Spitfire IXe tactics tips?

[=X51=VC_]

This is a plane I want to like, but always seem to get disappointed when I fly it. Unless I either get really lucky or the planeset/scenario is one where you're top dog (i.e. there are no Bodenplatte planes on the enemy team, in which case it's just seal clubbing). In its own planeset, even with 150 octane, it's just painfully slow and everything always runs away from you, nobody is dumb enough to turnfight you. I'm thinking the correct way would be to use the climb rate and high altitude performance (even on the Merlin 66 it tops out comfortably above everything the Germans can throw at it) to sit on top of the fight and occasionnally drop down on people. But haven't tried it yet and I have misgivings about going full BnZ in it because of how easy it is to black out at speed, and the fact you don't have many options in a dive/chase/extend scenario as it's still the worst plane in the set at all of those things.

 

Any tips I can have under my belt, things to try and practice next time I feel like taking it for a spin?

[ShamrockOneFive]

The Spitfire IX has a good overall range of abilities that it can employ. It's fast (and not that much slower than much of what it's fighting), turns tighter than anything else in the aircraft set, and it climbs well too. Combine that with good visibility, a lead computing gunsight and you have an aircraft that is a lot of balance. That it hits pretty hard helps too of course.

 

A few things to note:

1) Always fly as a team

2) Unless specifically flying low, plan to climb above 10,000 feet

3) Engage enemies using energy tactics.

4) Use the turn rate when you need to but otherwise you want to engage at speed with superior altitude advantage which is easy to maintain thanks to excellent climb rate.

5) Close for a shot and either make it or break off

 

With those in mind, I honestly fly the Spitfire IX like most other fighters in the late war. It's a boom and zoom energy fighting tactic dropping in on an enemy and breaking away. Turning only to get a shot. The Spitfire turns better than anything but it's not a bad boom and zoom fighter and the climb rate and dive speed give it good ability to do this... as long as you don't black out.

 

This screenshot is from back in April. A pair of us bounced a Bf109, shot him down, bounced a second 109, got into a rolling scissors which I narrowly won, shot him down and then climbed back up and renegaged back over the target with some more enemy fighters before going home. I think we came away with 4-5 combined total. It's a very effective fighter but it is going to struggle to keep up in level flight with the fastest types (the 109K-4 for example). So it's a surprise attack and the boom and zoom that you want to do here.

 

Edited June 23, 2020 by ShamrockOneFive

[cardboard_killer]

ShamrockOneFive has it right. I think we should remember, too, that the Spit IXe is basically a 1943 fighter, just as the Spit V is a 1942 fighter. Against 1943 a/c it is one of the best. It will be interesting to see how the XIV compares when BoN arrives.

[CountZero]

With slow airplane like that if your aim is to stay alive its best used as bnz, also i dont take m70 as you benefit greatly only abow 8km and nobody usealy fights there. You usealy have to be higher then target in slow airplanes and Spit9 climbs grat so its nice for climb after attack and making 109s stall even in helecopter mode with flaps down.

I always take cliped wings, better roll benefits you more, turn fights are overrated online as your on same place for long time not gaining on enemy, roll is where you avoid enemys and moving away from place you encounter him and make him overshoot easyer, so what you lost on turn by going cliped wings is not important for gain in roll that is more usefule online. 

But if you have Tempest V to take you should not be takeing Spit 9, Tempest is mutch better and even turns great.

Edited June 23, 2020 by CountZero

[ShamrockOneFive]

Those are good points too. For some reason a lot of people take the Merlin 70... but that's a specialized powerplant. Unless you know you're fighting at 28,000 feet and above there's no reason to take it. The Merlin 66, clipped wings, and 150 octane if available, will give you added speed benefits and give up very little.

[Pict]

I think the Spitfire MK.IXE that we have in BOBP is depicted correctly as it was at the time, a fighter-bomber. Therefore to expect it to be on a par with the aircraft tasked with air superiority around it is always going to disappoint.

 

If we had the Spitfire MK,IX as it first appeared in 1942 in a Battle of Dieppe scenario, that would be entirely different.

 

If your looking for a balanced fight in a historical time-frame with a Spitfire MK.IX, then that's going to be on the channel front in 1942-43 I would say, as by 1944 it was already getting past it's sell by date in the air superiority role.

 

After all, it wasn't just a 1943 aircraft as it is often depicted. It was Spitfire MK.V that got hot-rodded in 1942 in an effort to stay on equal terms with the then all new and at the time superlative Fw-190A design.

