Spitfire Mk IIa

Spitfire Mk IIa

Spitfire Mk Ia

Spitfire Mk IIb

Spitfire Mk IIa

Spitfire Mk Ia

Spitfire Mk IIb

Britain

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.7	3.0	3.0

Class:

Fighter

Research:4 600

Purchase:16 000

Show in game

This page is about the British fighter Spitfire Mk IIa. For other uses, see Spitfire (Family).

Description

The Spitfire Mk IIa is a Rank II British fighter with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB/RB) and 3.0 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.35.

For those who don't historically know much about the Spitfire, in 1941 in the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire flew to intercept enemy fighters because of its speed and agility- the Hurricanes were sent to destroy Heinkel Bombers. This same logic can be applied to War Thunder Realistic Battles- the Spitfire should first climb, using its excellent rate-of-climb, then intercept high patrolling fighters, if possible, bringing them lower. The Spitfire is fast, with a top speed around 600km/h, although in a straight line, it normally reaches around 460km/h. Do not head-on in the Spitfire- it can destroy the engine and the gun convergence won't help at all- avoid head-ons and go for turn fights. A sensible opponent will try to energy fight the Spitfire- to avoid destruction, climb quickly away from them, then dart back into their trajectory arc, normally underneath them; the Spitfire can do that, since it has good lift rate- eventually, either the opponent will miss and overshoot, allowing the Spitfire to destroy them, or will dive, which the Spitfire can follow, but be careful- the Spitfire will wing rip at around 500 km/h or less, so don't pull too hard or the wings will fly away...

The Spitfire has a relatively good ammo count- the 4-digit ammo can be deceiving, since there are 8 guns on the aircraft, making only around 400 rpg- these can be used to ground attack light or unarmoured targets, usually with stealth or omni-purpose belts, but this job should be left to dedicated gun-platforms, like the Hurricane and Hellcat

General info

Flight Performance

Stat card

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 4,572 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
545	535	10,000	16.1	16.5	14.0	16.0	300
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 4,572 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
599	571	10,000	14.8	15.1	27.3	19.4	300

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
760	270	290	~14	~8

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 321	< 400	< 465	> 250

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,490 m	1,140 hp	1,311 hp

Engine performance

Engine
Engine Name			Number present
Rolls-Royce Merlin-XII 12-cylinder			1
Engine characteristics
Weight (each)		Type	Cooling
625 kg		Inline	Water
Engine power (Stock)
Mode	Max		Take-off
Arcade	921 hp		1,074 hp
Realistic/Simulator	911 hp		1,064 hp
Engine power (Upgraded)
Mode	Max		Take-off
Arcade	1,148 hp		1,301 hp
Realistic/Simulator	1,020 hp		1,173 hp

WEP Duration
Arcade		Realistic/Simulator
25 seconds		Infinite

Survivability and armour

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

Armaments

The Spitfire Mk IIa is armed with:

• 8 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun, wing-mounted (350 rpg = 2800 total)

Usage in the battles

When in a fight with an enemy plane, which is not Japanese, proceed to entice them into a turn fight, wait until they get close enough and then turn into them, forcing a turning fight,

It is faster than Japanese planes, so if attacked by one, either use a Rolling Scissors technique or just fly away and if in a good position, Boom & Zoom it.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable No automatic pitch	Controllable	Not controllable	Combined	Not controllable	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 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

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 20mm 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."

Notable pilots

• 

  The Spitfire Mk IIa was the first Spitfire in which Douglas Bader flew. As it was he crashed the first one during take off, however immediately jumped into another and took to the air.

Media

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

Read also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

ETC.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• page on aircraft encyclopedia;
• other literature.