Paul Schmitt PS-7

Paul-Schmitt PS-7
Type:	bomber
Design country:	France
Manufacturer:	Ateliers de constructions mécaniques et aéronautiques Paul Schmitt
First flight:	1915
Commissioning:	1917
Production time:	May – April 1917
Number of pieces:	approx. 150-200

The Paul Schmitt PS 7.B2 was a French military plane in the First World War .

development

Paul Schmitt, owner of Ateliers de constructions mécaniques et aéronautiques Paul Schmitt in Levallois , had set a new record with his aircraft “Airbus” when he made his debut at the Paris Aerosalon in 1913 when he had carried out a flight with nine passengers on board . In early 1914, Schmitt's test pilot Victor Garaix set even more records for passenger flights.

At the start of the war, Schmitt initially served as a pilot on board his own Aerobus, but was then released from military service to continue working as a designer. He first designed the PS3, which was used as a training aircraft. His next design, the PS4 or SBR (Schmitt Bomber Renault) was used in small numbers.

In December 1915, the French military authorities announced a competition for a new class of heavy military aircraft. These should take a bomb load of up to 600 kg, reach a range of 600 km, an operational altitude of 2,000 m and a maximum speed of at least 120 km / h. However, none of the aircraft presented met these requirements. Schmitt also applied and demonstrated the PS-6 , an aircraft with a water-cooled Renault 12F engine, the further development of which has a flight duration of 5 hours, a payload of 375 kg, a peak altitude of 4,000 m and a speed of 125 km / h in Should reach an altitude of 2,000 m. There were two variants of the PS.6: the type AB with a gap between the floor of the aircraft and the fuselage and the type AH, in which the lower wing was attached to the fuselage (AB = low wing, AN = high wing). The wings could be angled up to 12 degrees to slow down the aircraft when landing.

The PS-6.BRAH was released for further development under the military name Paul Schmitt PS.7.V2 . The PS-7 was an oversized, six-stemmed double-decker with rigid wings, designed on the model of the Aerobus. Its fuselage consisted of a wooden structure covered with fabric, as did the horizontal stabilizer, control surfaces and vertical stabilizer. The engine was mounted on a metal frame, covered with sheet metal and provided with a front cooler at the front. Fuel and oil tanks were located between the engine and the pilot's seat so that the pilot and observer were placed behind the wings and had a good view from the cockpit.

The chassis was made of tubular steel, the wheels attached to a rigid horizontal axle. The armament consisted of a synchronized machine gun for the pilot and a second machine gun for the observer. Suspensions for 150 kg bombs were installed under the wings.

Due to delays in production, the first production aircraft was not delivered until February 1917, but it was disappointing when it was accepted by the Aéronautique Militaire : the 200 HP Renault engine was too underpowered to be able to carry a sufficient payload. After several postponements, production started in April / May 1917, as the troops could no longer wait for a new type of bomber due to considerable losses. However, production of the PS-7 was discontinued in June 1917 in favor of the Bréguet 14 .

A PS-7 was tested in Russia in the summer of 1917 , but was not put into service.

War effort

The "Groupe de bombardement 3" (GB.3) - a bomb squadron consisting of the four Escadrilles PS.125-128, which operated on the Western Front - was equipped with the aircraft. The aircraft of the last series of deliveries that went to the Escadrille PS.128 were given a four-wheeled chassis to improve national security.

At the time of its delivery to the Aéronautique Militaire's Escadrilles, the PS-7, constructed in 1915, was already clearly out of date. Their slow speed made the slow and clumsy aircraft an easy target for enemy flak and fighters. Even the equipment with the heavier 265 hp Renault engine could not remedy these deficiencies. The PS-7 were therefore mostly used as night bombers against long-range targets such as train stations and supply depots, as on 13/14. April 1917 against the train stations in Marl and Crécy-sur-Serre and on May 2nd against a German airfield near Saint-Quentin .

The oversized aircraft turned out to be so difficult to control that it was extremely difficult to navigate precisely to the targets. In addition, the engines proved to be unreliable, so that the operational strength of the squadron fell at times to only twelve machines. The crews now often took another Lewis MG and additional ammunition with them as defensive armament, which reduced the remaining payload for the bomb load to 90 kg. Further attacks by the squadron could only be carried out through express orders from the high command. Further missions followed; the last major attack was carried out on October 20, 1917. After that, a further long-range deployment was no longer responsible due to the threat posed by German fighters and enemy anti-aircraft artillery. The remaining PS-7 of the GB.3 were replaced by Sopwith 1½ Strutter and Bréguet 14 on the front until January 1918 and given to training units.

The PS-7 in a performance comparison (late spring 1917)

Surname	country	Motor power	Max. speed	Takeoff mass	Armament	Summit height
Paul-Schmitt PS-7	France	265 hp	135 km / h	2093 kg	2-3 MG	4270 m
Nieuport 12	France	110 hp	144 km / h	875 kg	2 MG	4300 m
Bréguet 14	France	300 hp	184 km / h	1565 kg	2 MG	6000 m
Airco DH4	United Kingdom	350 hp	195 km / h	1685 kg	2-3 MG	5000 m
Royal Aircraft Factory RE8	United Kingdom	150 hp	164 km / h	1302 kg	1-2 MG	4115 m
Sopwith 1½ strutter	United Kingdom	130 hp	164 km / h	975 kg	2 MG	3960 m
AEGGIV	German Empire	2 × 260 hp	165 km / h	3630 kg	2 MG	4500 m
Rumpler C.VI	German Empire	220 hp	136 km / h	1264 kg	2 MG	4000 m
DFW CV	German Empire	220 hp	155 km / h	1430 kg	2 MG	5000 m

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	2
length	9.60 m
span	17.65 m
height	3.58 m
Wing area	48.4 m²
Empty mass	1294 kg
Takeoff mass	2093 kg
Top speed	135 km / h
Climbing performance at 2000 m	22 min
Summit height	4270 m
Flight duration	5 h
Standard engine	an 8-cylinder V-engine Renault , 265 hp (195 kW)
Armament	2 MG, 152 kg bombs

See also

• List of aircraft types

literature

• Enzo Angelucci, Paolo Matricardi: Airplanes - from the beginnings to the 1st World War , Falken-Verlag, Wiesbaden ISBN 3-8068-0391-9 , p. 163.
• Heinz Nowarra : The Development of Aircraft 1914–1918 , Munich 1959.

Web links

• Photos, tech. Data
• photo
• photo
• [3] - accessed February 2, 2013
• [4] - accessed February 2, 2013
• Photo - accessed Feb. 2, 2013

Individual evidence

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ [2] - accessed on February 3, 2012.