 

==============================

 

Best solution, a Battle of Dieppe scenario. I'd be all for that, it's going to be on the new Normandy map, as Dieppe is in Normandy, (though many seem to forget it's there at all), so the map will already be made. It was one of the biggest and most significant air battles...ever. It's not BOB so it's not been done to death and there is a really cool plane set to choose from that includes the USAAC.

 

A fair few of the aircraft have already been made, some of them would need tweaking, like the Spitfire MK.IX and some that are currently being made could be "relatively" easily modified into their older versions, like the P-51B into the Mustang MK.I that was at Dieppe with the RAF.  B-17's also saw early use by the USAAC in the operation to bomb Abbeville aerodrome in an effort to suppress Luftwaffe activity. 

 

Lots of potential  

Edited June 24, 2020 by Pict

[=X51=VC_]

14 hours ago, ShamrockOneFive said:

It's fast (and not that much slower than much of what it's fighting)

 

Thank you for the tips, I'll bear that in mind and focus on a BnZ approach, leaning on that climb rate to regain the advantage ASAP.

 

I would dispute that particular speed statement though. With 150 Octane it's just about neck and neck with a G-14... that's not saying much since if the Spit has 150 octane unlocked the other side is flying DC K-4s and Doras. With 100 Octane it's barely faster than the Vb at low level. But of course, we revert to your point about being high, which is what I think I was doing wrong. I was playing it like a La-5FN, staying fairly low trying to bait people down thinking "if they play with me down here they're screwed". But the FN can easily catch any of the 1943 planes it faces if they get even slightly greedy.

 

14 hours ago, CountZero said:

But if you have Tempest V to take you should not be takeing Spit 9, Tempest is mutch better and even turns great.

 

If I have Tempest V available... I take 150 Octane Pony ?

 

13 hours ago, ShamrockOneFive said:

Those are good points too. For some reason a lot of people take the Merlin 70... but that's a specialized powerplant. Unless you know you're fighting at 28,000 feet and above there's no reason to take it. The Merlin 66, clipped wings, and 150 octane if available, will give you added speed benefits and give up very little.

 

Yup, the LF designation really threw me. The British defintion of "low altitude" is funny when this thing will happily go to ~6500m full power while the Germans are starting to cough at ~5500m. I had this image in my mind that "LF" means "low altitude monster" but it's really not the case.

 

EDIT:

 

I think Normandy will be a good fit for our LF IXe. What I realised I actually really want though is a cropped impeller and clipped LF Vc. That would be very fun in a 1942 or even 43 planeset.

Edited June 24, 2020 by =X51=VC_

[Pict]

10 hours ago, =X51=VC_ said:

What I realised I actually really want though is a cropped impeller and clipped LF Vc. That would be very fun in a 1942 or even 43 planeset.

 

“clipped, cropped and clapped” eh, the nickname they were given, the latter part referring to the amount of hours the air-frames already had in before conversion   A lot of fun on the deck, at least in IL-2, not sure how hard you would want to have pushed one for real though.

 

http://spitfiresite.com/2008/05/clipped-cropped-clapped-yo-q.html

[ZachariasX]

55 minutes ago, Pict said:

the latter part referring to the amount of hours the air-frames already had in before conversion 

Clostermann just mentions that this aircraft was universally hated because they carried half the ammo of the Mk.IX while they were still required to fly escort misstions at medium altitude where the performance was crap and it couldn‘t do defensive circles as the regular winged Spitfires.

 

While in principle, these aircraft were fast on the deck and powerful enough to offset the clipped wings doing circles, in practise this was useless.

 

It didn‘t just have a higher gearing for the impeller to get higher boost, it also had a smaller diameter impeller that drew less parasitic power from the shaft. In principle, you‘re not just having higher boost, but also more power on the shaft. In reality, what you feel is a drop off in power far sooner and more severe with increased altitude in comparison with the previous Mk.V.

 

What they patched together is just a tuned lawn mower with half the ammo of the Mk.IX. In a theater where most fighting takes place between mid and high altitude, a truly clapped proposition.

 

For Berloga, it might do well though.

[=X51=VC_]

Sure, but in game we'd have factory fresh behaviour so the "clapped" part would matter less. And depending on server there's plenty of low altitude fighting around. Not saying it will be a dominating plane, just really fun in the right situations.

