Spitfire Mk Vb/trop (Italy)

This page is about the Italian fighter Spitfire Mk Vb/trop (Italy). For the version in the British tree, see Spitfire Mk Vb/trop. For other variants, see Spitfire (Family).

▄Spitfire Mk Vb/trop

▄Spitfire Mk Vb/trop

Italy

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	3.7	3.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:1 300

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Description

The ▄Spitfire Mk Vb/trop is a premium rank III Italian fighter with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB) and 3.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.77 "Advancing Storm".

This Spitfire, part of the 51°Stormo, represents the Italian side known as the Italian Co-belligerent Air Force (Aeronautica Cobelligerante Italiana), which fought along the allies in the last years of the war.

The capabilities of this British Spitfire provide a fresh air in performance, plus an excellent premium boost useful for the aspiring Italian pilots looking to master the powerful planes down the ranks.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 4 878 m573 km/h

Turn time16 s

Max altitude10 500 m

EngineRolls-Royce Merlin-45

TypeInline

Cooling systemWater

Take-off weight3 t

The Spitfire Mk. Vb/trop is a well-rounded fighter that can turn excellently. When the plane has not been fully upgraded, the Spitfire Vb/trop's Merlin 45 engine has less power than the Merlin XII engine of the Spitfire Mk IIb. The Spitfire has outstanding energy retention and easily gains speed in a dive and retains it after pulling out into more level flight. In addition, it does not lose speed too quickly in a turn and thanks to outstanding acceleration from the Merlin 45, the aircraft easily accelerates after pulling a high-G turn that initially bled a large amount of speed.

However, the newer, more powerful, heavier engine and airframe only has more energy retention capability due to being heavier than the Spitfire IIb. This means that the aircraft cannot turn as tightly or as fast as its predecessor. The extra weight comes from the new cannons, which are slightly longer than the more powerful Merlin 45 engine.

The Spitfire Mk Vb/trop has a quoted rate of climb of 17.8 m/s at around 255 km/h in a moderate climb, however, when factoring in 20 minutes of fuel reduces is capability and it can manage around 22.7 m/s in a climb at 251 km/h IAS. In addition, by alternating between shallow and sharp climbs, one can make the Spitfire climb much faster in the initial stages of the match. Through practising these techniques, it is possible to achieve an end result of an average of around 20-21 metres per second in a single, steady climb to 4,000 metres. The aircraft's nose was kept pointing 15 - 20 degrees during this climb.

This Spitfire has a good turn time compared to its opposition and cannot be out-turned by anything save for a Japanese Zero. However, its 16.8 second turn time and slightly wider turn radius are a far cry from the first Spitfire Mk Ia's turn radius and turn time. Don't expect to out-turn everything. While you have good energy retention, you have low manoeuvrability below 250 km/h. A prime tactic used by enemy pilots is cutting speed near the ground, resulting in you ramming into terrain. Don't let that happen. If the target's too slow, break in the opposite direction and turn back at them, beginning another series of scissors. If not, then pull out. They'll have lost a lot of speed by cutting the throttle and nearly nothing rivals the acceleration of a Spitfire Vb/trop under 4,000 metres save for high-performance Russian aircraft.

The Spitfire Vb/trop, however, begins to lose its edge below 280 km/h IAS. It begins to slow down, become sluggish, and starts to show its weaknesses. Although it has good energy retention, it will lose a lot of speed turning above 400 km/h, and loses speed slowly but steadily in a turn below that speed. Beginning at 270 km/h IAS, the aircraft begins to lose speed and agility until it becomes heavy and unwieldy beginning at 250 km/h.

A favourite tactic of Fw 190 A-1 pilots to use against Spitfire Vb/trops is to keep the Spitfire turning until it loses speed, or to utilize their outstanding roll and acceleration to turn the fight into a vertical manoeuvring fight that moves upwards. They utilize a series of loops & Chandelles to force the Spitfire to lose energy, bait it into a turnfight and then attempt to use their superior acceleration and energy retention to force the Spitfire to lose speed and either crash or become a sitting duck. Spitfire pilots are advised not to engage in an extended turnfight with an Fw 190 A.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 4,878 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	545	527	10500	17.4	18.0	13.5	13.5	340
Upgraded	605	573		15.9	16.5	23.9	17.8

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	~10	~5

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 321	< 400	< 350	> 450

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,900 m	1,190 hp	1,582 hp

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural760 km/h

Gear270 km/h

Armour

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass - Armoured windscreen
• 4 mm Steel - Armoured plate in pilot's seat
• 6-7 mm Steel - Armoured plate behind the pilot
• 3 mm Steel - Armoured boxes around the wing ammunition
• 1 mm Steel - Armoured plate in front of the top fuel tank
• 3 mm Steel - Armoured plate in front of the liquid cooling system

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB792

RB1 184

SB1 721

Crew training10 000

Experts67 000

Aces400

Research Aces570 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 60 / 130 / 270 %

2 × 136 / 136 / 136 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Radiator Compressor Wings repair Engine Engine injection	Airframe Cover	bmg303_belt_pack hispano_belt_pack bmg303_new_gun hispano_mk2_new_gun Mk.II year 1942 Mk.II year 1943

