ANSALDO S.V.A.9

The Ansaldo SVA-9 was an Italian reconnaissance bomber aircraft with a mixed structure, biplane, fixed undercarriage. The drive was provided by a single engine SPA-6A with a power of 220 hp. The flight of the prototype took place in 1918, and serial production continued in 1918-1919. The armament was two 7.7 mm machine guns (Lewis and Vickers). The design of the Ansaldo SVA-9 was largely based on the Ansaldo SVA-5 fighter. The changes mainly concerned the size of the cabin and a slight strengthening of the fuselage and chassis. The new plane also performed completely different tasks than the SVA-5. In the course of serial production, an improved version of the SVA-9 was created, designated as SVA10, which differs from the original only in the engine used Isotta-Fraschini V6 with more power. In 1918, SVA-9 and SVA-10 planes were used primarily for bombing flights, they were also able to fly over the Alps and bomb Austrian cities. After World War I, machines of this type went to several foreign recipients, including Poland, which purchased about 80 aircraft. They were used in the Polish-Bolshevik war of 1919-1921. The last machines Ansaldo SVA-9 withdrawn from Polish units by 1924.