Naval aviation was extremely important during the Great War. France had experimented with float planes built on existing airframes. The list includes the Morane-Saulnier H, Caudron G.III and the Hanriot HD-2. One of the more successful aircraft used by the French was the SPAD S.XIV.
I had not found a line drawing for this aircraft so I worked off drawings for the S.XII and photographs taken from a distance. The paint scheme is a best guess,however it is possible they used one of the multi-colored camouflage schemes instead of the aluminum paint.
The SPAD S.XIV was a single-seat French biplane seaplane fighter aircraft built by Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés (SPAD) and flown by the French Navy during World War I. The SPAD XIV was a development of the SPAD XII. It was powered by a 149 kW (200hp) Hispano-Suiza 8 Bc engine. The S.XIV was similarly armed with the 37 mm cannon developed by SAMC for which 12 shots were carried. The cannon fired through the propeller shaft, necessitating the use of a geared Hispano-Suiza aviation engine to mount the gun. The SPAD XIV also carried a single 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun mounted on the starboard side of the nose. Forty were constructed and flew in the French Navy during 1918.
References
- SPAD S.XIV. (2010, March 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 06:24, August 25, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SPAD_S.XIV&oldid=349722825
- SPAD S-XIV aviafrance.com http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=144&ID_CONSTRUCTEUR=1231
- Taylor, Michael J H. "Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation
". pg. 835. Portland House, 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8
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