Mk Va, R7347, USA Summer 1941

Spitfire Mk Va, R7347, assigned to USAAF for testing, Summer 1941

It seems there is always much to learn about the Spitfire.  When my interest in the Spitfire first began, I probably did what most modelers do:  I made a list.  The list started with Mk I, followed by II, III, IV, et cetera until I thought (wrongly at the time) that I had the full List of All Spitfire Marks that began with I in 1939 and ended with XVI in 1945.  I filled it in as I read about the different marks and where they were used.  Rarely did I see the II, never a III or IV nor a VI; an occasional VIII, lots of V and IX.  No X, XI or XIII.  No XV.  Oh joy, it’s really not a big list so it won’t take me long to make one of each just to see what they looked like, in the flesh (plastic) which was all I’d expect given how rare they are.

Then those darned suffix letters cropped up.  What could that be?  After nearly a year of reading and collecting books I realized it was the armament...sort of.  And the Mark number was basically tied to the engine...sort of.  Some other minor refinements came to play as well.  Suddenly my list grew.  And I hadn’t considered where the PR variants fell, nor those prefix letters.  That's a story for another day...

The Mk V came about as a response to the Me-109F.  Faster and higher flying than the Emil it was replacing, it outclassed the Mk I/II in frontline service with the RAF in 1940-41.  Like any good aircraft manufacturer, Supermarine was working with the RAF to develop a better Spitfire in the guise of the Mk III.  However so many improvements to the basic airframe as well as a new engine meant critical delays in production and one must remember that at the time, the RAF was licking its wounds from the BoB and facing Rommel in the desert.

So the obvious question was asked, “What if we stick the new Merlin on a Mk II airframe, and do it such that we don’t have to modify the airframe so much?”  The engine in the Mk III was the Merlin XX; which was needed for the Hurricane II so an uprated Merlin 45 that was based on the Merlin III was chosen.  It fit the cowling of the Mk I/II and just needed some slight mods that were easy and quick to implement.  The engine was “hotter” so needed a bit more cooling...the larger oil cooler from the Mk III would do.  A bit more torque so we’ll need to stiffen the fuselage...that’s a bit easy.  The Mk V was born and would be a short production run until the Mk III was ready.

History tells us the Mk III was cancelled and the Mk V the most produced single Mk of the Spitfire family (if one doesn’t combine the Mk IX and XVI production).  So much for an interim type.

The Aircraft
When Mk V production began, the cannon armed wing was still causing problems.  So initial production was the 8-gun Va. The intent all along was to make the Mk V a cannon armed variant. Some Mk V were conversions from earlier Mk I/II airframes.  Later in 1941 when the cannon armed “b” wing was fixed most surviving Mk Va aircraft were retrofitted to the Vb standard; as well as any Mk Ib/IIb that were still operational.  Some didn’t but those generally were no longer considered front line aircraft and were used for OTU duties.

R7347 was one of the last of a batch of Mk I’s ordered as Mk I’s but delivered as Mk Va.  Delivered in April 1941 to 39 Maintenance Unit, then transferred to the USAAF for testing at Wright Field later in April 1941, arriving in November 1941.  It remained there for testing until January 1943.  Unfortunately, I do not yet know the fate of R7347.

References: Spitfire the History, RAF Fighters 1945-1950 Overseas Based, Spitfire in Action

The Model
There are currently three alternatives for making a Mk Va:

1. AZModel (limited run, limited availability but a very nice model)
2. Airfix Mk I/IIa (contains the parts but no instructions)
3. Bash together a Mk I/IIa with a Mk Vb to get a Mk I/IIb and a Mk Va (been there, done that, it didn’t work for me)

I have the AZModel kit but I’m reserving that for the usual Va subject, Douglas Bader’s W3185/DB that he was shot down in while over France in 1942.

