Spitfire Mk.IIa Venture I

This page is about the premium British fighter Spitfire Mk.IIa Venture I. For other versions, see Spitfire (Family).

Spitfire Mk.IIa Venture I

Spitfire Mk.IIa Venture I

Britain

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.7	3.0	3.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:1 150

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Description

The Spitfire Mk.IIa Venture I is a premium rank II British fighter with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB) and 3.0 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Starfighters".

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 4 572 m571 km/h

Turn time15 s

Max altitude10 000 m

EngineRolls-Royce Merlin-XII

TypeInline

Cooling systemWater

Take-off weight3 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 4,572 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	545	535	10000	16.1	16.5	14.0	16.0	300
Upgraded	599	571		14.8	15.1	27.3	19.4

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	X	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
760	270	N/A	N/A	230	~11	~6

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 321	< 400	< 350	> 500

Compressor	Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
Setting 1	4,490 m	1,140 hp	1,311 hp

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural760 km/h

Gear270 km/h

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass in cockpit front.
• 4 mm Steel plate in pilot's seat.
• 6-7 mm Steel plate behind the pilot.

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB766

RB2 987

SB1 798

Crew training6 900

Experts46 000

Aces320

Research Aces500 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 50 / 160 / 330 %

2 × 130 / 130 / 130 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Radiator Compressor Wings repair Engine Engine injection	Airframe Cover	bmg303_belt_pack bmg303_new_gun

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 18 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun

Ammunition2 800 rounds

Fire rate1 000 shots/min

The Spitfire Mk.IIa Venture I is armed with:

• 8 x 7.7 mm Browning machine guns, wing-mounted (350 rpg = 2,800 total)

The Spitfire has a relatively good ammo count but the 4-digit ammo can be deceiving, since there are 8 guns on the aircraft. These should be primarily used against aircraft but can also be used as last resort to attack light or non-armoured ground targets, usually with stealth or universal belts. The job should be left to dedicated gun platforms like the Hurricanes and the Hellcats.

Usage in battles

Combat tactics

The Spitfire Mk.IIa Venture I is an excellent low to medium altitude dogfighter. Lacking a supercharger, it shouldn't be used at high altitudes. In Air RB, it's best to climb to around 3,500-4,000 m (11,500-13,200 ft) where the Merlin XII engine performs optimally. After climbing, release WEP and reduce throttle to below 95% to cool the engine until you've found a target. When engaging opponents, diving should be carefully executed to avoid speeds of 450 km/h (280 mph) or greater, where control surfaces begin to suddenly stiffen. In combat, the light airframe and powerful engine provides a respectable rate of climb and an incredibly tight turning circle, combined with its eight browning machine guns, it is capable of eliminating enemy targets in short, controlled bursts. Poor weapon management will deplete your 2,800 rounds of ammunition quickly because individually, the machine guns are not very powerful. Concentrate and aim for the engine, cockpit or wings where your bullets will be most efficient at destroying vital components, such as wing spars or control surfaces.

Defensively, it's most susceptible to experienced Bf 109 pilots who know not to engage early model Spitfires in turning engagements. When forced in an energy fight or outnumbered, reduce the altitude of your opponents and fly towards your team. Use your roll rate and tight turning radius to avoid enemy fire whenever possible. The plane is capable shaking enemy fire due to its nimbleness. If no teammates are around, force the enemy to be low and slow, use your superior turn and roll-rate with flaps to get the edge. This includes against Japanese aircraft. Zeroes are the only contemporary capable of turning with this Spitfire, use your flaps and manage your engine throttle carefully, rolling scissors is an excellent manoeuvre to get the edge against light Japanese fighters.

Landing the Spitfire Mk.IIa Venture I is easy, the plane doesn't like to give up speed easily, so roll 90 degrees left and right banking low and hard to reduce speed. Once around 200 km/h (125 mph), deploy your landing gear to perform a fast landing. Flaps are unnecessary unless making an emergency landing.

Enemies worth noting

• Zeroes: They can outmanoeuvre the Spitfire in a turnfight.
• Bf 109: They can inflict tremendous damage if you don't watch out. They have quite good turning performance and their energy retention exceeds that of the Spitfire.
• Heavy Bombers: Although the Spitfire Mk IIa is armed with 8 guns, they are only 7.7 mm in calibre. So, it can be difficult to destroy heavy fighters, attackers, and especially bombers. It is likely that long bursts will be necessary to destroy such targets, and that gives time for enemy turret gunners to shoot back. Luckily, most bombers at this tier are not defended by turrets from all angles. Try to plan attack runs so that you don't fly in the enemy's line of fire.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Eight 7.7 mm machine guns provide great anti-fighter power
• Great turn rate
• Good roll rate at low speed
• Better-than-average top speed
• Great rate of climb
• Better engine power than Spitfire Mk Ia
• Decent amount of armour, a front 38 mm glass and rear 4-7 mm steel plates

Cons:

• Machine guns only effective if the target is hit in continuous bursts
• Machine gun armament lacks the long range hitting power of cannons
• Ammo can run out quickly in prolonged, uncontrolled bursts
• Quick kills against large bombers without a pilot snipe is difficult, prolonged engagements expose the Spitfire to the defensive gunners
• Machine guns cannot penetrate heavily armoured targets
• Bad high altitude performance
• Roll rate stiffens dramatically at ~350 km/h
• Pulling negative G's and rolling the plane (Realistic/simulator only) can cause the carburettor (engine) to fail

History

Archive of the in-game description

The Supermarine Spitfire was a British fighter which served with various nations from the late 1930s up into the 1950s. It was a single-engine, all-metal, low-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear. Various modifications served as fighters, interceptors, high-altitude fighters, fighter-bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. A total of some 20,300 Spitfires of all types were built during the war, including two-seater trainers. In the summer of 1939, an early Spitfire Mk I was fitted with the new Rolls Royce Merlin XII engine, which had a higher output of 1175 HP and was fitted with a Coffman engine starter instead of the previous Merlin's electrical starter system. This, combined with the Rotol variable pitch propeller which had been used on many Spitfire Mk Is would now form the powerplant of the new Spitfire Mk II, although some production models used the De Havilland propeller. The Mk II was some 6-7 mph faster than the later Spitfire Mk I, but still slower than the original Spitfires before a series of modifications increased the aircraft's weight. As with the Mk I, the Spitfire Mk II was produced with either eight machine guns as the Spitfire Mk IIA, or two 20 mm cannon and four machine guns as the Mk IIb. The earlier problems with cannon fitted to the Mk IB had now been solved by introducing a belt feed system to the weapon to replace the earlier drum, turning the cannon on its side and fitting a blister on the wing to house the new mechanism. 920 Spitfire Mk IIs entered service; 750 Mk IIA and 170 MK IIB, although fighters used in the air-sea rescue role were later designated Mk IIC. The Spitfire II quickly replaced the Spitfire I, with the older variant being relegated to use in Operational Training Units. By April 1941, RAF Fighter Command had completed re-equipping with the Mk II, although this too would soon be replaced by the Mk V.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Spitfire Mk.IIa Venture I from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Should You Buy The Spitfire Mk2A Venture? - Sako Sniper

See also

Related development

• Spitfire (Family)

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance