Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation

Bleriot-Spad S.XX (France)
   Tested by the famous Sadi Lecointe on 7 August 1918, the S.XX two-seat fighter was an instant success and unlimited production at the rate of 300 examples a month was ordered for the Aeronautique Militaire. The Armistice ДальшеMore>>> of November 1918 forced an immediate cancellation of the order, but the need for new aircraft led to the delivery of 95 machines from October 1920. They equipped first the 2eme Regiment d’Aviation at Strasbourg, then fighter units at Chateauroux and Dijon. The Japanese Mitsubishi company bought three S.XXs and the Bolivian government one. The prototype S.XX established a world speed record for two-seaters in 1918 at 230 km/h (142.9 mph) and in July 1919 Sadi Lecointe set up an altitude record of 8,900 m (29,200 ft).
   The fuselage of the S.XX was a graceful wooden monocoque structure, and the wings were of wooden construction, fabric-covered. Characteristic of Andre Herbemont’s biplane designs, the upper wing had considerable sweepback. Wing bracing was by means of single I-struts either side. Power was provided by a 223.6 k\\ (300 hp) Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engine with a frontal radiator. The pilot operated two fixed synchronised 7.7 mm Vickers machine-guns and the observer - whose cockpit was immediately behind the pilot’s - had a single Lewis gun.
   From the S.XX Herbemont developed a series of single-seat racing biplanes (the S.20AL-1 to the S.20AL-6) during 1919-20. They followed the S.XXAL fighter, only two of which were constructed. The racers competed against their arch rivals, the Nieuport biplanes, in a number of competitions. The most radical modifications were made to the S.‘20bis-5, which had the normal upper wing with cabane struts replaced by a gull-wing attached directly to the upper fuselage. The S.20bis-6 reverted to a more normal wing arrangement, but eliminated its predecessor’s large spinner to improve engine cooling. On 3 November 1920 the S.20AL-6 raised the World Absolute Speed Record to 309.012 km/h (192.01 mph).
   Data (S.XX): Engine as above Wing span 9.72 m (31 ft 10 in) Length 7.30 m (23 ft 11 in) Max T-O weight 1,306 kg (2,879 lb) Max level speed 242 km/h (150 mph)