 

The LF IXe we have was absolutely terrifying as well... during Bodenplatte early access when I didn't own it yet and all I had to fight them was a G-2.

[ZachariasX]

9 hours ago, =X51=VC_ said:

"clapped" part would matter less.

It's wasn't "clapped" because it's old. It was clapped because it is a mostly useless aircraft in the ETO and pilots hated taking a second rate aircraft (by 1944!) to waste their lives with.

[ShamrockOneFive]

For an added challenge, take a Spitfire Vb out in any of the Combat Box scenarios and give yourself the Merlin 45 engine. You'll have a similar experience with a good low altitude performance that isn't that much slower than the Spitfire IX but everywhere else you're going to be outpaced which will means that tactics and a little luck are going to be needed to make a kill or survive a fight.

 

It is doable. I've had some fun doing it

[ZachariasX]

9 hours ago, ShamrockOneFive said:

For an added challenge,

The Merlin 45M of the Mk.VD LF could do 18 inches boost and would have considerably more power on the shaft, but power drop off is even faster than the Merlin 45 we have. On the deck, the Mk.VD LF can follow any 1944 Luftie fighter. The Mk.VB we have cannot.

 

Yes, for added challenge you can do that. There‘s always some victim trying to turnfight you. It is surprising what you can shoot down in a Stuka with gunpods. Scoring Tempests or Spitfires is very rewarding like that.

 

[ShamrockOneFive]

6 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

The Merlin 45M of the Mk.VD LF could do 18 inches boost and would have considerably more power on the shaft, but power drop off is even faster than the Merlin 45 we have. On the deck, the Mk.VD LF can follow any 1944 Luftie fighter. The Mk.VB we have cannot.

 

Yes, for added challenge you can do that. There‘s always some victim trying to turnfight you. It is surprising what you can shoot down in a Stuka with gunpods. Scoring Tempests or Spitfires is very rewarding like that.

 

 

I realize, I'm just suggesting that it gets you most of the way there and its a hilarious challenge

 

Amazing about the Stuka. Yeah I think some folks get over confident when they see a plane like that and make mistakes. Hs129 as well.

[ZachariasX]

3 hours ago, ShamrockOneFive said:

I realize, I'm just suggesting that it gets you most of the way there and its a hilarious challenge

With the Mk.V, you own anyone that tries anything but hit and run. It‘s just that many know that and retain spme sense of prudence. It is just very important to keep your speed up and be easy on the elevator. If the other guy comes in fast, never run after him as you‘d just exhaust the timer. Let him go. Get your combat speed up and climb as much as you can. It goes fast in dives.

 

In the Stuka, or especially the the Hs-129, they just mix it always. If you set convergence to 350 meters or so in the 129, with the Mk103 and the two 20 mm cannons, you can zap them at long range. Any fighter making slow turns is dead, as you can aim well at long ranges.

[rogueblade]

On 6/24/2020 at 8:30 AM, Pict said:

I think the Spitfire MK.IXE that we have in BOBP is depicted correctly as it was at the time, a fighter-bomber. Therefore to expect it to be on a par with the aircraft tasked with air superiority around it is always going to disappoint.

 

If we had the Spitfire MK,IX as it first appeared in 1942 in a Battle of Dieppe scenario, that would be entirely different.

 

If your looking for a balanced fight in a historical time-frame with a Spitfire MK.IX, then that's going to be on the channel front in 1942-43 I would say, as by 1944 it was already getting past it's sell by date in the air superiority role.

 

After all, it wasn't just a 1943 aircraft as it is often depicted. It was Spitfire MK.V that got hot-rodded in 1942 in an effort to stay on equal terms with the then all new and at the time superlative Fw-190A design.

 

==============================

 

Best solution, a Battle of Dieppe scenario. I'd be all for that, it's going to be on the new Normandy map, as Dieppe is in Normandy, (though many seem to forget it's there at all), so the map will already be made. It was one of the biggest and most significant air battles...ever. It's not BOB so it's not been done to death and there is a really cool plane set to choose from that includes the USAAC.

 

A fair few of the aircraft have already been made, some of them would need tweaking, like the Spitfire MK.IX and some that are currently being made could be "relatively" easily modified into their older versions, like the P-51B into the Mustang MK.I that was at Dieppe with the RAF.  B-17's also saw early use by the USAAC in the operation to bomb Abbeville aerodrome in an effort to suppress Luftwaffe activity. 

