Spitfire Mk Vb/trop
Contents
| This page is about the British fighter Spitfire Mk Vb/trop. For other uses, 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 1.29.
Having picked up the 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 in 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
| 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 | ||
| 541 | 526 | 10,500 | 17.7 | 18.0 | 11.2 | 13.6 | 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 | ||
| 607 | 573 | 10,500 | 16.2 | 16.3 | 27.7 | 17.8 | 340 |
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 | ~13 | ~7 |
| Optimal velocities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons (km/h) |
Rudder (km/h) |
Elevators (km/h) |
Radiator (km/h) |
| < 321 | < 400 | < 460 | > 250 |
| Compressor (RB/SB) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Setting 1 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| 4,800 m | 1,190 hp | 1,583 hp |
Survivability and armour
- 38 mm Bulletproof glass - Armored windscreen
- 4 mm Steel - Armored plate in pilot's seat
- 6-7 mm Steel - Armored plate behind the pilot
- 3 mm Steel - Armored boxes around the wing ammunition
- 1 mm Steel - Armored plate in front of the top fuel tank
- 3 mm Steel - Armored 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 cannon, wing-mounted (60 rpg = 120 total)
- 4 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun, wing-mounted (350 rpg = 1,400 total)
Usage in battles
While being a decent fighter in RB, you have to take care of the wings. This is especially true when diving, once you pass 315 mph (507 kph) move the cursor slowly in the direction you're going and keep the throttle at idle as this will allow the plane to bleed speed and prevent the wings from being torn off, this mark of Spitfire has a very bad tendency of doing this at high speed and many players fail to recognize this problem until it is too late.
The new Merlin-45 provides more horsepower than the Merlin-XII when upgraded, but provides less when stock, which gives the Vb a stronger feeling of "stock syndrome". The Vb is also the first Spitfire to sport the powerful Hispano Mk.II's which can load the feared British "Air Targets" belt and has better overall ballistics compared to the Hispano Mk.I's.
BF-109's. The great nemesis, the Messerschmitts are able to challenge you on a more than even footing with their high top speed, acceleration and high altitude performance. You will commonly encounter BF-109 F-4's which use a powerful and accurate MG 151 cannon that can load the devastating German Minenshoß which can tear right through the Spitfire's already weak airframe. Never challenge one at a high altitude, try to bring it down to a lower altitude and force it to turn fight.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Controllable | Not controllable | Not controllable | Not controllable | Separate | Not ontrollable | 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 | ||
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 big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an 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>, as well as adding them at the end of the article.
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 defense of Malta.
Media
An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as 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
