Supermarine Spitfire F Mk IXe

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: 6

Climb Rate: 8

Ground Attack: 2

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	329	349	371	391	402@ 22966'	171 mph	0:56	2:30	5:04
mph WEP	336	357	378	397	406@ 22966'
kph	529	562	597	629	647@ 7000m	275 kph
kph WEP	540	574	609	639	654@ 7000m

Historical Statistics

Service Date: April 1943

Primary Guns: 2x Browning M2 0.5" (12.7mm) machine guns with 250 rpg in wings

Secondary Guns: 2x Hispano Mk II 20mm cannon w/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 66 in-line rated for 1,720 hp at sea level (1,805 hp with WEP)

Int Fuel Capacity: 126 imp gal (573 l) containing 909 lbs (412 kg) in forward fuselage and two wing tanks.

Ext Fuel Capacity: 360 lbs (163 kg)

Maximum Speeds: 404 mph (650 kph) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m)

Ceiling: 42,500 ft (12,954 m)

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

Wing Area: 231 sq ft (21.5 sq m)

Wing Loading: 32.5 lbs/sq ft (158.2 kg/sq m)

Strengths

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

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, while later versions employed the "Universal" or "E" wing, which held a pair of 20mm Hispano cannons and a pair of .50 caliber Browning machine guns. Additionally, the Mk IXe could 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