Spad VII
Updated: 10.10.99 "Societe Pour l'Aviation et ses Derives" built more than 2,000 Spad VII aircraft during WWI, with many more built by sub-contractors. The SPAD VII was first flown in April 1916 and a clean airframe married to a Hispano-Suiza engine ensured that was quickly put into production. It served with the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Naval Service, the Belgian 5th Squadron, with Italian forces, and in the American Expeditionary Force. It is a "Boom and Zoom" aircraft which usually means "hit and run" in DoA (unless you have the chops to carry it off time after time). The Spad VII has good acceleration so if you have even a small altitude advantage you can run onto a bogey, shoot, and extend fast out past his gun range. Even if they swing around you can achieve enough separation to get set up for a head on or curve slightly around to get behind their "3-9" line. It rolls and climbs well, but has fairly poor low-speed handling. Though it seems to have a good turn rate, the poor low speed handling means that it cannot handle the jerks and G-loaded rolls neccessary to pull lead in a sustained turnfight and will roll out and spin if you are unwary. A heavy engine up front gives it a tendency to nose down. It is fairly durable in dives. Spins are very abrupt and not easily recoverable. It has only one .303 Vickers-Maxim Mk.I so lethality is not high. It needs a tracking shot, or a saddle up, and is just not maneuverable enough to get one against the higher roll-rate German Air Service aircraft (Albatross, Dr,1, or "der" Camel). It carries 2 x 25lb Incendiary bombs for Zeppelin killing. Marry that to its high climb rate, good durability, speed, and if it only had 2 x Vickers-Maxim Mk.I (and the 400round incendiary load), it would be the best Zeppelin killer around. Some 6,000 Spad VII aircraft were manufactured during the war. Version 2.73 Note: The Spad VII now carries 300 rounds of incendiaries in the Balloon Busting loadout.
Engine: 134hp Hispano-Suiza 8Ac Vee piston engine Wing Span: 25 ft 7.75 in Length: 20 ft 2.5 in Height: 7 ft 8.5 in Weight: 1,664 lb (maximum take off)
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