diff --git a/opendis/record/bitfield.py b/opendis/record/bitfield.py
index a8f693c..a3df951 100644
--- a/opendis/record/bitfield.py
+++ b/opendis/record/bitfield.py
@@ -1,101 +1,119 @@
-"""Bitfield type factory and related utilities.
-
-This module provides a factory function to create ctypes.Structure subclasses
-representing bitfields as defined in the DIS standard. These bitfields are used
-in various DIS records to pack multiple non-octet-aligned fields into a compact
-binary representation.
-"""
-
-from ctypes import (
-    _SimpleCData,
-    BigEndianStructure,
-    c_uint8,
-    c_uint16,
-    c_uint32,
-    sizeof,
-)
-from typing import Literal, Sequence
-
-from opendis.stream import DataInputStream, DataOutputStream
-from opendis.types import bf_enum, bf_int, bf_uint
-
-# Type definitions for bitfield field descriptors
-CTypeFieldDescription = tuple[str, type[_SimpleCData], int]
-DisFieldDescription = tuple[str, "DisFieldType", int]
-
-# Field type constants simplify the construction of bitfields
-# which would otherwise require manually specifying ctypes types.
-# The currently implemented bitfields only use integers, but DIS7
-# mentions CHAR types which may be needed in future.
-DisFieldType = Literal["INTEGER"]
-INTEGER = "INTEGER"
-
-
-def _field(name: str,
-          ftype: DisFieldType,
-          bits: int) -> CTypeFieldDescription:
-    """Helper function to create the field description tuple used by ctypes."""
-    match (ftype, bits):
-        case (INTEGER, b) if 0 < b <= 8:
-            return (name, c_uint8, bits)
-        case (INTEGER, b) if 8 < b <= 16:
-            return (name, c_uint16, bits)
-        case (INTEGER, b) if 16 < b <= 32:
-            return (name, c_uint32, bits)
-        case _:
-            raise ValueError(f"Unrecognized (ftype, bits): {ftype}, {bits}")
-
-
-def bitfield(name: str,
-              fields: Sequence[DisFieldDescription]):
-    """Factory function for bitfield structs, which are subclasses of
-    ctypes.Structure.
-    These are used in records that require them to unpack non-octet-sized fields.
-
-    Args:
-        name: Name of the bitfield struct.
-        bytesize: Size of the bitfield in bytes.
-        fields: Sequence of tuples defining fields of the bitfield, in the form
-            (field_name, "INTEGER", field_size_in_bits).
-    """
-    # Argument validation
-    struct_fields = []
-    bitsize = 0
-    for name, ftype, bits in fields:
-        if ftype not in (INTEGER,):
-            raise ValueError(f"Unsupported field type: {ftype}")
-        if not isinstance(bits, int):
-            raise ValueError(f"Field size must be int: {bits!r}")
-        if bits <= 0 or bits > 32:
-            raise ValueError(f"Field size must be between 1 and 32: got {bits}")
-        bitsize += bits
-        struct_fields.append(_field(name, ftype, bits))
-
-    if bitsize == 0:
-        raise ValueError(f"Bitfield size cannot be zero")
-    elif bitsize % 8 != 0:
-        raise ValueError(f"Bitfield size must be multiple of 8, got {bitsize}")
-    bytesize = bitsize // 8
-
-    # Create the struct class
-    class Bitfield(BigEndianStructure):
-        _fields_ = struct_fields
-
-        @staticmethod
-        def marshalledSize() -> int:
-            return bytesize
-
-        def serialize(self, outputStream: DataOutputStream) -> None:
-            outputStream.write_bytes(bytes(self))
-
-        @classmethod
-        def parse(cls, inputStream: DataInputStream) -> "Bitfield":
-            return cls.from_buffer_copy(inputStream.read_bytes(bytesize))
-
-    # Sanity check: ensure the struct size matches expected size
-    assert sizeof(Bitfield) == bytesize, \
-        f"Bitfield size mismatch: expected {bytesize}, got {sizeof(Bitfield)}"
-
-    # Assign the class name
-    Bitfield.__name__ = name
-    return Bitfield
+"""Bitfield type factory and related utilities.
+
+This module provides a factory function to create ctypes.Structure subclasses
+representing bitfields as defined in the DIS standard. These bitfields are used
+in various DIS records to pack multiple non-octet-aligned fields into a compact
+binary representation.
