The SPAD VII went into service with French fighter squadrons in the fall of 1916. In an era of smaller, more delicate fighters, the SPAD was designed to rely on power, speed and brute strength for combat effectiveness. Two escadrilles alone accounted for 200 enemy aircraft shot down over a period of six months, a record unequaled by any other comparable unit in World War I. The aircraft was designed by Louis Bechereau; the engine by Marc Birkigt, a Swiss automotive engineer. Birkigt's Hispano-Suiza engine produced 150 hp, and was liquid-cooled with a V-8 configuration. Along with the aircraft's strength, other favorable characteristics were a good rate of climb and a service ceiling of 18,000 feet. British and American units soon obtained this prized fighter for their own air forces, ensuring not only its effectiveness, but its place in history as one of the great fighters of all time. Of the hundreds of SPAD VIIs produced, only a few remain.

From the Shannon Collection