 1912. The founder, Armand Deperdussin (born 1867), shifted from his previous careers as a silk trader and cabaret performer to aviation entrepreneurship after setting up an aircraft factory at Laon in 1909. He appointed engineer Louis Béchereau (1880–1970) as technical director, who was responsible for designing all later Deperdussin and SPAD models.
Following an unsuccessful initial canard-style aircraft, the Type A quickly gained commercial success, prompting a range of similar monoplanes comparable to the Nieuport IV and Morane-Saulnier G. The Deperdussin TT became a key export item, with 63 units produced by Russia's Lebedev company and others manufactured by the British Deperdussin Company in London. From 1911, production expanded to a new plant at Grenelle, Paris, with supplementary workshops in Le Havre and Juvisy. These facilities also supported motorboat and seaplane construction alongside operating three flight schools.
The firm earned recognition through racing aircraft such as the groundbreaking Deperdussin Monocoque, which secured victories in the 1912 and 1913 Gordon Bennett Trophy contests, established multiple speed world records, and was the first airplane to surpass . Additionally, a Deperdussin floatplane claimed victory in the inaugural Schneider Trophy held in April 1913 at Monaco, achieving an average speed of .
Deperdussin arrested
On 6 August 1913, Armand Deperdussin was detained on charges of fraud. Known for his extravagant lifestyle and sponsorship of competitions like the Gordon Bennett Cup, he funded these activities lavishly. The commercial branch of the Comptoir Industrial et Colonial bank uncovered that he had obtained loans fraudulently, using forged receipts from his silk business as collateral. He remained imprisoned until his trial in 1917. Although it was argued that much of the funding supported French aviation progress, he was found guilty and sentenced to five years but was immediately released under a first-offender pardon. Deperdussin later took his own life in 1924.
SPAD
Following Armand Deperdussin's bankruptcy in 1913, the company entered into administration and was renamed Société Provisoire des Aéroplanes Deperdussin, marking the initial use of the SPAD acronym. With financial support withdrawn, the company's survival was at risk. A consortium led by Louis Blériot acquired its assets and restructured it as Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés, maintaining the SPAD abbreviation.
The early Béchereau-SPAD aircraft were distinctive two-seat biplanes featuring a forward-firing machine gun in a tractor configuration, with the pilot seated behind the wings and an observer/gunner positioned in a nacelle ahead of the propeller. Models S.A.1 through S.A.4 were produced in limited quantities—approximately sixty units each for French (mainly S.A.2) and Russian air forces (primarily S.A.4)—but these designs proved neither popular nor effective. The emergence of the Nieuport 11 and improved French machine gun synchronization systems rendered this layout obsolete.
Other initial projects like the SPAD SE, a twin-engine bomber, performed well during testing but failed to secure orders.
The breakthrough came with Béchereau's design of the SPAD S.VII, a single-seat tractor biplane fighter powered by the new Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine. Although heavier and less agile than earlier fighters, its superior speed and durability offered tactical advantages. Around 3,500 units were produced in France, with additional manufacturing in Britain and Russia; however, many Russian deliveries were delayed due to civil unrest.
Wartime designs following the SPAD S.VII retained its general configuration. Two-seater models such as the SPAD XI and SPAD XVI saw moderate production numbers (~1,000 each) but lagged behind competitors like the Breguet 14 (5,500 built) and Salmson 2 (3,200 built). Single-seat variants achieved greater success: the SPAD XII introduced a geared Hispano-Suiza engine enabling a Hotchkiss cannon to fire through the propeller hub. Despite orders for 300 units, most were completed as standard fighters due to its challenging handling characteristics.
The widely produced SPAD S.XIII, an enlarged SPAD S.VII equipped with a more powerful geared Hispano-Suiza engine, had production estimates ranging from 7,300 to 8,472 units. It was flown by famous aces including Italy's Count Francesco Baracca and USAAS Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, who scored 34 and 26 victories respectively. By war’s end, all 1,152 single-seat fighters deployed by French front-line squadrons were SPAD XIII models; nearly 900 served within American forces.
Despite its achievements, SPAD faced difficulties meeting demand; production expanded to include other manufacturers such as competitors and companies that later became significant postwar players. In 1916, over 98% of SPAD production originated from SPAD and Blériot factories; by 1918 this share dropped to 43%, with licensed producers manufacturing most SPAD XIII fighters. Overall, SPAD designs represented about one-fifth of all French aircraft manufactured during World War One.
Blériot-SPAD
Following the war, the enterprise was renamed Blériot-SPAD. The initial aircraft developed under this new title was Bécherau's monocoque SPAD S.XX biplane. Although its prototype took flight in 1918, production did not commence until 1920, delayed by postwar budget reductions and a preference for the more advanced Nieuport-Delage NiD.29, which restricted orders to just 93 units.
The postwar period also introduced significant financial burdens due to the excess profits tax enacted in 1916, which taxed surplus earnings at an 80% rate. Facing uncertain future prospects, SPAD was completely integrated into the Blériot company in 1921, marking the end of its independent operations, although certain Blériot aircraft continued to be sold under the SPAD brand.
Aircraft
- De Feure-Deperdussin 2 Monoplane 1910
- Deperdussin Type A 1910
- Deperdussin Type B 1911 – including both "Sports" and "Military" models
- Deperdussin concours militaire 1911
- Deperdussin Type C
- Deperdussin 1912 Racing Monoplane
- Deperdussin Monocoque
- Deperdussin Coupe Schneider
- Deperdussin T
- Deperdussin TT
- Deperdussin Seagull
- SPAD S.A-1 through 4
- SPAD S.G2
- SPAD S.V
- SPAD S.VII
- SPAD S.XI
- SPAD S.XII
- SPAD S.XIII
- SPAD S.XIV
- SPAD S.XV
- SPAD S.XVI
- SPAD S.XVII
- SPAD S.XVIII
- SPAD S.XIX
- SPAD S.XX
See also
- Etienne Dormoy
- Frederick Koolhoven
- Henry Petre – Deperdussin flying school, Brooklands
- John Cyril Porte – British Deperdussin
- Jules Védrines
References
- Davilla, Dr. James J.; Soltan, Arthur. French Aircraft of the First World War. Flying Machines Press, Mountain View, CA, 1997.
- Opdycke, Leonard E. French Aeroplanes Before the Great War. Schiffer, Atglen, PA, 1999.