|
In the summer of 1990, Mike Carr and I were on a road trip to an
event and discussing WWI aviation along the way. I had been doing a bit of reading on the amazing experiment that
the SPAD company had done with airborne cannons, and asked why the SPAD XII had never been added to the game. Mike's
answer was simple... no one had ever bothered to write the rules for such a rarely-used airplane. I told him that I would
bother, and that I already had some ideas on how the mechanics should work. The rules were written with invaluable input from
WWI researcher Jon Guttman. I submitted them to Mike for various edits and changes, and Mike Vice came through with the
performance statistics... and voila! The SPAD XII became a Dawn Patrol reality. This article originally appeared in AERODROME
97 in the fall of 1990. - Stephen Skinner
"Avion Magique"
The SPAD XII Comes to Dawn Patrol
by Stephen Skinner with Mike Carr & Mike Vice
Georges Guynemer was no ordinary pilot. At the time of his death in September,
1917, he was France's leading ace with 53 victories. His timid manner, obsessive patriotism, and unequalled fighting ability
endeared him to the nation and made him - literally - a legend in his own time. So when Georges Guynemer said he wanted a
cannon mounted in the nose of his fighter, the SPAD company listened.
|
|
| Capitaine Georges Marie Ludovic Jules Guynemer |
Using the SPAD VII as a base, SPAD engineers mounted at 37 mm cannon barrel through
the propeller hub, in addition to the standard single Vickers machine gun. The hollow shaft ran between the cylinder blocks
of the Hispano-Suiza powerplant so that when the cannon was fired, its shell actually passed through the center of the engine
and exited out the center of the prop. Once fired, the cannon had to be reloaded manually, one shell at a time. The pilot
reached down between his legs and opened the breech, ejected the spent shell and reloaded another. Once the breech was opened,
the cockpit quickly filled with smoke and fumes. Reloading the cannon was therefore extremely difficult unless the pilot could
manage to break free of the combat for a few moments.
SPAD designers further modified the basic SPAD VII setup by installing a 200 hp
engine (220 hp on some later models) and dubbing the result the SPAD XII. The stronger engine, however, brought along some
problems of its own. As with the SE 5, the early 200 hp Hispanos used a gear system to turn the prop, not the direct drive
method of the rotaries. The awkward and poorly manufactured gears caused unusual engine vibration, making it nearly impossible
for the average pilot to achieve correct aim.
Given these difficulties, most SPAD XII pilots employed a unique method to gain
maximum accuracy from the cannon: in combat, the Vickers gun was used as the basic offensive weapon. When the SPAD pilot was
able to shoot from close range at his opponent, he first hosed the target with machine gun fire, steering his tracers onto
the enemy aircraft. When his bullets were on target, the cannon was fired under the assumption that if both the cannon and
the machine gun were in alignment, a cannon hit was almost certain. This method proved marginally effective, but required
an extraordinary pilot to perform the whole feat in a matter of seconds. Complete mastery of the aircraft and impeccable marksmanship
were indispensable characteristics for the SPAD XII pilot. For this very reason, the XII was only issued to the top pilots
of a few escadrilles. Although about 300 SPAD XII's were reportedly ordered, an unknown number were built and only a handful
of them saw combat after it became obvious that its effective use was beyond the abilities of the average flyer. The rarity
of the SPAD XII is apparent when one considers that French records show a total of only five of them at the front on April
1, 1918, and just eight of them on October 1, 1918.
|
|
| Rene Fonck and his SPAD XII |
The SPAD XII never fully lived up to expectations, and only two men ever tapped
the potential of the 37 mm cannon's massive power. Georges Guynemer, whose prompting led to the development of the cannon-SPAD,
used the first SPAD XII in July of 1917. He scored his 49th through 52nd kills in it, referring fondly to the machine as his
"avion magique." He was still flying the machine intermittently with the new SPAD XIII when he was killed in action on September
11, 1917.
Statistically, Rene Fonck became history's
most successful SPAD XII pilot. The 75-victory ace used the SPAD XII as a transitional aircraft between the VII and
XIII. While in the SPAD XII he racked up 11 kills, though according to his memoirs at least 1 of them was purely the
result of the Vickers gun. Other than Guynemer and Fonck, no other pilot was able to score more than 3 victories in this rare
SPAD, so be warned - its use in Dawn Patrol is designed to be very selective.
Here are the long-awaited rules that bring the "avion magique" to Dawn Patrol...
 |
SPAD XII
Eligibility
In order to fly the SPAD XII, a pilot must
- have a minimum of 15 kills to his credit
- currently fly the SPAD XIII/Morane-Saulnier A-1 aircraft family
Availability
- Each time a SPAD XIII would normally be flown, eligible pilots may roll a 15% chance
to get a SPAD XII instead
- The SPAD XII is only available for a very limited period of time. After each SPAD
XII flight, the pilot must roll to see if he will ever get a chance to fly it again. His chance of flying the SPAD XII again
depends largely on whether or not he was successful with it on prior flights.
Starting at 0%, the chance of discontinuance increases after each flight
- If no kills are scored, the chance of discontinuance increases 10% per flight
- If a kill is scored, the chance of discontinuance increases only 5% per flight
Example
A pilot has flown the SPAD XII four times with the following results:
Mission #1
0 kills 10%
Mission #2
1 kill 15%
Mission #3
2 kills 20%
Mission #4
0 kills 30%
After the 4th mission, this pilot would roll to see whether or not the SPAD XII will
be available to him in the future. On a result of 30 or less, his use of the aircraft is permanently discontinued. If the
result is greater than 30, he may continue to roll a 15% chance to get the SPAD XII prior to all SPAD XIII missions. Pilots
must re-calculate and re-roll discontinuance chance after each flight in the SPAD XII.
If a pilot scores 11 kills in the SPAD XII, his use of the plane is automatically
discontinued regardless of any other factors.
Firing
- 200 feet is the maximum range for the cannon; any shots beyond this distance will
automatically miss
Range
Base chance for cannon hit
50-100'
10%
150-200'
5%
Adjustments
Add 5% to base chance for each Vickers hit factor scored that turn.
Firing Sequence
Pilot first fires Vickers, determines the extent of damage, then decides if he
wishes to fire the cannon, and rolls accordingly.
Example
Pilot fires Vickers, hits, scoring 3 hit factors. He then immediately announces
his intention to fire the cannon. From 100 feet, the base chance for a cannon hit is 10%. Add 15% (5%x3 Vickers hits). The
chance for a cannon hit this turn is 25%.
If the machine gun fire misses, any cannon shot that turn will also miss. A pilot
may fire the cannon alone using his base chance with no adjustments.
Reloading
- Pilot must fly straight and level for entire turn then roll 1 or 2 on 1D6 to reload
- If attacked that turn only a roll of 1 reloads the cannon
- Cannon is loaded prior to takeoff and 5 extra shells are carried in the cockpit
Damage
- When a cannon hit is scored, determine the angle of attack and roll 1D6. Consult
Hit Location Table to determine where cannon shell struck.
- Shooting pilot rolls 2D6 and target pilot adds that many hit factors to the specified
area. No additional adjustments are made for ace or experience pilots.
SPAD XII
220/220 hp Hispano-Suiza
Oct 1917-end
Altitude (ft.)
Top Turn Climb
0-4,950
130 100 350
5,000-9,950 120
90 250
10,000-14,950 120
80 200
15,000-up 110
70 100
Maximum dive: 1,550
Ceiling: 22,300
One ff Vickers + One 37 mm Puteaux cannon
Single seat fighter
French
E FF
RF T LW CW RW
6 11
16 12 12 12 12
|
