I love me some SPAD, even in Air Force colors.
The Wright R-3350* engine was something of a disaster when it was first introduced on the Boeing B-29, with a cooling problems, and a lamentable tendency to burst into flames. A lot of hard work fixed those problems, and the R-3350 would go on to be an extremely successful, and powerful engine, produced in a wide variety of variants, and in military and commercial use well into the 1970s. Today, no small number are still in use, particularly in restored warbirds.
The A-1 had a single flexible fuel cell located behind the pilot. Basically it was a giant rubber bag hung from the top of the inside of the fuselage. Three 300 gallon drop tanks could also be slung under the wings. With a full load of fuel, the A-1 could and did often fly missions of 13 or 14 hours. Pilots returning to the carrier after such long flights were often so exhausted they had to be lifted from the cockpit.
Fun little tidbit. The fuel gauge only told you how much fuel was in the internal cell. You’d take off using internal fuel, then switch to the drop tank. You knew it was time to switch back to internal fuel when the engine started sputtering.
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