Ansaldo SVA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansaldo_SVA

The Ansaldo SVA (named for Savoia-Verduzio-Ansaldo) was a family of Italian
reconnaissance biplane aircraft of World War I and the decade after. Originally
conceived as a fighter, the SVA was found inadequate for that role.
Nevertheless, its impressive speed, range and operational ceiling, with its top
speed making it one of the fastest (if not the fastest) of all Allied combat
aircraft in World War I, gave it the right properties to be an excellent
reconnaissance aircraft and even light bomber. Production of the aircraft
continued well after the war, with the final examples delivered in 1918. Two
minor variants were produced, one with reconnaissance cameras, the other without
cameras but extra fuel tanks.

The SVA was a conventionally laid-out unequal-span biplane - however, it was
unusual in featuring Warren Truss-style struts joining its two wings, and
therefore having no transverse (spanwise) bracing wires. The plywood-skinned
fuselage had the typical Ansaldo triangular rear cross-section behind the
cockpit, transitioning to a rectangular cross section going forwards through the
rear cockpit area, with a full rectangular cross section forward of the cockpit.

The Flight over Vienna propaganda flight, inspired by Gabriele d'Annunzio, was
carried out on August 9, 1918, by the 87th Squadriglia La Serenissima from San
Pelagio, consisting of an eleven plane flight of various models of Ansaldo
SVA-series biplanes. At least two of the aircraft were two seater SVA 9 or 10s
to accommodate d'Annunzio himself for the flight he inspired, with the remainder
being SVA 5 single-seaters.


Role
Reconnaissance aircraft

Manufacturer
Gio. Ansaldo & C.

Designer
Umberto Savoia and Rodolfo Verduzio

First flight
1917

Number built
1,245

Specifications (SVA.5)

General characteristics
Crew: one pilot
Length: 8.10 m (26 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 9.10 m (29 ft 10 in)
Height: 2.65 m (8 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 24.2 m2 (260 ft2)
Empty weight: 680 kg (1,500 lb)
Gross weight: 1,050 kg (2,320 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × SPA 6A, 150 kW (200 hp)

Performance
Maximum speed: 230 km/h (140 mph)
Range: 690 km (420 miles)
Endurance: 3 hours
Service ceiling: 6,000 m (19,700 ft)
Rate of climb: 5 m/s (980 ft/min)

Armament
2 × synchronised .303 Vickers machine gun
up to 90 kg (200 lb) of bombs