"Wings of War SPAD" Topic

There seems to be a problem encountered all to often with the SPAD; with the turning ability of an ocean liner, they seem to be stuck on full throttle all the time.

"The performance of the SPAD towers high above our machines. The loopings and barrel rolls finally validate my assumption. And now i suddenly realize why the first attack by a SPAD is so dangerous, they almost cannot miss while shooting with the calm behaviour and brilliant field of vision. Our fighter pilots at the controls of their SPADs, would almost put an end to enemy aviation." so wrote Kurt Jentsch in his report after flying a captured SPAD in August 1918 – and he should know! Yes there are unattributed references to the SPAD being less maneuverable – but compared to what? Certainly less than the Nieuport which could dance on the head of a pin, but compared to contemporary British and German machines it was a different story, if the comments in this book are anything to go by link

So why then, is the SPAD in this game such a 'dog'?

I have no problems with the SPAD. I see it like the P-40. You don't get in a turning battle with people. Instead you use its speed to swoop in, make a firing pass, then get clear while you turn and pick your spot to come in again. I am always amazed at how people try to just point their nose at the enemy and hope for the best. There is no hurry (usually) to jump right in so I hang back and look for my spot. Don't target fixate either. People miss opportunities all the time which pop up across the table because they are so locked on to the guy who is sitting across from him. You can also drive an opponent crazy by not just jumping in. They will get frustrated and either make a mistake or turn away from you thinking that you will not engage. Then you have them.

One always needs to wary of the "Julius Caesar Syndrome" whereby you make your enemy look a great deal tougher to kill than they may actually have been.

DM

I've not seen the SPAD rated so poorly in other games like Red Baron where it turns on the same arc as a Fokker DVII or Camel (to the left).

Well if it were made by an anglophone company I would say "because it is French", but Wings of War was made by Italians.

I do realize there is a lot of abstraction built in which makes the game playable, but if the SPAD was as clumsy against contemporary opposition as depicted in the game I doubt they would have stayed in service when the Nieuport 28 had superior maneuverability, was just as fast and could climb even better than the SPAD XIII. Especially true when you consider the vastly shorter overhaul time.

Everything I've read has the SPAD being broadly similar to the SE5a at high speed maneuvers, but using the WoW maneuver deck it doesn't have *any* worth writing home about!

The Wings of Glory game system is bad at showing the strengths of the S.XIII

The 220 hp version could outclimb (exept the few SSWs and the BMW engined DVII) and outdive (perhaps exept the Pfalzes) anything the Germans and it had a lot of power to keep the energy. It fought primarily in the vertical plane: Zoom diving – attacking – zoom climbing. And the 200+ km/h speed meant it largely could decide when to fight. When the engine worked it was superior to the Nieuport 28. It was the mainstay in the French Aviation Militaire and a very succesful one at that with over 8000 planes being build.. The P-47 of wwI..

I use my SPADs as the flying shark attack of the P-40 or P-47. Run in and take a bite, shoot past, and come 'round again for another bite.

Repeat until the other guy is going down in flaming pieces (or he's turned you into shark steaks).

Oh, and don't let me run a pair or trio of SPADs, 'cause then I gets ta play shark pack attack on yer sorry boche asses… Bwahahahahaahaaa!!!

Leland R. Erickson