The Aeronautical Joint-Stock Company “V.A. Lebedev” was in business a little over three years, from 1914 to 1917. The company was known for copying foreign aircraft (without permission) in the early years of its existence.
The founder of the company, Vladimir Alexandrovich Lebedev was born in 1879 in St. Petersburg. In 1909, having built a glider together with his brother Alexei, he became a member of the All-Russia Aero Club. At the same time, he made a trip to France to learn about airplane production.
Having personally studied most fundamental elements of aviation, Lebedev became an entrepreneur and opened a workshop in St. Petersburg that manufactured “Integral” propellers, as well as parts for “Deperdussin” and “Nieuport IV” aircraft. The products, especially the propellers, were in high demand, so the management was planning to expand production.
In April 1914, Lebedev leased a plot of land from the Imperial Aero Club at the commandant’s airfield and there he founded his Aeronautical Joint-Stock Company “V.A. Lebedev”. At first, the aircraft produced by Lebedev’s factory did not have a special system of designations and were named the same as the originals from which they were copied: “Morane”, “Farman”, “Deperdussin”, “Nieuport”, “Voisin”. However, in 1915, the company adopted a single designation “Lebed” (“Swan”) with an additional Roman numeral.
The first model which received the new designation was the Sopwith Tabloid, an English biplane of the 1913 model built at Lebedev’s factory in 1915. It was equipped with an 80 hp “Gnome” engine and was almost an exact copy of the original. The aircraft became known as
Lebed VII (Swan VII). The released airplanes did not carry weapons and were used as reconnaissance and training aircraft.
One of the military pilots of the 21st Corps Aviation Detachment who flew the Swan VII aircraft indicated in a report:
