Bleriot SPAD S.510

The Bleriot SPAD S.510 first flew on 6 January 1933, entering service with the Armée de l’Air in 1936, becoming the last biplane fighter to do so. By the start of the Second World War, the 60 production fighters (plus the prototype) had been replaced in front line service with the Moraine-Saulnier M.S. 406 monoplane fighter.

In August 1939 along with other obsolete fighters held in storage, they were re-activated to act as fighter-trainers for reservists. In 1939, approximately ten Bleriot SPAD S.510 flew to North Africa where they equipped Escadrilles Régionales de Chasse (ERC – regional fighter flights) at Oran and Rabat. By the end of May 1940 they had been replace by M.S. 406s.