The legendary Supermarine “Spitfire” is undoubtedly one of the most famous, and perhaps the most beautiful, aircraft of all time. Designed from 1934 under the guidance of Supermarine Aviation Works’ chief designer Reginald Mitchell, Joseph Smith and “Alf” Faddy, the prototype first flew on 5 March 1936. The Supermarine built 1030hp Rolls-Royce Merlin II/III powered, 8 Browning .303” machine gun armed, Spitfire Mk.I entered service from mid-May 1938. The rear fuselage was adorned with raised rivets for ease of construction while the main planes and front of the fuselage were flush riveted, puttied/filler primed and sanded smooth for improved performance. Numerous improvements were introduced throughout production. Some Mk.I were armed with 2 Hispano 20mm cannons which proved to be so unreliable that they were withdrawn from service in early September 1940. The problems were solved later that year and when it was reintroduced with an additional 4 Browning .303” guns it was designated the Spitfire Mk.Ib (“B” wing), at which time the 8 Browning .303” gun armed aircraft was re-designated the Mk.Ia (“A” wing).
The Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory (CBAF) built 1150hp Rolls-Royce Merlin XII powered Spitfire Mk.IIa/b featured many of the later Mk.Ia improvements although the key difference was the new engine which had a Coffman (explosive) cartridge starting system. A 1390hp Rolls-Royce Merlin XX powered Spitfire Mk.III prototype had been in development since January 1940 which incorporated numerous improvements introduced throughout Mk.I/II production as well as many new innovations. In early 1941 an urgent need for improved performance saw the installation of the 1440hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 into approximately 365 internally strengthened Mk.Ia/IIa & Mk.Ib/IIb airframes thereby creating the stop-gap Mk.Va and Mk.Vb.
Early production Mk.Vb (as featured in this model) completed from early-1941 incorporated Mk.I/II airframe improvements introduced up to that time including constant speed DeHavilland & Rotol propellers, a carb intake ice/snow guard, fireproof bulkhead, deletion of the 47gal fuel gauge in the instrument panel, engine driven undercarriage controls, windscreen de-icing, Martin-Baker hood release (jettison) system, composite seat, pilot’s armour plating, IFF Mk.II, a single parachute landing flare chute, electrical test door in the port wing fairing, raised rivet wireless and accumulator doors, Plessey flare device, and reinforced tailwheel strut. They also featured the improved “B” type wing, metal skinned ailerons, improved cannon shell ejection chutes, symmetrical/double-bulged and early asymmetric underwing cannon fairings, two-cell radiator, and an improved oil cooler design.
Mid production Mk.Vb completed from mid-1941 saw the introduction of additional types of DeHavilland and Rotol propellers, more efficient “fishtail” exhaust manifolds, tyres with concentric rings, armour under the seat and an emergency exit crowbar. Later production Mk.Vb saw the introduction of a double-barrel voltage regulator behind the pilot’s headrest, rearranged gun heating and oxygen systems, wheel covers, external “slipper” fuel tanks, balloon hoods, internal windscreen armoured glass, a square reflector gun sight Mk.II, clipped wingtips, tropical air intake filters, and deletion of the landing lights, parachute flare and pilot’s headrest. Very late serving Mk.Vb/c aircraft could be found with multi-ejector exhaust manifolds, bomb carriers, and elevators with increased balance areas. Some of these modifications were retrofitted to earlier aircraft. A Mk.Vc was put into production from early 1942 and introduced the “C” wing which could be armed with up to 4 Hispano 20mm cannons or 8 Browning .303 guns, although it was usually fitted with 2 cannons and 4 Browning guns. It also featured slightly redesigned undercarriage geometry. Numerous additional engine, airframe and armament improvements were made to the Spitfire before production ceased in 1948, by which time over 22000 had been produced in 2-dozen variants with the most notable being the 1030hp Mk.I, 1470hp Mk.V, 1720hp Mk.IX, 2035hp Mk.XIV, the photo-reconnaissance Mk.XI and the navalised Seafire Mk.III.
Early production Mk.Va/b featured the colours of their respective airframe manufacturers. The interior areas were primed with light grey before being painted aluminium, except for the cockpit between frames 8 & 11 which appear to have been painted in grey-green (by Supermarine) and very pale grey-green (CBAF). Major internal components supplied by sub-contractors could be delivered in various shades of grey-green or aluminium or even black.
Upper surfaces were initially painted Dark Earth and Dark Green in varying shades applied with a hard demarcation line (Supermarine) or soft (CBAF) in the A pattern. The undersides (including the wheel wells, undercarriage legs and wheel hubs) were finished with “Sky Type S”. Night (black) was reintroduced for the underside of the port wing from late November 1940 until late April 1941 but no Mk.Vb appear to have been finished this way at the factory, although Mk.Vb converted from earlier production Mk.Ib would have had Night applied at the units, before being repainted again with Sky Type S. Spitfire sub-assemblies were usually supplied pre-painted so a single aircraft could exhibit a variety of shades, and sometimes the camouflage pattern would not match perfectly from one sub-assembly/component to the next. Early production Mk.Vb serving after mid-August 1941 would have received the new “Day Fighter” camouflage scheme with Ocean Grey (or mixed grey) applied over the previous Dark Earth, and Medium Sea Grey applied over the previous “Sky Type S” undersides. These new colours could be brush painted or sprayed on depending on what equipment was available at the time. Additionally, extensive weathering and re-painting (hand brushed as well as sprayed) also helped ensure that a wide variety of tonal differences could be seen.
This set includes windscreen with de-icing, canopy hood with Martin-Baker jettison system, fireproof bulkhead, dual-height rudder pedals, instrument panel with rectangle & curved flying panels, composite pilot’s seat with and without Sutton Type K harness detail, IFF Mk.II, ice/snow guard, port wing fillets with electrical connection door, Supermarine & CBAF undercarriage doors and top engine cowlings, open & closed cockpit doors with optional crow-bar, DeHavilland & Rotol propellers and wheels with weighted tyres featuring correct alignment
Features
- 141 high-quality injection moulded plastic parts
- 35cm wingspan
- 38 all new tooled parts include wings, 20mm cannon barrels, alternate magazine fairings, control column, engine driven undercarriage controls, cockpit sidewalls, starboard engine cowlings, ailerons, and oil cooler fairings
- 32 page fully illustrated instruction manual
- High quality Cartograf decals for 3 early production Spitfire Mk.Vb including RAF,
- Polish, and USAAF markings.
