Spitfire Mk Vb/trop

Spitfire Mk Vb/trop

Spitfire Mk IIb

Spitfire Mk Vb

Spitfire Mk Vb/trop

Spitfire Mk IIb

Spitfire Mk Vb

Britain

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	3.7	3.3

Class:

Fighter

Research:11 000

Purchase:22 000

Show in game

This page is about the British fighter Spitfire Mk Vb/trop. For other versions, see Spitfire (Family).

Description

The Spitfire Mk Vb/trop is a rank II British fighter with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB) and 3.3 (SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.

Having picked up experience from the previous Mk Ia, IIa and IIb, most players will welcome the Spitfire Mk Vb. The Vb sports a new and more powerful Merlin-45 inline compared to the previous Merlin-XII engine giving it an extra 100 horsepower when upgraded, which provides better high altitude performance and faster top speed than the IIb. Unfortunately, the Vb still has similar problems as experienced with the early Spitfires such as a very weak airframe, weak wings, bad roll rate at high speeds and lack of combat flaps to help with dog-fighting.

General info

Flight performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 4,878 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
545	526	10500	17.4	18.0	13.5	13.5	340
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 4,878 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
605	573	10500	15.9	16.5	23.9	17.8	340

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
		290	~10	~5

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

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,900 m	1,190 hp	1,583 hp

Survivability and 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 liquid cooling system

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Spitfire Mk Vb/trop 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 Hispano Mark II is the second most damaging cannon in the game, with an explosivepower value rivalled only by the MG 151/20. The best belts are either air targets or stealth. Since the tracer rounds are just ball-point ammunition with a tracer element, and you only have 60 rounds per belt, you should load the stealth belt, and aim with the 7.7mm machine guns in the method described in the next section.

The 7.7mms seem absolutely ridiculous to have in 4.3. At this BR, you need to keep either one long burst or a series of shorter bursts on a target to cause enough damage for it to fall, and hit it many times (50-100 bullets need to hit critical modules such as wing spars) to secure a kill, unless you are lucky and manage to set fire to a fuel tank, mangle the engine, or kill the pilot of the enemy. Going by sheer damage and fire chance, the best belt is the Tracer belt. The Incendiary Tracer and Armour-piercing Incendiary bullets are able to crit pilots, shatter wing spars and spark fires in fuel tanks with ease. Co-incidentally, the belt is also good for aiming in the 20mm guns onto the target.

Usage in battles

A Spitfire Mk. Vb/Trop attacking a German Bf 109

The Spitfire Vb/trop fills the role of an angles-fighting aerial superiority fighter in the early british tier III lineup. It cannot fulfil any ground attack duties due to its low cannon ammo pool, and the absence of any heavy machine guns that 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 Beaufighter series of aircraft. Further details on the aircraft are as follows:

Performance:

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 bled a large amount of speed. However, the newer, more powerful, more heavier engine and airframe only has more energy retention because it is heavier than that of 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, the more powerful Merlin 45 engine.

The Spitfire Mk Vb/trop has a quoted rate of climb of 17.8 m/s at around 255km/h in a moderate climb. However, this is a lie. Loaded with 20 minutes of fuel, it can manage around 22.7 m/s in a climb at 251km/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 map. Using voidmei and excel, an end result of an average of around 20-21 metres per second was achieved in a single, steady climb to 4000 metres. The aircraft's nose was kept pointing 15 - 20 degrees during all times of flight.

Ordnance:

This video shows how a pilot can "aim" the cannons with the 7.7mm Brownings before opening up with them.

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

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm	Offensive 20 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs	New 20 mm cannons
III	Wings repair	Engine			Mk.II year 1942
IV		Engine injection	Cover		Mk.II year 1943

All Spitfires have similar research paths, where the first upgrade that should be researched is Radiator, and the next upgrade should be cannon belts, and then new 20mm cannons or airframe. The Spitfire Vb does not need the Radiator upgrade due to the good thermodynamics of the new engine. Pilots should research the Offensive 20mm belts first, and then new 20mm cannons. Pilots should leave Mark II mod 1942 & 1943 until last, and instead prioritise performance first. Research Airframe to make the plane a bit lighter so it turns faster, and then research engine, wings repair and finally engine injection. Once you have recieved engine injection, go back and research radiator, and then finally research cover, then 1942 cannons, then fuselage repair and finally 1943 cannons.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent turn time
• Powerful cannons
• Extremely manoeuvrable
• High ammo count for the .303 Brownings
• Can do a bit of negative G manoeuvres unlike its predecessors

Cons:

• Low ammo count for the Hispanos
• .303s have a low damage output
• Poor high altitude performance
• Prone to overheating easily
• Very fragile
• Somewhat poor climb rate

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

In-game description

A single-seat, single-engine all-metal monoplane fighter. After the Mk II and two more experimental variants of the Spitfire, the next major variant to see mass production was the Spitfire Mk V. Central to this new Spitfire was its engine – the 1470 HP Rolls Royce Merlin 45. This was equipped with a single stage supercharger and, coupled with a new carburettor design, allowed the Mk V to perform zero G manoeuvres without starving the fuel flow to the engine; a problem which had plagued earlier models of the Spitfire. The engine change necessitated strengthening the engine housing and installing a more effective oil radiator with a circular rather than U-shaped housing, and fitting two strengthening longerons to the upper surfaces of each wing.

The Mk V initially followed a similar pattern to the Mk I and Mk II in that it was fitted either with the Type A or Type B wing, again carrying eight machine guns or two cannon and four machine guns respectively. Less than 100 of the Mk VA were produced; it would be the Mk VB with its formidable 20mm cannon and four machine guns which would be the major production model, with 3911 VBs manufactured.

Some of the fighters were made for tropical climate conditions: a Vokes filter was installed over the carburettor air intake, under the engine. It was covered by special "lips" which helped prevent excessive dust intake, but at the cost of top speed and rate of climb. This variant was named the Spitfire Mk VB/Trop and was used in the Mediterranean theatre of operations, especially North Africa and Malta.

The first Mk Vs entered combat in February of 1941. The improved power and performance characteristics of the Spitfire Mk V made it a competitive match for the new German Messerschmitt Bf109F, but it was found to be inferior to the new Focke-Wulf FW190. As a result, the Spitfire Mk V was the first variant to experiment with the option of clipped wing tips, which increased the aircraft's roll rate and top speed at low level, but sacrificed its rate of climb.

The Mk V formed the backbone of RAF Fighter Command across several theatres of operations, and was considered by some pilots to be the definitive model of the Spitfire.

Notable pilots

• 

  Top scoring Southern Rhodesian ace pilot John Plagis and highest scoring pilot of Greek origin of WW II. Plagis flew the Spitfire Mk Vb/trop during the defence of Malta.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See 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.

External links

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