You may or may not remember this - it comes from my campaign as a German pilot. This isn't a fluke, either. At first, I noticed I was having a lot of success against the SPAD XIII as a German pilot...almost too much success.

I've started all my campaigns early in the war and I'm just kinda going along, no real rush, so apart from my Albrecht Kaseltzer pilot, I hadn't really had too many encounters with late-war high-powered single-seat fighters just yet. Wondering what was going on, I decided to check out the SPAD XIII myself, so I created a French pilot (named "Cochon d'Inde") to find out more.

What I found was some of this...


...and a lot of this...


What makes these images stunning to me is that both of these came from free flight - i.e. there was nobody else around to hit me or damage my craft. This was all the result of bullet strikes from my own Vickers machine guns. I've tested this at various altitudes, with various rates of fire: a long stream of fire, down to as little as 1 round at a time. Same result.

Is this an issue with the synchronization gear? I remember reading that the Entente had some issues with that technology, which seems to track: not counting some random engine failures I experienced earlier with the Albatros D.III, I've never had this issue with any German fighter where the engine gets destroyed by my own bullets. (Nor the SE5/SE5a or any of the Sopwiths & Nieuports, for that matter). Seems like the best one can do in the SPAD XIII is fire ~5ish rounds per gun at a time and hope for the best - or maybe just consider running away.

Anything else?

Interesting. Could be a problem with your install. Have you tried other squadrons? Does this also happen with the Spad VII?

OR, this could reflect a problem with the damage model and could explain some of the strange behavior I have observed on the part of the Spad AI.

I recommend contacting OBD support.

I haven't been having that issue with my 94 Sqn. career. For me the SPAD is bad for a whole bunch of different reasons...

SPAD VII seems fine - which again tracks, since IIRC the later H-S models were the more problematic ones, given the rush to push the latest highest-powered development out to the front. That's part of why the British ultimately abandoned the 200hp H-S for the SE5a in favor of the Viper (along with supply chains issues/availability). The 200hp H-S was so problematic that the British accused the French of giving them all the faulty ones.


...very very true. It's basically a flying brick. SPAD XIII-equipped squadrons should all get two airfields: one for take-off, and another closer to the frontline so you can land without having to turn around or change direction.

I imagine it *could* be related to the time period for the campaign - eg with the SE5a, I didn't have the same issue of setting my engine on fire with my own bullets, but I remember it was prone to random engine failures earlier in its run...but then that tendency died out as time went on.

If this time frame thing is real and not just a pattern made up in my head, then it would also explain why the 94 Sqn. is okay - you're probably flying several months later when some of the H-S issues were addressed to some extent. I'll try that next, flying the SPAD XIII in mid-1918.

similar problem with other aircraft.

In the end it turned out to be some added "mod" that altered the aircraft in some way.
Forced to do a complete fresh install. Posted this some where, a long time ago.

SPAD = SPeeD... without it, you die.

I've had some success with it because I've flown Albs for the longest time and I use the same tactic. I stay high, drop in, hit what I can, pass the target, then climb and hard rudder turn to dive away. Using rudder to adjust and try my best to sweep the target as I pass it so I get max lead in it.

It's not an easy plane to fight with, but it's fun to fly if you know how to fly it.


Don't turn before you have speed, it bleeds it too fast. The wings have very little camber and very long chord. It's a racing plane so it goes straight and dives like a missile.

Have you had any issues with setting your SPAD XIII's engine on fire with your own bullets?

Turned out to be this. I re-installed, did the patches, put back in the multi mod & VonS's flight models and didn't have any issues after the re-install. I think it was an adverse reaction between the latest patch and the JSGME-enabled mods, so next patch, I'm going to uninstall the mods before installing the patch.

So I figured out that this problem doesn't happen at all if I'm just going perfectly straight - I can clear out both my Vickers just fine. The problem is if I change my position left-right while shooting.

I don't even mean turn-fighting - I'm talking adjustments of ~15-30 degrees left-to-right. That's when my engine gets hit by my own guns.