+"""
+
+from ctypes import (
+    _SimpleCData,
+    BigEndianStructure,
+    c_uint8,
+    c_uint16,
+    c_uint32,
+    sizeof,
+)
+from typing import Literal, Sequence
+
+from opendis.stream import DataInputStream, DataOutputStream
+from opendis.types import bf_enum, bf_int, bf_uint
+
+# Type definitions for bitfield field descriptors
+CTypeFieldDescription = tuple[str, type[_SimpleCData], int]
+DisFieldDescription = tuple[str, "DisFieldType", int]
+
+# Field type constants simplify the construction of bitfields
+# which would otherwise require manually specifying ctypes types.
+# The currently implemented bitfields only use integers, but DIS7
+# mentions CHAR types which may be needed in future.
+DisFieldType = Literal["INTEGER"]
+INTEGER = "INTEGER"
+
+
+def _field(name: str,
+          ftype: DisFieldType,
+          bits: int,
+          base_ctype: type[_SimpleCData]) -> CTypeFieldDescription:
+    """Helper function to create the field description tuple used by ctypes.
+
+    Args:
+        name: Field name
+        ftype: Field type (currently only INTEGER supported)
+        bits: Number of bits for this field
+        base_ctype: The base C type to use for all fields (ensures proper packing)
+    """
+    if ftype != INTEGER:
+        raise ValueError(f"Unrecognized ftype: {ftype}")
+    if bits <= 0 or bits > 32:
+        raise ValueError(f"Field size must be between 1 and 32: got {bits}")
+    return (name, base_ctype, bits)
+
+
+def bitfield(name: str,
+              fields: Sequence[DisFieldDescription]):
+    """Factory function for bitfield structs, which are subclasses of
+    ctypes.Structure.
+    These are used in records that require them to unpack non-octet-sized fields.
+
+    Args:
+        name: Name of the bitfield struct.
+        bytesize: Size of the bitfield in bytes.
+        fields: Sequence of tuples defining fields of the bitfield, in the form
+            (field_name, "INTEGER", field_size_in_bits).
+    """
+    # First pass: calculate total bitsize and validate
+    bitsize = 0
+    for field_name, ftype, bits in fields:
+        if ftype not in (INTEGER,):
+            raise ValueError(f"Unsupported field type: {ftype}")
+        if not isinstance(bits, int):
+            raise ValueError(f"Field size must be int: {bits!r}")
+        if bits <= 0 or bits > 32:
+            raise ValueError(f"Field size must be between 1 and 32: got {bits}")
+        bitsize += bits
+
+    if bitsize == 0:
+        raise ValueError(f"Bitfield size cannot be zero")
+    elif bitsize % 8 != 0:
+        raise ValueError(f"Bitfield size must be multiple of 8, got {bitsize}")
+    bytesize = bitsize // 8
+
+    # Determine base ctype based on TOTAL size (critical for Python 3.12+ compatibility)
+    # All fields must use the same underlying type to avoid padding issues
+    if bitsize <= 8:
+        base_ctype = c_uint8
+    elif bitsize <= 16:
+        base_ctype = c_uint16
+    elif bitsize <= 32:
+        base_ctype = c_uint32
+    else:
+        raise ValueError(f"Bitfield size {bitsize} exceeds maximum of 32 bits")
+
+    # Second pass: create fields with consistent base type
+    struct_fields = []
+    for field_name, ftype, bits in fields:
+        struct_fields.append(_field(field_name, ftype, bits, base_ctype))
+
+    # Create the struct class
+    class Bitfield(BigEndianStructure):
+        _fields_ = struct_fields
+
+        @staticmethod
+        def marshalledSize() -> int:
+            return bytesize
+
+        def serialize(self, outputStream: DataOutputStream) -> None:
+            outputStream.write_bytes(bytes(self))
+
+        @classmethod
+        def parse(cls, inputStream: DataInputStream) -> "Bitfield":
+            return cls.from_buffer_copy(inputStream.read_bytes(bytesize))
+
+    # Sanity check: ensure the struct size matches expected size
+    assert sizeof(Bitfield) == bytesize, \
+        f"Bitfield size mismatch: expected {bytesize}, got {sizeof(Bitfield)}"
+
+    # Assign the class name
+    Bitfield.__name__ = name
+    return Bitfield