SEA IV
| SEA IV | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Société d'Etudes Aéronautiques (SEA) |
| Designer | Henry Potez, , and Marcel Bloch |
| First flight | 1918 |
| Number built | 115 |
The SEA IV was a French two-seat military aircraft of World War I and the immediate post-war era.
Development[]
The SEA IV was designed and built in 1917 by Henry Potez, , and Marcel Bloch. It was a derivative of their previous design, equipped with a more powerful Lorraine engine of 261 kW (350 hp). It made its first flight during the first quarter of 1918, probably near Plessis-Belleville. It was initially tested by Gustave Douchy, a flying ace of 9 victories, then by the pilots of the at Villacoublay. The "" (Ministry of Armament and War Production) soon placed an order for 1,000 machines, making the SEA IV the first Dassault-designed aircraft to reach production.[1]
Operational history[]
On August 24, 1918, General Duval, commander of Aéronautique at General Headquarters foresaw the need for two variants to equip the escadrilles at the beginning of 1919: the SEA IV A2 for observation and the SEA IV C2 for fighting. In October, General Headquarters ordered the commissioning of a flotilla to operate these aircraft, and therefore required production to reach 200 planes per month during the first quarter of 1919, to have a force of 400 on hand by April 1.[1]
The Armistice, however, meant that the initial order of 1,000 was cancelled, and in the end, only 115 examples were built. These C2s were used for a number of years by several escadrilles in the "Regiments d'Aviation" at Le Bourget.[1]
A further 25 were built by Aéroplanes Henry Potez as the Potez VII, a luxury touring aircraft, and one further example formed the basis of a racing aircraft.[1]
Variants[]
- SEA IV
- Basic production variant
- SEA IV P.M.
- A long-distance aircraft with additional fuel tanks giving an endurance of 6 hours.
- SEA IV floatplane
- Under construction at the time of the Armistice in November 1918
Operators[]
Specifications (SEA IV C2)[]
Data from French aircraft of the First World War,[1] Aviafrance:SEA IV[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in)
- Wingspan: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
- Height: 3 m (9 ft 10 in)
- Wing area: 36.8 m2 (396 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 1,040 kg (2,293 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,620 kg (3,571 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Lorraine-Dietrich 12Da V-12 water-cooled piston engine, 280 kW (370 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 218 km/h (135 mph, 118 kn) at sea level
- 215 km/h (134 mph; 116 kn) at 1,000 m (3,300 ft)
- 210 km/h (130 mph; 110 kn) at 2,000 m (6,600 ft)
- 206 km/h (128 mph; 111 kn) at 3,000 m (9,800 ft)
- 203 km/h (126 mph; 110 kn) at 4,000 m (13,000 ft)
- 197 km/h (122 mph; 106 kn) at 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
- Range: 700 km (430 mi, 380 nmi)
- Endurance: 2.25 hours
- Service ceiling: 7,400 m (24,300 ft)
- Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 3 minutes 1 second
- 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 6 minutes 18 seconds
- 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 10 minutes 45 seconds
- 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in 16 minutes
- 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in 23 minutes 29 seconds
Armament
- 1 × fixed forward-firing synchronised 7.70 mm (.303 in) Vickers machine gun
- 2 × 7.70 mm (.303 in) Lewis guns on a flexible mount for the observer
See also[]
Related lists
References[]
Bibliography[]
- Coroller, Jean-Louis (December 1997). "Les Avions S.E.A.: ou la préhistoire des Avions Marcel Bloch et des Avions Henry Potez" [The Aircraft of S.E.A., or the Prehistory of the Marcel Bloch and Henry Potez Aircraft Companies]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (57): 35–41. ISSN 1243-8650.
Further reading[]
- Hirschauer, Louis; Dollfus, Charles, eds. (1920). L'Année Aéronautique: 1919-1920. Paris: Dunod. p. 32.
- Pigne, M. Aeroplanes Henri Potez (in French). Paris: CH. Blitz. pp. 1–4.
External links[]
- Biplanes
- 1910s French fighter aircraft
- 1910s French military reconnaissance aircraft
- Single-engined tractor aircraft
- Aircraft first flown in 1918