Copy of 'Vieux Charles,' the 1916 Spad VII of French ace Georges Guynemer, landing at Olde Rhinebeck Aereodrome, Rhinebeck, New York, September 15, 2013. © 2013 John M. Shea
Vieux CharlesOld Charles
"Spad XII S382 arrived at N.3, then based at St. Pol-sur-Mer to support the British Passchendaele offensive, in July 1917. Guynemer used it to attack a DFW C.V on the 5th, but it was damaged by the enemy observer and was sent back for repairs until the 20th. On July 27, Guynemer used S382 to shoot down an Albatros scout with eight machine gun rounds and one cannon shell, killing Leutnant der Reserve Fritz Vossen of Jasta 33. He downed a DFW over Westroosebeke the next day using two shells and 30 bullets, but damage from its return fire forced him to send S382 back to the shop until August 15."
On July 28 and 28, 1917, French ace Georges Guynemer flew the new Spad XII modified to implement an armament he had proposed: a cannon that fired a 37 mm shell through a hollow propeller shaft. The breech of the gun extended back between his legs, and he would have had to reload it for the second shell he fired on the 28th. The Albatros scouts were some of Germany's leading fighter planes. DFW manufactured over 2,000 of the two-seater reconnaissance C.V, with another 1,250 produced under license by other firms. British General Douglas Haig would launch the battle of Passchendaele on July 31.
SPAD XIII vs. Fokker D VII: Western Front 1916-18 by Gutman, page 169, publisher: Osprey
1917-07-28, 1917, July, Spad XII, Guynemer, Passchendaele, Albatros, Vieux Charles
