Spitfire F Mk 22

Spitfire F Mk 22

Spitfire LF Mk IX

Spitfire F Mk 24

Spitfire F Mk 22

Spitfire LF Mk IX

Spitfire F Mk 24

Britain

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.7	6.7	6.0

Class:

Fighter

Research:54 000

Purchase:185 000

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This page is about the British fighter Spitfire F Mk 22. For other versions, see Spitfire (Family).

Description

The Spitfire F Mk 22 is a rank IV British fighter with a battle rating of 5.7 (AB), 6.7 (RB), and 6.0 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.39.

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	Max Speed (km/h at 8,232 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	706	685	11800	19.4	20.2	18.5	18.5	420
Upgraded	784	740		17.8	18.2	35.7	23.7

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	+	-
875	260	N/A	N/A	260	~11	~6

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 482	< 400	< 400	> 500

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,600 m	1,510 hp	2,190 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
8,600 m	1,360 hp	1,933? hp

Survivability and armour

• 42.8 mm Bulletproof glass - Armoured windscreen
• 4 mm Steel - Armoured pilot seat
• 4 mm Steel - Armour plate behind the pilot seat
• 7 mm Steel - Armour plate behind the pilot seat
• 3 mm Steel - Armoured boxes around the wing ammunition (each wing)
• 12.7 mm Steel - Armoured plate between fuel tanks.
• 6 mm Steel - Armoured plate in front of the liquid cooling system.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Spitfire F Mk 22 is armed with:

• 4 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannons, wing-mounted (150 rpg outer + 175 rpg inner = 650 total)

Suspended armament

The Spitfire F Mk 22 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 250 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs (500 lb total)
• 3 x 250 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs (750 lb total)
• 2 x 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs (1,000 lb total)
• 1 x 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bomb + 2 x 250 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs (1,000 lb total)
• 3 x 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs (1,500 lb total)
• 6 x RP-3 rockets

Usage in battles

The new wing shape and larger control surfaces of the 22/24 series are a distinctive feature of the aircraft.

The Spitfire F Mk 22 an excellent plane in Realistic battles with relatively few weaknesses, so the enemy will have a really hard time shaking the Spitfire off of its tail and only few will succeed.

It is very important to avoid hard turning or rolling above 500 km/h IAS, because the plane may lose its wing.

The main task for a pilot is to utilize the great climb rate (altitude allows you to control engagements). Target altitude should usually be around 5-6 km on smaller maps and 6-7 km on larger maps such as Norway and Spain. The main form of attack (especially when there are more fighters around the target) is Boom & Zoom. Energy fighting is an option too, if in a 1 vs 1 situation. The Griffon Spitfire is an excellent energy fighter, the namesake Griffon engine provides a tremendous amount of horsepower which can be used instead of energy retention (-> Boom & Zoom). Remember to maintain speed, altitude advantage, and judge the enemies' energy states.

Specific enemies worth noting

Griffon Spitfire can keep up with most enemies in turn fights, excluding most Japanese fighters and Bf 109s, both of which are more agile. Try to maintain a speed of between 400-500 km/h IAS; this is where the plane maintains great agility, turning below this velocity against planes such as the Bf 109 G-14 is really not recommended. When fighting Soviet fighters it is NOT recommended to duel them between 1-4 km altitude.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Auto control available	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Auto control available	Combined	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		HSBC mk.2	HSBC mk.3
II		Compressor	Airframe	HMBC mk.2	HMBC mk.3
III	Wings repair	Engine		Offensive 20 mm	HRC mk.8
IV		Engine injection	Cover	Mk.II year 1943

• The Griffon is Energy fighter/Boom & Zoom plane (suggested upgrade order):

1. Fuselage Repair
2. Radiator
3. Compressor
4. Airframe
5. Offensive 20 mm
6. Engine
7. Wings Repair
8. Fuel Injection
9. Cover (many of the upgrades are crucial to boosting the aircraft's speed and climb rate)

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 4 x cannons with a high rate of fire
• Excellent climb rate
• Quite agile at medium and higher speeds
• Very responsive elevator(starts to lock at speeds above 600 km/h IAS)
• Greatly improved high-speed handling relative to previous spitfires
• Wing rip speed is noticeably higher than previous spitfires
• Brutal acceleration when using WEP
• Good performance at higher altitudes
• Excellent roll rate

Cons:

• From time to time, pitted against jets which can be tricky to outmanoeuvre
• Poor agility at lower speeds and significant drag/mass ratio at high speeds limits optimal combat speed range
• Easily set on fire due to the location of the fuel tanks
• Landing gear rips very easily during take-off and landing travelling in excess of 260 km/h
• Landing flaps also break off at roughly the same speed as the gear
• Somewhat sluggish without utilizing WEP

History

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In-game description

The Supermarine Spitfire Mk.22 was a single engine, single seat fighter which served with the Royal Air Force during the early post war period. When the first Rolls Royce Griffon equipped Spitfires were tested it was obvious that a stronger airframe would be needed to harness the full power of the new engine. Added to this was the requirement for a much stiffer wing; the result of these findings was the Spitfire Mk.21. The Mk.21 was also fitted with larger ailerons and the same 2050 hp Griffon 65 engine which was fitted to the Mk.XIV and Mk.XVIII. By this point in the aircraft's life, the Spitfire was so different from RJ Mitchell's original concept that the notion of renaming the new aircraft the 'Victor' was considered.

The Air Fighting Development Unit at RAF Boscombe Down began to test the Mk.21 in late 1944, but were deeply unhappy with the new Spitfire and recommended that no further attempts were made to progress the basic Spitfire design. Chief amongst the AFDU's complaints was directional instability: Supermarine attempted to solve this problem by modifying the control surfaces. It was only with the introduction of a new, enlarged tailfin and tail plane which finally solved the instability problems.

The Mk.22 differed from the Mk.21 only in having a teardrop bubble canopy – a change which had not required a new mark number in previous Spitfires – and a different electrical system. The Mk.22, as with the Mk.21, was armed with four 20mm Hispano cannons. The Mk.22 was more prolific and more successful than the Mk.21, with some 280 aircraft being manufactured. It was used to equip No.73 Squadron and twelve squadrons of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. In 1955 the Spitfire Mk.22 was declared obsolete by the RAF and many were exported to South Rhodesia, Syria and Egypt.

Media

The Shooting Range #95 - Metal Beasts section at 05:10 discusses the Spitfire F Mk 22.

The Shooting Range #124 - War Machines section at 00:28 discusses the Griffons.

See also

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

External links

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