 

Lots of potential  

What would be the hisotrically relevant opponent for the Mk IX in a 42-43 channel scenario such as Deippe?

[sevenless]

2 hours ago, rogueblade said:

What would be the hisotrically relevant opponent for the Mk IX in a 42-43 channel scenario such as Deippe?

 

For Dieppe 08/42 it would be mostly the Fw190-A2 and A3 and the few Bf109s would be G1s.

 

JG 26 here: Jagdgeschwader 26 (ww2.dk)

JG 2 here: Jagdgeschwader 26 (ww2.dk)

[Diggun]

We'd need a slightly different engine, tail and .303's instead of the .50s for the IX though. 

 

Yes, I live in hope

 

Actually I'd pay $25 for an 'early IX' collector plane...

[sevenless]

28 minutes ago, Diggun said:

Actually I'd pay $25 for an 'early IX' collector plane...

 

Yep. I can second that. LF IXc would be my favorite Spitfire for BoN and would perfectly fit into BoBP and also 1943 activities:

 

Edited April 22, 2021 by sevenless

[Diggun]

15 minutes ago, sevenless said:

favorite

Also RAF Luton is my favourite base. Their Twitter is unparalleled.

 

f you know, you know ? 

[sevenless]

1 minute ago, Diggun said:

f you know, you know ? 

 

I know. The chaps at the base have their hands full to fly patrols with their Eurovision Typhoons these days ??

[Pict]

4 hours ago, rogueblade said:

What would be the hisotrically relevant opponent for the Mk IX in a 42-43 channel scenario such as Deippe?

 

This  webpage gives a broad overview of aircraft involved and a fairly accurate breakdown of Lufwaffe fighter losses for the Dieppe air battle. 

http://www.luftwaffe.cz/dieppe.html

 

And this page give a fairly in detail account of the day and order of battle air side mostly for the allies. 

http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol015ms.html

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

Climbing turns are your friend in the mk IX Spit...and it can catch most anything in a dive while retaining its control surfaces.

[rogueblade]

On 4/22/2021 at 3:10 PM, sevenless said:

 

For Dieppe 08/42 it would be mostly the Fw190-A2 and A3 and the few Bf109s would be G1s.

 

JG 26 here: Jagdgeschwader 26 (ww2.dk)

JG 2 here: Jagdgeschwader 26 (ww2.dk)

 

23 hours ago, Pict said:

 

This  webpage gives a broad overview of aircraft involved and a fairly accurate breakdown of Lufwaffe fighter losses for the Dieppe air battle. 

http://www.luftwaffe.cz/dieppe.html

 

And this page give a fairly in detail account of the day and order of battle air side mostly for the allies. 

http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol015ms.html

 

Huh, so I'm not too close to all the historical context, but looking at this....then as an Mk IX driver in MP, it is "abnormal" or "inaccurate" for me to be facing 109s above the G1 class?

[Diggun]

16 minutes ago, rogueblade said:

Mk IX driver in MP, it is "abnormal" or "inaccurate" for me to be facing 109s above the G1 class?

No. As stated above, the '42 IX was a pretty different beast to the '44/5 IX. It's a '44 IX we have in game, it's got a pokier engine, larger tail fin (and surfaces?), improved armament (2x20mm & 2x.50cals rather than the '42's 2x20mm & 4x.303), and the pip-squeak tail warning radar (i live in hope we'll see some functionality there one day, Devs... hint hint) than it's original iteration in 42.

 

The role of the IX changed substantially over its service life. It was a top tier day interceptor - high & low altitude - when introduced, but by the time of Bodenplatte, while still versatile, it had segued into mainly being used as a (still potent as a fighter) low level fighter bomber.

 

A couple of reasons for this; it was out performed at high level by the XIV, and at low level by the Tempest, and also there weren't enough Luftwaffe aircraft about for its abilities as a fighter to be really needed. It was still used as a pure fighter to the end of the war; it was very handy for 2TAF to be able to generate ground attack missions with a IX squadron one day and the next use them to escort other attackers.

 

I know the XIV is grabbing all the limelight just now, but the IX is by no means easy meat for even the most potent, late war LW fighters.

Edited April 23, 2021 by Diggun

[Pict]

4 hours ago, rogueblade said:

 

 

Huh, so I'm not too close to all the historical context, but looking at this....then as an Mk IX driver in MP, it is "abnormal" or "inaccurate" for me to be facing 109s above the G1 class?

