SPAD XIII Vs Fokker D VII : Osprey Publishing : 9781846034329 : 1846034329 : 10 Apr 2009 : Having established its SPAD VII as the most effective French fighter of 1916, the Societé Pour l'Aviation at ses Dérivés strove to improve the model with a 220hp Hispano Suiza 8B engine and two machine guns. Despite initial teething troubles with the new engine, by mid-1918 the SPAD XIII had taken its place as the principal fighter of both France and the US. Meanwhile, the German quest for a successor for their structurally flawed Albatros D V finally bore fruit with the Fokker D VII. Entering combat in May 1918, this plane earned a reputation as the most formidable fighter of the war, yet the SPAD XIII's greater speed, especially in a dive, and its outstanding durability, proved a fearsome rival. This is the gripping story of two of the best fighters produced in World War I - the SPAD XIII and the Fokker D VII - as they dueled in the skies above the trenches in the closing months of the war. Nev