Tamiya Model Kit - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb Trop - 61035
About the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb Trop.
The Supermarine Spitfire is regarded by many as the most beautifully
designed single seat fighter to appear during WWII. The Spitfire went
through numerous major and minor changes throughout its long production
life. Early improvements resulted in the Mk.V series of Spitfires which
became the most widely produced versions of all Mk's. The main
improvements was the furnishing of three wing armament configurations,
and the use of the more powerful Merlin type 45 engine. The most
numerous Mk.V was the "b" winged version which had a mixed armament of
two 7.7mm machine guns and on 20mm cannon in each wing.
The Spitfire that demonstrated such superb performance over its
homeland, was also urgently required for operations overseas. One of
the better known versions was the North African prepared Spitfire
designated "TROP", for Tropical. The biggest problem in desert
operations was the intake of abrasive sands into the engine, which
quickly wore out moving parts. To overcome this difficulty a Vokes air
filter was affixed over the carburetor intake.
Although the filter was successful, its large mass reduced the
aircraft's speed. The problem was solved by the local maintenance unit
stationed at Aboukir, who designated a smaller more streamlined unit
that was equally effective. The clipped wing versions, which had better
low altitude maneuverability, were commonly seen in North Africa.
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