About the Spitfire Mk. VB

[Guster]

In-game info says its combat debut was winter 1941, effectively claiming it's a 1942 plane, and incongruent with the Collector Plane description.

 

To my knowledge the variant was basically a Mk. I or II with a Merlin 45, in 'B'-configuration, first flown very late in 1940, and they became operational in early 1941 (AFAIK first with No. 92 Squadron in February). Sources vary, but I believe some 150-200 conversions were made by Supermarine before production started at Supermarine, Castle Bromwich and Westland in June 1941.

 

Am I missing something here?

[Raptorattacker]

Bader himself kind of insisted on the MkVa because he didn't get on with the cannons...

[Jade_Monkey]

Maybe they are referring to the introduction to the eastern front as lend lease, which is the context in which the plane was released in BoX.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Jade_Monkey

[Guster]

56 minutes ago, Jade_Monkey said:

Maybe they are referring to the introduction to the eastern front as lend lease, which is the context in which the plane was released in BoX.

 

Yes, but those were delivered in early 1943, so it still doesn't make much sense to me.

[blockheadgreen_]

The first Mk Ib conversions with the Merlin 45 initially went back into service with No. 92 Squadron in Feb 1941, which is technically one of the Winters of 1941 .

 

Nerdy little anecdote I found out recently and have to share with *somebody*, the Mk V was originally known as the Mk I* or Mk I+ by Supermarine (in fact the Merlin 45 is listed as a production modification for the Mk I, the airframes being so similar) but the Air Ministry, wanting to simplify maintenance, chose the designation Mk V to follow on from the Mk IV which was then in development. 

[DD_Arthur]

3 hours ago, Guster said:

 

Yes, but those were delivered in early 1943, so it still doesn't make much sense to me.

We sent them plenty of two year old, clapped out Hurricanes. I suspect many of the Spitfire V’s we sent them were ‘second hand’ too.

[LukeFF]

3 minutes ago, DD_Arthur said:

We sent them plenty of two year old, clapped out Hurricanes. I suspect many of the Spitfire V’s we sent them were ‘second hand’ too.

 

Yes, at least some of the Spitfire Vs sent to the USSR were veterans of North Africa - as were the Hurricane IIDs. Those ones were in such bad shape that the VVS refused to use them in combat.

[HBPencil]

6 hours ago, Guster said:

In-game info says its combat debut was winter 1941... they became operational in early 1941 (AFAIK first with No. 92 Squadron in February).

 

Am I missing something here?

A combat debut of February '41 does line up with having a debut in winter (i.e. the winter of '40/'41).

Edit: I had missed that Lythronax had already pointed this out, my bad.

Edited September 29, 2022 by HBPencil

[357th_KW]

It’s also worth noting that our Spit Vb has a Merlin 46 as the default engine choice, so that may be where the late ‘41 piece comes from.

[Guster]

12 hours ago, Lythronax said:

The first Mk Ib conversions with the Merlin 45 initially went back into service with No. 92 Squadron in Feb 1941, which is technically one of the Winters of 1941 .

 

Nerdy little anecdote I found out recently and have to share with *somebody*, the Mk V was originally known as the Mk I* or Mk I+ by Supermarine (in fact the Merlin 45 is listed as a production modification for the Mk I, the airframes being so similar) but the Air Ministry, wanting to simplify maintenance, chose the designation Mk V to follow on from the Mk IV which was then in development. 

 

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing!

 

10 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

We sent them plenty of two year old, clapped out Hurricanes. I suspect many of the Spitfire V’s we sent them were ‘second hand’ too.

 

I suppose the Mk. IXs, most of them LFs, delivered to the Soviets in early '44 were pretty banged-up too. In the event of a future late-war Eastern Front module it would make some sense to include this variant as a Collector Plane. Well, not necessarily banged-up by default, but you know what I mean. However, I don't know if they saw much action.

[LukeFF]

8 hours ago, Guster said:

I suppose the Mk. IXs, most of them LFs, delivered to the Soviets in early '44 were pretty banged-up too. In the event of a future late-war Eastern Front module it would make some sense to include this variant as a Collector Plane. Well, not necessarily banged-up by default, but you know what I mean. However, I don't know if they saw much action.

 

Pretty much all the Mk. IXs sent to the USSR were used in PVO regiments in places such as Leningrad. Experience with the Mk. V taught the VVS that the Spitfire was ill-suited for the often rough frontline airfields that they operated from.

[Guster]

16 hours ago, LukeFF said:

 

Pretty much all the Mk. IXs sent to the USSR were used in PVO regiments in places such as Leningrad. Experience with the Mk. V taught the VVS that the Spitfire was ill-suited for the often rough frontline airfields that they operated from.

 

As nicely Spits behave in the air, it can be a rather wobbly affair on the ground.

[blockheadgreen_]

Most of the Spit IXs sent to the USSR were brand new or fully refurbished, and they received a great many of them. Though they were only used for city defence duties they were far more popular than the Mk V. I'm not sure whether it was the Spit IX or P-63 but one of the two was the last piston fighter in service with the VVS.

[Alexmarine]

16 minutes ago, Lythronax said:

 Spit IX or P-63 but one of the two was the last piston fighter in service with the VVS.

 

P-63, some units still had them in 1950 just before the mass conversion of most units to MiG-15 and other jets