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Aviation / Aerospace

Ansaldo SVA (Primo)


High-Speed Reconnaissance Biplane Aircraft [ 1917 ]



Over 1,200 of the Ansaldo SVA biplanes were constructed into the latter half of the 1920s - operators were global and ranged from Argentina to Yugoslavia.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 06/07/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]
The Italian aero-concern of Ansaldo was a player in the air war of World War 1 (1914-1918) and contributed some notable designs to the Allied cause. One offering became the Ansaldo SVA (Savoia-Verduzio), a unequal-span, biplane-winged single-seat reconnaissance platform. The type went on to be produced across 1,245 total examples, recording a first-flight in 1917. Production of the aircraft did not cease until 1927 - and amazing feat for a World War 1-era warbird. Its design is attributed to Umberto Savoia and Rodolfo Verduzio.

The SVA was originally designed along the lines of high-speed fighter platform but, despite its impressive straight-line performance (reaching up to 140 miles per hour), it failed in its given role and was, instead, relegated to reconnaissance duties for its time in the conflict. In this over-battlefield role, the SVA excelled for it held the top qualities needed of a reconnaissance mount - altitude, range and speed. This newfound role ensured the Ansaldo design would see service through to the end of the war and beyond - indeed the series managed some of the longest reconnaissance missions of the war, giving excellent service for what was expected of it. Many flights of over 300 miles were recorded during the war years and some even after, including a historic flight from Rome to Tokyo which covered some 11,250 miles.

The SVA.1 marked the first, one-off prototype used to test the viability of the SVA design. This led to the initial batch of 65 production-minded SVA.2 series aircraft. The ISVA was formed from this mark to become a floatplane off-shoot and fifty were constructed for the Italian Navy. The SVA.4 marked the first "true" production-quality models and lost the portside Vickers machine gun installation as a weight-savings measure (AER produced this mark as the SVA.3 and the SVA.3 Ridotto ("Reduced") was a speedy, lighter weight interceptor offshoot).

The definitive production mark became the SVA.5 "Primo" which sported an SPA 6A series engine of 200 horsepower. Performance included a maximum speed of 140 miles per hour, a range out to 420 miles and a service ceiling of 19,700 feet. Armament centered on 2 x Vickers .303 machine guns as well as a modest bombload of 200lb (the SVA could be fielded as a light bomber beyond its intended reconnaissance duties).

This was followed by a prototype bomber form in the SVA.6 and another one-off prototype as the SVA.8. Larger-area wings greeted the unarmed reconnaissance-minded SVA.9 and the SVA.10 retained a two-seat configuration and reconnaissance mission role but was completed with the Isotta-Fraschini engine of 250 horsepower. This mark was defensed by way of two machine guns - one fixed, forward-firing and the other a trainable Lewis Gun installation.

Operators of the SVA series (beyond Italy) included Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Georgia, Latvia, Paraguay, Poland, the Soviet Union, the United States, Uruguay and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

In 1918, Ansaldo released the A.1 "Balilla" biplane fighter (detailed elsewhere on this site) - another mount capable of reaching near-140 mph speeds. However this was a late-war design and just over 100 were produced, none seeing combat service in the conflict. It was Italy's only indigenously designed and produced fighter aircraft of the war - fulfilling the role the SVA series failed to.©MilitaryFactory.com
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Specifications



Gio. Ansaldo & Company - Italy
Manufacturer(s)
Argentina; Bolivia; Brazil; Ecuador; Kingdom of Italy; Georgia; Latvia; Paraguay; Poland; Soviet Union; United States; Uruguay; Yugoslavia
Operators National flag of Argentina National flag of Bolivia National flag of Brazil National flag of Ecuador National flag of Georgia National flag of Italy National flag of the Kingdom of Italy National flag of Latvia National flag of Poland National flag of the Soviet Union National flag of the United States National flag of Uruguay National flag of Yugoslavia
1917
Service Year
Kingdom of Italy
National Origin
Retired
Project Status
1
Crew
1,245
Units


GROUND ATTACK
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.
INTELLIGENCE-SURVEILLANCE-RECONNAISSANCE
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.


26.6 ft
(8.10 meters)
Length
29.9 ft
(9.10 meters)
Width/Span
8.7 ft
(2.65 meters)
Height
1,499 lb
(680 kilograms)
Empty Weight
2,315 lb
(1,050 kilograms)
Maximum Take-Off Weight
+816 lb
(+370 kg)
Weight Difference


1 x SPA 6A engine developing 200 horsepower and driving two-bladed propeller in nose.
Propulsion
143 mph
(230 kph | 124 knots)
Max Speed
19,685 ft
(6,000 m | 4 miles)
Ceiling
429 miles
(690 km | 373 nm)
Range
980 ft/min
(299 m/min)
Rate-of-Climb


MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


STANDARD:
2 x 0.303 Vickers machine gun synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades.

OPTIONAL:
Up to 200lb of conventional drop stores.


4
Hardpoints


SVA - Base Series Designation
SVA.1 - One-off prototype
SVA.2 - Initial production aircraft; 65 examples
ISVA - Floatplane derivative of SVA.2; 50 examples for Italian Navy service.
SVA.3 - SVA.4 models produced by AER
SVA.3 "Ridotto" - Reduced-weight version for Zeppelin-busting; optional obliquely-mounted machine gun fit.
SVA.4 - Production model; sans portside machine gun
SVA.5 - Definitive production model
SVA.6 - Prototype bomber; one-off
SVA.8 - Prototype; one-off
SVA.9 - Twin-seat unarmed reconnaissance platform / training aircraft.
SVA.10 - Twin-seat armed reconnaissance platform; Isotta-Fraschini engines of 250 horsepower; flexible Lewis Gun in rear cockpit.


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