SPAD XIII / Eddie Rickenbacker

SPAD XIII airplane model flown by Eddie Rickenbacker. Experience history with the SPAD XIII / Eddie Rickenbacker model, crafted with museum-quality detail. Enjoy this remarkable piece, perfect for any aviation enthusiast eager to make their collection soar to new heights! The SPAD (Societe pour l'Aviation et ses Derives - Society for Aviation and its Derivatives) XIII was designed in 1916 as a French attempt to counter the twin gun German fighters, like the Halberstadt. The SPAD XIII doubled the firepower of the earlier SPAD VII by using two Vickers 303 machine guns with 400 rounds of ammunition for each gun. The enthusiasm of the French pilots who tested the aircraft between April and September 1917 encouraged the French government to order more than 2,000. The U.S. Air Service also began flying the SPAD XIII in March 1918 and by war's end in November 1918 the Air Service has acquired 893. Throughout 1917 and into 1918 the SPAD XIII held its own against German aircraft, but in the sum