 

Largely from the historically standpoint @Digguncovered it, the late model MK.IXE Spitfire we have was pretty much relegated to the fighter bomber role by 2TAF in the BOBP time frame.

 

That said, I personally don't think there is much of a problem going up against any 109 with a MK.IXE Spitfire, as the 109, while gaining some features as it developed through the G series and onward to the K, also lost some. The 109 F-4 and early G's pre G-6 being regarded by many as the best 109's. And the MK.IXE was certainly able to hold it's own against them, so why not the rest?

 

However, the 109 was not the only fighter 2TAF faced. The late model 190's and the 262 would be a different story for a MK.IXE Spitfire. I don't think the MK.IXE did "Rat scrambles", I may be wrong, but 2TAF had a much faster and therefore more suitable aircraft in the Tempest for that. Which in turn is another reason it was relegated to fighter bomber. You can pretty much forget the 262, as apart for being rare, if you can see it, you can avoid it and you're just never going to catch it.

 

All up I'd say the Fw190D is the one that has the potential to give you some serious drama in a MK.IXE Spitfire.

 

Ultimately this assumes that all things are kind of equal in the piloting department, but in practice that's rarely the case. If you are competent with the MK.IXE, you are bound to come across someone who will try to turn fight with you on the deck. At that point it doesn't really matter what late war Luftwaffe chariot they are in, you are going to mince them.

[56RAF_Stickz]

5 hours ago, Diggun said:

pip-squeak tail warning radar (i live in hope we'll see some functionality there one day, Devs... hint hint) than it's original iteration in 42.

just for info - pip squeak was an RAF RDF and provided a form of IFF facilities not tail warning radar

[Pict]

One thing I forgot to add is that now the MK.XIV Spitfire is available, opponents facing a MK.IX Spitfire will have an added issue of identification, so this may help somewhat as it may cause some hesitation to engage.

[Frakkas]

1.  How do you counter/deal with the high sensitivity pitch around the center?
2. Do you constantly trim your spit?
3. In sharp turns, do you pitch trim?
4. How do you deal with blackout in sharp turns?
5. Clipped wings give me the sensation to be less maneuverable with tendency to go into spin in sharp turns or high climb behind bandit - what to do?
6. In close pursuit or close climbing with bandit, do you put 100% throttle + 100% RPM? 

Thank you for your answers! Some questions may sound noobish but I never really flied/liked the spit and I want to love that Lady.

Edited April 26, 2021 by Frakkas

[Diggun]

Hi @Frakkas!

 

All advice is subjective, but here is my tuppneyworth...

 

Firstly, before attempting any flight in a Spitfire, ensure you have a strong, restorative, cup of tea to hand. English Breakfast as a minimum, but Assam for preference. Sugar is not taken, but milk should be added. This will not help at all, but you will at least have had a nice cup of tea. Now, on to your points.

 

1) Smooth and gradual inputs are key, you just have to develop a feel for it and learn to ride the edge of what your pilot can handle. It's something that takes a while to get used to (like Guinness), but once you have it becomes pretty easy to drink. Like Guinness. Have you set up control curves for your joystick axis? Again, these are personal preference, but iflycentral has a good introductory video on youtube on the subject

 

2)After takeoff I trim for climb, once at altitude I trim for level flight (around about 15,000 ft is a good altitude for a pair of clipped wing IX's looking for trouble). If I'm anticipating a looooong dive on to a target where i will be fighting to push the nose down (the faster you're going the more she wants to nose up) then I may trim a couple of degrees nose down before the dive, but mainly you can hold her where you need her. In general in combat it's easier to keep the pitch trim neutral. I find you can quite easily keep her straight for takeoff with rudder, and rarely, if ever, touch the yaw trim.

 

3)No. They don't last long enough for it to be worth it, and if you're in a situation you're pulling lots of tight turns like that you'll get into a right pickle if you start messing with the trim. KISS applies (Keep It Simple Stupid ;))

 

4)You have to learn to ride it. Just practice in SP or Berloga, you'll soon get a feel for what is too much. The elevator is so sensitive in the spit you can enter very tight turns without too much yanking on the stick. This can be confusing as, if you're used to some other aircraft, you really have to pull hard to get them into turns. The spit turns faster than most, with less need to pull than most. With practice you'll be able to anticipate the g-model's effects. Also bear in mind that your pilot gets fatigued, as the turns go on he'll be able to deal with less and less G. Also bear in mind that for the first high G turn he will not be 'warmed up', so he will not deal with that as well as he will for the next few.