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 12 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannon

Ammunition120 rounds

Fire rate600 shots/min

Weapon 24 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun

Ammunition1 400 rounds

Fire rate1 000 shots/min

The Spitfire Mk Vb/trop (Italy) is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannons, wing-mounted (60 rpg = 120 total)
• 4 x 7.7 mm Browning .303 machine guns, wing-mounted (350 rpg = 1,400 total)

The Spitfire Vb/trop is armed with two pairs of British .303s with 350 rounds per gun and two Hispano Mark II cannons with sixty rounds per gun. The Hispano Mk. I only have 60 rounds of ammo, stored in drums. The 7.7 mm guns have 350 rounds each. In continuous firing, assuming that no jams happen at all, the Hispano's ammo will dry up quicker than the 7.7 mm Brownings. However, jams do happen and the Hispanos will jam quicker than the Brownings.

Usage in battles

The Spitfire Vb/trop fills the role of an aerial superiority fighter in the early Italian tier III lineup. It cannot fulfil any ground attack duties due to its low cannon ammunition pool and the absence of any heavy machine guns which can penetrate a tank's thin roof armour. In addition, the aircraft cannot carry any bombs or other air to ground ordnance. Like most Spitfires, the Spitfire Mk Vb/trop is meant to be used as a pure aerial superiority fighter, while fighter-bomber duties are relegated to other aircraft, such as the Ro.57 Quadriarma.

A possible strategy is akin to that used on the C.205 serie 1, using the cannons sparingly. Use the cannons when in the aircraft's most effective convergence range and envelope, and use the machine guns to 'sight' the cannons. Fire the machine guns tracer belts for maximum AP-I and tracer ammo, using the similar muzzle velocities to get an idea of where the cannon rounds will go, and then fire cannons once you are getting consistent hits. If your cannon ammo drops to 50 rounds or below that, try and return to base quickly. That way, if you get bounced on the way back, you can at least have some cannon ammo left to surprise any raider looking to kill you.

Go for deflection shots against enemy aircraft. These shots are side-on shots where you "lead" an enemy aircraft in front of you, and get off a burst when you're not directly behind them, but instead when they're turning. While this may be difficult for newer players, it provides valuable training and is a good learning experience for later tiers. In addition, should you use this technique, you can easily cause enemy planes' wings to completely fall off if you pull it off right and hit a wing spar. Bf-109s, with their single-wing spars, are especially vulnerable to a well-aimed side-on shot.

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:

• Excellent turn time positioning it amongst the best of the rank
• Decent all-round performance; only lagging behind in frame durability
• 2 x 20 mm cannons allow a firepower advantage against some lower ranked adversaries armed only with 7.7 machine guns
• Extremely manoeuvrable both in vertical and horizontal turn
• Decent ammo count for the numerous .303 Brownings
• Can pull negative G manoeuvres unlike its predecessors
• Well fitted for hot and desert maps, thanks to tropical modifications

Cons:

• Low ammo count for the Hispanos; trigger discipline is needed
• Requires good skill & knowledge of energy fighting to be used to its full potential as is not the fastest plane in the rank.
• Float carburettor causes engine failures on prolonged negative Gs manoeuvring and inverted flying
• .303s have a low damage output, worse with the distance
• Poor high altitude performance (+4,000); due to the lack of a supercharged engine
• Despite superior turn rate, stills does not turns as much as the Japanese A6M2
• Very fragile engine and wings
• Somewhat poor climb rate without the use of MEC

History

After the Italian Armistice on 3 September 1943 and the separation of Italy into the Axis-sided Italian Social Republic and the Allied-sided Italian Co-Belligerent Army. The Allied command decided to reinforce the Italian Co-Belligerent Regia Aeronautica with British and American fighters to replace the ageing previous Italian aircraft, which spare parts and factories were now a portion of the controlled Axis areas in northern Italy.

The Spitfire Mk. Vb was part of those used materials given to the Italian Air force. Over 53 were given since late 1943, mixed with Mk. Vc variants. The completed batch of Spitfires finally arrived in the Summer of 1944. Despite some Spitfires being not suitable to fly safely anymore - as they had extensive use in the RAF and Yugoslavian Air force. The Italians assigned the Spitfires into the 20th Gruppo of 51st Stormo (51º Stormo Caccia Terrestre) at Leverano as Aeronautica Cobelligerante del Sud.

In 1945 the Italian Spitfire squadron was moved to Lecce-Galatina, where they operated reconnaissance missions and fighter escort for allied bombers along the rest of the 51st Stormo, all equipped with Macchi 202 and 205. They were also involved in the strafing of a German convoy near the Balkans, in which one of the 3 Spitfires attacking got downed by Flak.

Fortunately, Italian pilots at both sides never faced each other during the last years of the Second World War as the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force was focused on the Balkans and not over German-controlled territory. The 5th of May of 1945 being their last mission of the war.

Ultimately the Mk.Vs were replaced with Spitfires LF in 1948.

Media

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See also

British version

• Spitfire Mk Vb/trop

Analogues on other nations

• A6M2
• J22-B
• Bf 109 F-4/trop
• P-63A-5
• La-5F

External links

• [Devblog] Spitfire Mk.V: model update and new modifications