Russian Aviation 1915

Lebed-VII

The Lebed-VII was a Russian manufactored copy of the Sopwith Tabloid. The aircraft was powered with a 80hp Gnome engine instead of the Gnôme Monosoupape, rotary, 100 hp engine in the original 1913 British design. The aircraft was intended to be used as a fighter prototype but carried no weapons. Only a few them were built .The Lebed-VII that were built ended up being used for pilot training.

Morane Saulnier N

Due to the shape of its nose, the Morane-Saulnier Type N was aptly nicknamed the “Bullet”. Built in small numbers, it was the first French aircraft specifically developed as a fighter. Armed with a fixed, forward firing machine gun, its propeller was protected by the metal deflector plates pioneered by Roland Garros on the Morane-Saulnier Type L. Although it was faster and more maneuverable than previous aircraft, the Bullet was extremely difficult to fly and unpopular with pilots. This design was exported to Russia where several aces successfuly flew the aircraft in combat.

Nieuport 11

The small Nieuport 11 biplane was affectionately known as the "Bébé" (baby). Originally designed for racing, this light plane was fast and extremely maneuverable. Its only major problem was in the design of its wing struts. In a steep dive, the struts allowed the wings to twist, sometimes with disastrous results. The Nieuport 11 was used by the Russian Empire in limited numbers. The aircraft was disadvantaged by its lack of a synchronized machine gun.

Sikorsky S-16

The Sikorsky S-16 (named after its designer) or RBVZ S-XVI (named after its manufacturer) was a Russian equi-span single-bay two-seat biplane designed by Igor Sikorsky in 1914-15. Conceived in response to demand for an escort fighter for the Ilya Muromets bombers. The prototype S-16 made its first flight on February 6, 1915. This prototype was fitted with an 80 hp air-cooled 7 cylinder, Gnome rotary engine instead of the intended 100hp because of supply problems. The S-16 was the first Sikorsky fighter to be equipped with a synchronized machine gun firing through the propeller. However, the synchronization left much to be desired. The S-16, with slight modifications from batch to batch survived the Revolution and were operational with the Red Air Force through the Civil War.
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One of the more outlandish attempts to design an aircraft with forward firing capabilities. The gunner/observer sat in a small cabin that was attached in front of the prop of the engine. There were many problems with this design, ranging from lack of communication between crew members, to a safety issue for the observer. Many of these planes were exported to Russia.

Voisin LAS

The French made Voisin pusher served in the war from Russian plains to Mesopotamian desert. For flying over central Russia, the Imperial Russian Air Service substituted skis for rubber wheels. It was eventualy replaced by the improved Voisin Ivanov that was introduced in 1916 and 1917.