About the SPAD S.XIII

The SPAD S.XIII was a French biplane fighter aircraft of WWI, developed by Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés (SPAD) from the earlier highly successful SPAD S.VII. It was one of the most capable fighters of the war, and one of the most produced, with 8,472 built and orders for around 10,000 cancelled at the armistice.

The SPAD S.XIII first flew on April 4, 1917 with deliveries to the French Air Service starting in the next month. The new fighter played an important part in the French plans for its fighter force, being expected to replace the SPAD S.VII, as well as the few remaining Nieuport fighters in front line service. The S.XIII eventually equipped virtually every French fighter squadron. The S.XIII was of similar layout to the S.VII, and came with a single engine and was mainly of wooden construction with fabric covering. Armament was two Vickers machine guns with 400 rounds per gun, replacing the single gun of the earlier aircraft. It was faster than its main contemporaries – the British Sopwith Camel and the German Fokker D.VII. Its relatively higher power-to-weight ratio gave it a good rate of climb.

Specifications:

• Role: Biplane fighter
• National origin: France
• Number built: 8,472
• Crew: 1
• Loaded weight: 1,888 lb
• Powerplant: 1 x Hispano-Suiza 8Be 8-cylinder vee-type, 220 hp
• Maximum speed: 135 mph at 6,560 ft
• Range: 171 mi
• Rate of climb: 384 ft/min
• Armament: 2 x .303-cal Vickers machine guns or 2 x Marlin M1917 or M1918 machine guns

Additional information about this Brickmania custom building kit:

The SPAD S.XIII comes with the following features:

• Built with camouflage colors used by the US 94th Aero Squadron on the Western Front in World War I. 
• Includes custom printed "Hat and Ring" Squadron tiles and premium vinyl sticker sheet depicting Captain Eddie Rickenbacker's aircraft
• Armed with two custom-molded Vickers Machine Guns from Brickarms
• Custom printed World War I Allied Pilot minifigure
• Contains 343 genuine LEGO® and BrickArms® elements
• Intermediate Skill Level (4-6 years of experience with LEGO is recommended)

All Brickmania model kits are made of new-condition LEGO bricks. This model comes disassembled and includes complete printed building instructions and comes packaged in a sealed box. This is a limited edition kit and production may be discontinued at any time.

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