b1374

B1374 was British-built by Mann, Egerton & Co., arrived in the USA in late-1918, and was then fitted with an American 150 horsepower Wright-Martin Model-A motor. It was one of four assigned to Ellington Field and may likely be photographed here at Ellington Field prior to April 10, 1919. Assigned to the Victory Loan Flying Circus, Middle-West Flight, it left on that date for a tour that included air shows in 23 different Midwest cities. Its principal pilot was 1st Lieut. Franklin Otis Carroll. It returned to Ellington Field the night of May 12, 1919.

Spad Scout B1374

Spad B1374

Indeed a SPAD VII and formerly used by RAF and sent to USA in Jan 1920. Very nice photo! Stig

Here Spad VII B1374 is being assembled the morning of April 13, 1919 at Camp Pike, North Little Rock, Arkansas, for the Victory Loan Flying Circus air show that afternoon. This Spad VII was not formerly used by the RAF. It was built in late-1918 by the Mann, Egerton and Company in Norwich, England and taken from a cohort of 19 that crossed the Atlantic. See my article on this air show in the Pulaski County Historical Review, Vol. 63, No. 1, Spring 2015.

Alan Roesler Excellent updates, thank you! Date was taken from a British site giving Jan 1920 as the month of delivery. No, none of the aircraft brought to USA were used by RAF units in spite of having been ordered in 1917. Reason is said to have been lack of engines, but some others from the batch B1351-1388 were used by RAF. Since the British built SPAD VII was considered to be substantially inferior to the French built ones, perhaps a clear lack of interest by RAF in 1918 contributed to them being placed in storage. However I believe all of them were built and delivered to RAF even if not actually being used. Stig

The Victory Loan Flying Circus, Mid-West Flight used Spad VIIs B1374, B9920 and B9924. One Spad pilot flew 27 hours individually. The Far West Flight flew B9911, B9913, and probably B9914 and B9916, which were shipped to Rockwell Field. Total hours flown was 234, but don't know how many of that was just for Spads. When the planes were disassembled, the parts were chalk-marked for identification. They were assembled at Ellington Field and received new Wright-Martin motors there. They flew between April 10 and May 10, 1919, on tour.