Supermarine Spitfire F Mk IXc

From The Air Combat Wiki

Contents 1 Fighter Ace Screenshots 2 Fighter Ace Ratings 3 Fighter Ace Performance 4 Historical Statistics 5 Strengths 6 Weaknesses 7 History 8 Sources 9 See Also

Fighter Ace Screenshots

Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ
Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ	Fighter Ace museum screenshot by Doug@HQ

Fighter Ace Ratings

Durability: 3

Speed: 7

Maneuverability: 7

Firepower: 7

Climb Rate: 7

Ground Attack: 3

Fighter Ace Performance

Top Speeds						Climb Rates
	Sea Level	4921' 1500m	9843' 3000m	19685' 6000m	Best Speed	Best IAS	to 1000m	to 3000m	to 6000m
mph	310	328	347	372	404@ 27559'	168 mph	1:07	2:55	5:43
mph WEP	318	335	354	378	410@ 27559'
kph	498	527	558	599	650@ 8400m	270 mph
kph WEP	511	539	570	609	660@ 8400m

Historical Statistics

Service Date: July 1942

Primary Guns: 2x Hispano Mk.II 20mm cannon with 100 rpg in wings

Secondary Guns: 2x Hispano Mk.II 20mm cannon with 120 rpg in wings

Ordnance: 1x 535 lb (242 kg) bomb or 1x 360 lb (163 kg) drop tank under fuselage or 2x 250 lb (113 kg) bombs under wings

Engine(s): 1x Rolls-Royce Merlin 61 in-line rated for 1,565 hp at sea level (1,680 hp with WEP)

Int Fuel Capacity: 111 imp gal (505 l) containing 801 lbs (363 kg) in forward fuselage and two wing tanks.

Ext Fuel Capacity: 360 lbs (163 kg)

Maximum Speeds: 409 mph (659 kph) at 27,500 ft (8,382 m)

Ceiling: 45,000 ft (13,716 m)

Loaded Weight: 7,500 lbs (3,402 kg)

Wing Area: 242 sq ft (22.5 sq m)

Wing Loading: 31.0 lbs/sq ft (151.2 kg/sq m)

Strengths

Speed: With a top speed of over 400 mph, the Spitfire Mk IXc is among the fastest planes available in 1942.

Firepower: Its four 20mm Hispano cannon can deal with tanks and planes with equal efficiency.

Weaknesses

Durability: The Spitfire was a small machine and not capable of absorbing a great amount of damage.

History

In late 1941 the Focke-Wulf FW-190 started showing up in service with the Channel Coast Jagdgruppen and suddenly the Spitfire Mk V was again outclassed by the competition. Something needed to be done fast to rectify the situation.

Making drastic changes to the Mk V would take too long, so the solution was to simply install a more powerful version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin, the Merlin 61 rated for 1,565 hp at sea level, in the Mk V airframe. The resulting Mk IX would be considered by many to be the finest Spitfire "Mark" produced during the war.

The first versions of the Mk IX were fitted with the "C" wing, equipped with four 20mm Hispano cannon, though often times this was reduced to two cannon to save weight. Additionally, this version was able to carry a 500 lb. bomb under the fuselage and a pair of 250 lb. bombs under the wings for ground attack duties. Although it was considered an interim or "stop-gap" type, the Mk IX was produced in quantities second only to the Mk V, with total production reaching 5,609 machines.

Sources

Green, William; Famous Fighters of the Second World War; Hannover House, Garden City, NY; 1960.

Scutts, Jerry; Spitfire In Action; Squadron/Signal Publications; Carrollton, TX; 1980.

See Also

Supermarine Spitfire

Fighter Ace Planes Inventory

Supermarine Aviation Works, Ltd.

Aircraft Manufacturers During World War II