SPAD XIII, Nieuport X, Salmson 2A2 and Farman 1914 / Combat / Altitude

[Tsuru]

Bonjour,

SPAD XIII, Nieuport X, Salmson 2A2 and Farman 1914:
- At what highest altitude were these aircraft flying / fighting during WWI?
- Did pilots, observers, gunners have to wear an oxygen device to fly / fight at this altitude?

I'm thinking about doing a painting of one of these aircraft with Japanese markings flying "close" to Mount Fuji and was wondering at what highest altitude I should show this aircraft in front of the volcano (3776 m).

A scene which may have taken place in 1919 during the French Military Mission to Japan…
Ref. http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/other-wwi-aviation/24303-wwi-french-c-japan-1919-1920-a.html

Thanks!

Cheers,
Tsuru

[Sreiko]

Top ceiling was not high and there was no actual need for the high altitude equipment. Until the 3000 meters human could adopt with easy but faster climb above this altitude could cause hypoxia. I have never seen any image of equipment for the airplanes such as oxygen mask or bottles.

[Froggy]

Bonsoir Tsuru

The only photo i had ever seen with an oxygen system is this photo

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/SPA124BRUNO/WILHEMHIPPERT.jpg

You can see on the photo Whilhem Hippert of Jasta 74 near his well known
DVII checkered yellow and black.
"The oxygen flowed from the metal canister into a hand-regulated rubber
bladder and from there into a pipe stem gripped in the pilot's mouth."

Source Fokker DVII anthology 3 (p45) from albatros productions
Dont know if that system was only experimental or if it was used in flight ?
Any way it seems to have been the first oxygen system in an aeroplane

Cordialement
BRUNO

[TomVrille]

SPAD XIII, Nieuport X, Salmson 2A2 and Farman 1914:
- At what highest altitude were these aircraft flying / fighting during WWI?
- Did pilots, observers, gunners have to wear an oxygen device to fly / fight at this altitude?
-I'm thinking about doing a painting of one of these aircraft with Japanese markings flying "close" to Mount Fuji and was wondering at what highest altitude I should show this aircraft in front of the volcano (3776 m).
Tsuru
Greetings Tsuru..

Of the aircraft you mentioned, the Farman and Nieuport types had limited ceilings which would not require the use of any sort of Oxygen system for breathing. The Farman ceiling was ~3000m while the Nieuport X ceiling could vary between 3600m and 4200m, depending on engine installation.

The SPAD 13, 40 of which were imported to Japan by the French military mission, had a ceiling of some 6800m. (The Japanese army officially adopted the SPAD 13 in December 1920, and gave it the designation Hei I.) Extended operation at this altitude could call for supplemental Oxygen, but the total endurance of the SPAD was ~2 hours, and the type required 20 minutes to reach an altitude of 5000m. It is unlikely that supplemental Oxygen would have been used except for some spcial purpose research flights.

The most likely application of supplemental Oxygen would be with the Salmson 2A2. Versions of the 2A2 were built in Japan under license. Initial production was at the Tokorozawa Army Airbase Arsenal in Nagoya, and later production of 300 aircraft was accomplished by the Kawasaki Aircraft Company. Aircraft produced under license were given the designation Otsu 1. The ceiling for the standard 2A2 was 6250m, but the ceiling for the Otsu 1, which had an empty weight 123 kg heavier than the 2A2, was 5800m. The Otsu 1 had an endurance of up to 7 hours, however, so some use of supplemental Oxygen might have taken place. :unsure:

All the above data is excerpted from French Aircraft of the First World War by Davilla and Soltan. :)