Tag: Aircraft week 10

Lebed X11 The Lebed XII was a Russian military reconnaissance aircraft produced during the First World War for the Imperial Russian Air Force. It was one of the few domestically designed aircraft to see production in Russia during the war, but was based on designs and techniques learned from Lebed’s rebuilding of captured German types. The fuselage was a plywood structure of rectangular cross-section with seating for the pilot and observer in tandem, open cockpits. The wings were built around a pine spar and covered in fabric, and the empennage…

Neiuport IV The Nieuport IV was a French-built sporting, training and reconnaissance monoplane of the early 1910s. The first Nieuport IVs were built in 1911 and production continued well into World War I in Russia. The design was adopted in small numbers by most air arms of the period, although the Imperial Russian Air Service was the largest user. The IV.G was one of the principal aircraft used by the Imperial Russian Air Service during its formative years, with roughly 300 being produced locally by the Russo-Baltic Wagon Works and…

Sikorsky S-10 The Sikorsky S-10 was a Russian Empire military twin-float seaplane that served with the Baltic Fleet from the summer of 1913 to 1915. After Igor Sikorsky built the successful Sikorsky S-6 for the Russian military, he tried to build another successful aircraft for them. The S-10 was a modified S-6B built by the Russo-Baltic Carriage Factory. Approximately sixteen production versions of the S-10 were built. It had a less powerful engine and generally weaker structure than the S-6.  They had either an 80 HP Gnome Monosoupape or a 100…

Sikorsky S-16 The Sikorsky S-16, or RBVZ S-XVI (named after its manufacturer), was a Russian equi-span single-bay two-seat biplane designed by Igor Sikorsky in 1914-15. Conceived in response to demand for an escort fighter for the Ilya Muromets bombers, it was noteworthy in that it was one of the first aircraft to possess synchronisation gear for its 7.7 mm machine gun. The first S-XVI was completed on 6 February 1915 with an 80 hp engine instead of the intended 100 hp because of supply problems. On 17 December 1915, the…

Grigorovich M-16 Grigorovich M-16 was a successful Russian World War I-era biplane flying boat of the Farman type, developed from the M-9 by Grigorovich. Somewhat larger than the M-9, the M-16 was a version especially intended for winter operations, with better aerodynamic qualities. The double-float seaplane was designed by DP Grigorovich in 1916 with the aim of being used in winter conditions with the ability to land on water, ice and snow. Between 36 and 40 copies were built and used with some success by the Baltic Sea Fleet .…

SPAD S.4.A The SPAD S.A (also called S.A.L.) was a French two-seat tractor biplane first flown in 1915. It was used by France and Russia in the early stages of the First World War in the fighter and reconnaissance roles. It was a somewhat unusual aircraft that carried its observer in a nacelle ahead of both wing and engine. The SPAD A.1 prototype was the first aircraft produced by SPAD following its reorganization from the pre-war Deperdussin company. The chief designer, Louis Béchereau, had been involved in designing that firm’s…