The legendary Yankee volunteers of the French Lafayette Escadrille were flying the SPAD VII in Feb 1918 at the time they moved to the U.S. Armed forces Air Service, turning into the 103rd Aero Squadron. Several U.S. Units also utilized the SPAD VII, although most Yankee Expeditionary Force (AEF) fighter squadrons were provided with a touch improved version, the SPAD XIII, by the point the war climaxed in Nov 1918. The SPAD VII made its first flight in July 1916. It showed such guarantee that it was put into production at once, and by the second part of that year it appeared on the Front in both French and UK squadrons.
The plane was an instant success, basically because its structural ruggedness allowed it to dive at high speeds without disintegrating. About 189 of the marginally more than five thousand SPAD VIIs built went to the AEF. The plane on view was obtained from the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Sick , and revived by the initial Fighter Wing, Selfridge Air Force Base, Mich, 1962-1966.
