Voisin

The popular French Voisin aircraft, produced in Italy under license, was a two-s
eat biplane with a tail boom and pusher propeller. The Voisin was equipped with
an Italian Isotta Frascini V-4 150hp engine. By July 30, 1917, six Voisin airpla
nes were sent to Russia with V-4 engine, another modification of that airplane w
as equipped with an Isotta Frascini V-5 250-hp engine and Fiat aerial cannon. Mo
re than a dozen of the aircraft were sent to Russia and were flown at the front
by Russian pilots.
On September 12, 1916, the crew of the XIth Army Aviation Detachment, comprised
of military pilot Kornet (Cornet) Mikulin, observer Shtabs-Kapitan, and Captain
Kazumbekov attacked Austrian planes. The Russian pilots flew the Italian-made Vo
isin, equipped with a Fiat cannon. During a frontal attack, Kazumbekov opened th
e fire with shrapnel shells from the cannon. Five or six cannon shots at the ene
my plane downed it and it began a steep descent, falling not far from the Russia
n trenches.
The two-seat Ansaldo SVA-10 first appeared in Russia as a trophy of war. In 1920
, twenty-five of the aircraft were bought by the independent government of Georg
ia after the end of the Civil War and the annexation of Georgia to the USSR in 1
922. The Ansaldo SVA-10 became part of Red Army Air Forces and dozens more were
purchased. These planes were sent to the West Military District armament (17th S
eparate Air Detachment), at Air Forces of the Black Sea (1st and 2d Reconnaissan
ce Air Detachments) and Air Forces of the Trans Caucasus Military District. SVA-
10 airplanes stayed in the Red Army arsenal until the mid-1920s.
Military Pilot Junior Captain Bystritsky, having visited the aircraft factories
in Italy, reported on September 21, 1917, that orders in Italy were in a despera
te state. Fiat refused to fill any new contracts because of the lack of credit a
nd untimely payments, which shook the Italians' faith in Russian orders. Still,
by September 30th, 100 Fiat A.10 100-hp engines, 100 Le Rhone 110-hp, and two Is
oatta Frascini V-5 200-hp produced at Italian factories were sent to Russia. Som
e parts of the orders were distributed and partly fulfilled by the same date. Th
e Fiat firm that had an order for 490 Fiat A. 12 200-hp engines had produced onl
y 180 by July 1917. But their transfer to Russia was stopped by the Italian gove
rnment which urgently needed 1,000 engines for the Italian front.
The fulfillment of the order for 200 SPA 6-A 200-hp engines was postponed until
October 1917, as there was a shortage of those engines for equipping Italy's Ans
aldo SVA 5 fighters. The Bianki factory had a contract for 200 Isotta Frascini V
4B 160-hp engines. Fifty engines that had been produced for Russia were requisit
ioned by the Italian government and the implementation of the order was postpone
d until October 1917. In accordance with the order, the Skat factory was to make
250 Hispano Suiza N35 250-hp engines. But Russia had not received any of them--
part of the engines that had been produced remained at the disposal of the Itali
an government. So the order for 1,642 aircraft engines was filled only in part d
uring World War I. Russia had received only 400 engines from Italy. Those engine
s were used at the end of the war during the construction of such airplanes as V
oisin, Lebed XII bis, Anadis, flying boat M-15, Hydroplane GASN and others. In 1
920, the Soviet Union used the Italian engines on KOMTA, Konjok-Gorbunok, DH-4,
and other airplanes.
Besides airplanes and engines, Russia purchased aircraft guns, aircraft cameras,
head lamps for the planes, built by Sacinia, the Fiat 7V machinegun.