SPCA 30

The SPCA 30 was a French light bomber built by the Société Provençale de Constructions Aéronautiques (SPCA).[1][2]

SPCA 30
SPCA 30 with the original landing gear
Role Bomber monoplane
National origin France
Manufacturer SPCA
First flight 1931
Number built 2

Development and design

SPCA III photo from L'Aerophile February 1931

This aircraft was an all-metal twin boom low wing monoplane built by SPCA in order to meet the requirements of the Technical Aeronautic Service (Service Technique de L'Aéronautique) of the French government towards the end of the 1920s for a bomber and reconnaissance aircraft type designated as Multiplace de Combat.[3]

Two units of the SPCA 30 were built, registration F-AKCA and F-AKCB. The first one was fitted with two Lorraine-Dietrich 18Kd water-cooled W engines engines[4]and the second one with two Hispano-Suiza 12Nb engines, both giving about 485 kW (650 hp). The original bulky landing gear was later replaced by a lighter one.

Operational history

The SPCA 30 was the only twin boom aircraft that entered the contest, but both prototypes of this aircraft were ignored in favor of the competing Amiot 143 after evaluation. Other Multiplace de Combat aircraft prototypes built by other companies at the time such as the Blériot 137 and the Breguet 410 underwent a similar fate as the SPCA 30.[5]

Specifications

SPCA 30 M4 3-view drawing from NACA-AC-171

Data from [6]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 4
  • Length: 17 m (55 ft 9 in)
  • Wingspan: 26.5 m (86 ft 11 in)
  • Height: 4.10 m (13 ft 5 in)
  • Wing area: 100 m2 (1,100 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,750 kg (3,858 lb)
  • Gross weight: 6,500 kg (14,330 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Lorraine-Dietrich 18Kd W-18 water-cooled piston engine, 480 kW (650 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 255 km/h (158 mph, 138 kn)
  • Range: 650 km (400 mi, 350 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 7,500 m (24,600 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 2,000 m (6,562 ft) in 6 minutes

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

  1. La S.P.C.A.
  2. Aviafrance S.P.C.A. 30
  3. William Green, War planes of the Second World War: Volume 7
  4. Aviafrance S.P.C.A. 30
  5. SPCA 30
  6. Parmentier, Bruno. "SPCA30". Aviafrance. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
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