 

5)Clipped wings make you MORE maneuverable. You lose about 200ft per minute climb rate (negligible really in most situations), but you gain a LOT of roll rate. This is very useful for rough & tumble with those pesky 190s. In general, the RAF divided their IX squadrons into squadrons flying LF or HF spits. The LF were optimized for operations below 18k feet (that's off the top of my head, I'm sure someone will be along to correct me soon). They had the 'standard' merlin (66?) that we have in the in game IX, and most had clipped wingtips. The HF squadrons were designed to be optimized up high. They used the engine 'modification' we have in game (really an entirely different engine) - the merlin 70(?), and in general had unclipped wings, to get higher faster and have more lift when they got there. If you're getting into a spin I suspect you're losing too much speed. You do get a nice warning with a wing drop just before the spin. Your best climb speed should be 180mph.

 

6)A lot depends on the situation. if you're at level energy states, you won't catch most of the fighters the IX goes up against. BUT (as stated above by Shamrock) YOU WON'T BE THAT MUCH SLOWER EITHER. I don't want to give away how the sausage is made here, but a really good tactic, I find, is to stick behind a bandit (on 100% and 100% - you've got 5 minutes with that), and keep the pressure on them by taking pot shits with the .50 cals. If they see them whizzing past their cockpit (or, better, you land a few shots) they will generally panic and turn - allowing you to turn inside them - or pull up - allowing you to close the distance. Once you're iin a turning fight you can go back to 'Combat' power, this should be more than enough. If they keep their cool and keep running, don't pursue for long as you'll runout of your 5 min boost and be in a bad way, and probably have been dragged right towards a whole bunch of their friends. A MUCH BETTER tactic than that I just outlined is to dive on them with high energy, shoot them in the back before they know you're there, then pull off and allow your buddy to come in and shoot them in the back some more. You can keep swapping in and out like this for fun and profit and your foe will definitely have a Bad Day.

 

Apologies for the wall of text, and, as I say, all advice is subjective and should be taken with a pinch of salt. I really love the IX, and you will learn to too, I'm sure.

 

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by Diggun

[Frakkas]

@DiggunThank you so much for these precious advice! I will follow these and train and train again, I might come back to you in near future. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Diggun said:

Have you set up control curves for your joystick axis? Again, these are personal preference

 

I've been flying fw190 for years and it took me a while to find my 'perfect' axis settings (using JoystickCurves software) so right now for the spit 5/9/14 all my axis are by default, no curves. Of course, I need more training but in combat, my spit goes into spin way too easily

 

[Diggun]

@Frakkas no problem, please don't hesitate to ask if I can be of any help, but also there are many wiser, and more deadly, Spit pilots about, so I'd urge you to read other threads here and apply all of that and make your mind up for yourself about how you want to fly her

[sevenless]

On 4/23/2021 at 10:26 PM, Pict said:

I don't think the MK.IXE did "Rat scrambles", I may be wrong, but 2TAF had a much faster and therefore more suitable aircraft in the Tempest for that.

 

Not only the Tempests. RAF and RCAF were quite successful with their IXs, XIVs and XVIs against the jets and scored prominently against I. and II./KG 51 262 turbos. No. 41, 401, 411, 332, 610 squadrons all bagged some jets (also 234s) and flew rat patrols over the Rheine, Hesepe and Achmer areas.

 

Good overview here: Allied Jet Killers of World War 2: 136 (Aircraft of the Aces): Amazon.co.uk: Chapis, Stephen, Thomas, Andrew, Laurier, Jim, Postlethwaite, Mark: 9781472823526: Books

[DD_Fenrir]

2 hours ago, Diggun said:

In general, the RAF divided their IX squadrons into squadrons flying LF or HF spits. The LF were optimized for operations below 18k feet (that's off the top of my head, I'm sure someone will be along to correct me soon). They had the 'standard' merlin (66?) that we have in the in game IX, and most had clipped wingtips.

 

 

This information is relevant when trying to replicate the late '44/early '45 operations on the Rheinland map.

 

For the upcoming Normandy map, most would be LF.IXc (Merlin 66) but you'd be hard pressed to find a clipped wing IX anywhere (there were still a couple of squadrons flying LF Vb/c though). Examples with 'E' armament were rare (one Wing out of ten total Spitfire IX Wings in 2nd TAF) at the time of the landing and broad-chord (pointy tail) rudder were yet to be introduced.