Spartan 8W Zeus

The Spartan 8W Zeus, also designated FBW-1 Zeus was a military aircraft produced in small numbers in the United States in the late 1930s, based on the airframe of the Spartan Executive civil aircraft.[2]

8W Zeus
Role Military training aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer Spartan Aircraft Company
First flight 1937
Number built 4 or 5[1]
Developed from Spartan Executive

Design and development

The Spartan 8W Zeus was a conventional low-wing monoplane of metal construction,[3] with a semi-monocoque fuselage and a cantilever wing. Two crew members sat in tandem beneath an extensively-glazed canopy, and the main units of the tailwheel undercarriage were retractable. Fitted with a fixed, forward-firing machine gun, a flexible machine gun, and capacity for light bombs under the wings, Spartan offered the Zeus to the USAAC for testing as an advanced trainer.

Following up on an earlier modified Spartan Executive military demonstrator, the Spartan 8W Zeus was powered by a more powerful 600 hp (447 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine.[4]

Operational history

A small production run of four or five examples was made but with no official interest, the project waned. Although no orders from the United States Army Air Corps followed, Spartan sold a number of examples to Mexico and China.[2]

Following Mexico's refusal to accept the French and British non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War, the Mexican aircraft were purchased by the Spanish Republican military. In the end, however, the freighter carrying them was sunk and these US-made aircraft could not take part in the war.[5]

Operators
Military
 China
 Mexico
 Spain

Specifications

Data from Aerofiles, [6]

General characteristics

  • Crew: Two, pilot and gunner
  • Length: 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
  • Wingspan: 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340 , 550 hp (410 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 234 mph (374 km/h, 203 kn)
  • Range: 760 mi (1,300 km, 660 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 29,400 ft (8,960 m)

Armament

  • 1 × fixed, forward-firing machine gun in cowling
  • 1 × flexible, rearward-firing machine gun in cabin
  • 10 × 25 lb (13 kg) bombs carried under wings
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See also

Related lists

References

Notes
  1. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft 1981, p. 2955.
  2. Taylor 1989, p. 835.
  3. "Aircraft Production." Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology. Retrieved: August 27, 2017.
  4. Donald 1989, p. 853.
  5. Nash, David. "Aircraft that didn't participate in the Spanish Civil war." ""Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War, March 12, 2016. Retrieved: August 27, 2017.
  6. "Spartan 8W Zeus." The Military Aviation Index. Retrieved: August 27, 2017.

Bibliography
  • Donald, David. Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada: Prospero Books;, 1997. ISBN 978-1-8560-5375-4.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing (Orbis), 1981. OCLC 774502891.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN 978-1-8517-0324-1.
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