diff --git a/code/XFileParser.cpp b/code/XFileParser.cpp
index 018be3102..36e70bc1c 100644
--- a/code/XFileParser.cpp
+++ b/code/XFileParser.cpp
@@ -136,6 +136,9 @@ XFileParser::XFileParser( const std::vector<char>& pBuffer)
 		ThrowException( boost::str( boost::format( "Unknown float size %1% specified in xfile header.")
 			% mBinaryFloatSize));
 
+	// The x format specifies size in bits, but we work in bytes
+	mBinaryFloatSize /= 8;
+
 	P += 16;
 
 	// If this is a compressed X file, apply the inflate algorithm to it
diff --git a/code/XFileParser.h b/code/XFileParser.h
index 784dd0479..900555f32 100644
--- a/code/XFileParser.h
+++ b/code/XFileParser.h
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ protected:
 protected:
 	unsigned int mMajorVersion, mMinorVersion; ///< version numbers
 	bool mIsBinaryFormat; ///< true if the file is in binary, false if it's in text form
-	unsigned int mBinaryFloatSize; ///< float size, either 32 or 64 bits
+	unsigned int mBinaryFloatSize; ///< float size in bytes, either 4 or 8
 	// counter for number arrays in binary format
 	unsigned int mBinaryNumCount;