Difference between revisions of "Spitfire Mk Vb/trop"

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(Usage in battles)
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[[File:FighterImage_Spitvbtrop_1.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A Spitfire Mk. Vb/Trop attacking a German Bf 109]]
 
[[File:FighterImage_Spitvbtrop_1.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A Spitfire Mk. Vb/Trop attacking a German Bf 109]]
The Spitfire Mk. Vb/trop
+
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 km/h) 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 make of Spitfire has a very bad tendency of doing this at high speed and many players fail to recognise this problem until it is too late. In addition, the Vb/Trop turns slower than its predecessor and rolls slightly worse, while having better energy retention. Blending energy-fighting and angles-fighting techniques into each other while fighting may prove to be beneficial in the long run.
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 +
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.
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[[Bf 109 (Family)|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 151/20 (20 mm)|MG 151]] cannon that can load the devastating German Minengeschoß 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 ===
 
=== Manual Engine Control ===

Revision as of 06:47, 18 October 2019

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Spitfire Mk Vb/trop
spitfire_mk5b.png
Spitfire Mk Vb/trop
AB RB SB
3.7 3.7 3.3
Class:
Research:11 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
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Show in game
This page is about the British fighter Spitfire Mk Vb/trop. For other versions, see Spitfire (Family).

Description

GarageImage Spitfire Mk Vb trop.jpg


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)

Usage in battles

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

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 km/h) 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 make of Spitfire has a very bad tendency of doing this at high speed and many players fail to recognise this problem until it is too late. In addition, the Vb/Trop turns slower than its predecessor and rolls slightly worse, while having better energy retention. Blending energy-fighting and angles-fighting techniques into each other while fighting may prove to be beneficial in the long run.

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 Minengeschoß 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 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

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


Britain fighters
Fury  Fury Mk I · Fury Mk II
Nimrod  Nimrod Mk I · Nimrod Mk II
Gladiator  Gladiator Mk II · Tuck's Gladiator Mk II · Gladiator Mk IIF · Gladiator Mk IIS
Sea Gladiator  Sea Gladiator Mk I
Hurricane  Hurricane Mk I/L · Hurricane Mk.I/L FAA M · Hurricane Mk IIB/Trop
Sea Hurricane  Sea Hurricane Mk IB · Sea Hurricane Mk IC
Martin-Baker  MB.5
Spitfire (early-Merlin)  Spitfire Mk Ia · Spitfire Mk IIa · Spitfire Mk.IIa Venture I · Spitfire Mk IIb · Spitfire Mk Vb/trop · Spitfire Mk Vb · Spitfire Mk Vc/trop · Spitfire Mk Vc
Spitfire (late-Merlin)  Spitfire F Mk IX · Spitfire LF Mk IX · Spitfire F Mk IXc · Plagis' Spitfire LF Mk IXc · Spitfire F Mk XVI
Spitfire (Griffon)  Spitfire F Mk XIVc · Spitfire F Mk XIVe · Prendergast's Spitfire FR Mk XIVe · Spitfire F Mk XVIIIe · Spitfire F Mk 22 · Spitfire F Mk 24
Seafire  Seafire LF Mk.III · Seafire F Mk XVII · Seafire FR 47
Typhoon  Typhoon Mk Ia · Typhoon Mk Ib · Typhoon Mk Ib/L
Tempest  Tempest Mk II · Tempest Mk V
Sea Fury  Sea Fury FB 11
Twin-engine fighters  Hornet Mk.I · Hornet Mk.III · Whirlwind Mk I · Whirlwind P.9
  Foreign:
Australia  ▄Boomerang Mk I · ▄Boomerang Mk II
France  ▄D.520 · ▄D.521
USA  ▄Martlet Mk IV · ▄Corsair F Mk II · ▄Hellcat Mk II · ▄Thunderbolt Mk.1 · ▄Mustang Mk IA