The Spad A2 Hates You

A look at the Spad A2 and a new set of rules in Archie just for it

It was in 1915 that the good people at the SPAD aircraft company decided to make an airplane that would solve all of France's worries. It would be able to fire a machine gun forward to ward off those pesky German Fokkers (aka Fokking Germans), and also give the observer one heck of a view. The plan was to put a nacelle in front of the propeller where the observer would sit snugly, content in the knowledge that he had a perfect field of fire and that a sturdy wire shield protected him from the whirling blades of the propeller, just inches behind his head. Umm...

There were problems from the get go. First, once people became convinced that the good people at SPAD were serious in trying to sell this death with wings, the question arose as to how the pilot and observer would communicate, what with that whirling blade separating them and all.

The answer was simple; they don't. SPAD felt the pilot and observer could communicate just fine on the ground, which is where most observers wanted to stay when they saw their seat.

The next question was, what happens when a less than skilled pilot makes a less than skilled landing.

Again the answer was simple:
The observer ends up something akin to ground beef.

The Spad.A.2 was not only a nightmare of a design, upon entering service there were some notable defects that made one wonder if the SPAD designers weren't spending too much time in the opium dens of gay Paree.

The worst of these faults was that the observer's nacelle had the nasty habit of vibrating intensely and then separating itself from the fuselage, thereby giving the observer an extraordinary view he would enjoy but quickly and only once.

When the nacelle detached itself it also had the bad habit of removing the top wing as it dropped earthward. This made even pilots refuse to fly it, and thus with no observers stupid enough to go aloft nor pilots to take them, the French air force was left with 57 of the damn things.

What to do with them?
Too large to make a good paperweight, the answer again was simple: Give them to the Russians.

In a backward country with a backward educational system and a horrendous standard of living, it should not be surprising to find the Russian air force accepted the Spad A2 as just another crappy thing to deal with, and put them into service.

Very few domestic designs existed (with the exception of some genuinely innovative and well designed bombers), and the Russians were desperate for anything that could more or less fly and carry a gun.

The air service took the Spads and had no qualms about putting observers into them. Russia's greatest resource has always been a preponderance of people, so a few plummeting to earth with their nacelles didn't really matter much in the scheme of things.

The Spad crews of course hated the machine, and the fact that Spad in Russian (спад) means a decrease, or downturn, which of course was exaggerated to mean plummet, didn't help matters in the least. Despite this hatred of their mounts, the Spad crews accepted their fate with the fatalistic forbearance of a Russian peasant.
The Russians kept the Spads in service well past their use-by date, even into 1917 when the machines were flying relics of a bygone era of early aviation. However, there is one documented case from November of 1916, of a Russian Spad A2 shooting down a German aircraft. An admirable feat that must have embarrassed the German pilot all the way down.

Though the Spad was a poorly thought out design, it did provide the experience that would lead to the design of the Spad VII and XIII, which, unlike the S.A.2, would prove to be much more deadly to the enemy than to its own pilots.

Of course the Spad A2 is available in Archie and looks like this:

A special Spad A2 rule is offered here for those who really want to experience all the fun this plane has to offer.
Anytime the Spad receives a Critical Hit, roll one d6, if the result is a 1-2 the front nacelle has detached, sending the observer fluttering earthward as the upper wing detaches itself from the rest of the plane. If the nacelle remains intact the Critical Hit damage is still applied. Of course if it isn't intact the Critical Hit is the least of the crew's worries.

The above rule is the most realistic, as a broken nacelle would put the center of gravity much too far back for the plane to have a realistic chance of staying aloft, however, for those wishing even more fun, you can add a bit of suspense to the situation by adding additional die rolls for when the nacelle detaches.
First, roll to see if the top wing has detached, that would be yes on a roll of 1-3, with the resultant game over for both pilot and observer. A roll of 4-6 keeps the upper wing intact (yay!), and means the observer isn't cooked just yet. The nacelle is still hanging on by its upper attachment and the pilot now must do everything he can to land before the nacelle breaks off completely.
Thus every turn after the detachment of the nacelle but with the top wing still intact, roll a d6. On the first turn a 1 sees the nacelle break off, on the second turn a 1-2, on the third a 1-3, and so on until the Spad pilot can land.
Should the nacelle break off completely the pilot is still able to fly the plane but cannot engage in any combat as his machine gun is now on its way to the ground. This possibility was in reality quite remote, so use this part of the rules with a rather large grain of salt.
Once the plane comes in for a landing with the nacelle still clinging for dear life, roll yet another d6, this time a 1-3 sees the nacelle breaking off on contact with the earth, killing the observer instantly. The pilot is okay, at least physically. A result of 4-6 means the nacelle has held (good SPAD construction) and all is well, except for the necessary change of underwear for all involved.
A final frosting on the cake would be to include modifiers for the safe landing, with Green getting a -1, Regular no modifier, Veteran, Ace (no one will be an ace in this thing) and Aerobat +1.

The Spad A2's stats change a bit once the nacelle breaks. The speed drops to 3 (the bare minimum), MAN to 1, and ENG to 0 (zero). The plane cannot do anything but descend to earth one altitude level at a time (if using the altitude rules) and cannot make any sudden movements, such as a turn. Only straight flying is allowed.

And in case you haven't already, you can...