The recent tooling by Airfix includes not only all the parts necessary to model the Mk I and Mk II, but the larger oil cooler for the Mk V as well as the proper De Havilland prop.  When first released in 2009 there was speculation that a Mk Va was soon to follow, but after 3 years still no Mk Va from Airfix.  So it was off to the spares box for decals.

It turns out the AZModel boxing has the decals for R7347 when tested in the US.  That certainly makes this all very easy. 

Construction is straightforward, but use part numbers 41 and 42 for the oil cooler, the round exhausts parts 21 and 22, and the DH prop.  Photos show the IFF aerials, so I drilled 0.1mm holes on each side, at about frame 17.5.  That is about 12 inches forward of frame 18, which is the extreme trailing edge of the wing/fuselage fairing.  I then measure up 9 inches from the horizontal stringer that aligns with the bottom of the cockpit door.  My method for installing these after all painting and decalling is done, is to superglue one end of the invisible thread into the elevator hinge line (underneath where you can't see them) and once cured run each into the holes.  Using tweezers I pull the IFF antenna taught through the cockpit opening and put a drop of glue to hold them.  I then put the canopy on. You won't see them on this model as I didn't put them on...frankly I forgot and the canopy is on, so there you have it.

Now, technically when on the ground the IFF aerials should be disconnected from the horizontal stabilizers so a ground mechanic or plane captain cannot accidently break it; but it looks "wrong" to me as a model when done correctly because it appears the antenna are broken off. 

Painting is standard Spitfire scheme for April 1941: Temperate Land Scheme of Dark Green (Humbrol Hu116), Dark Earth (Hu29) with Sky (Hu90) undersides, spinner and fuselage band.  I used acrylics throughout.  Night serial and no squadron codes.

Summary
An easy build, albeit I didn't do this one over a weekend, I could have had I wanted to.  I spent extra time on it and unfortunately the build got delayed by 3 months when I transferred due to a job change.

Thanks for looking...

US Navy Spitfires

Spitfire LF Vb, 4Q, VCS-7, 6 June 1944



This is one of those impulse builds that resulted when I was searching the web for Spitfire info and came across a site that summarized the use of Spitfires by a US Navy squadron. I had to do it! I built this model back in 2009 as part of an anniversary build for D-Day.

The Subject

When the US battleships and cruisers got to the European theater for Operation Neptune (the actual landings part of Overlord) everyone quickly noticed the aircraft used for spotting were obsolete biplanes, SOC-3 Seagull floatplanes. These would be no match for any fighters the Luftwaffe would put up against them. So the squadrons traded in their biplanes (albeit temporarily) for Spitfires.



The Spitfires were older Vb aircraft, retrofitted with cropped superchargers and clipped wings as they were primarily used for low level work by this time of the war. Because of their age they were referred to as "clipped, cropped, and clapped out". The Naval Spotting Pool of Spitfires and Seafires was formed to provide spotting to the supporting battleships and cruisers during the landings. Both FAA and USN aircraft were used.

After about a month VCS-7 returned their Spitfires to the RAF; the land forces had moved far enough inland that sea bombardment no longer was effective. From what I can find on the internet (I know, not the best source of research!) there was only a couple of close encounters with the Luftwaffe, neither side actually shot down the other.

The Model

I decided to do this one as a quick build from an Airfix kit. I chose not to clip the wings as I found one photo that showed the wingtips in place, and at the time I wasn't keen on trying to clip wings. I also wanted to brush paint the entire model, instead of my typical air brushing. I did, however, airbrush the base color of Medium Sea Grey.

The paints are a mix of Humbrol and Testors enamels. Standard colors for Dark Green, Ocean Grey and Medium Sea Grey; any old black and white. I used a mask for the code letters so that they'd match the Sky band and spinner.

Decals were from the spares box. The serial number is not visible in the only photo of 4Q I've found, so I decided not to include it.

Summary

This was an easy build, and very enjoyable. It felt "old school" and the stripes are just rough enough to look quickly put on as they were on 5 June.

Thanks for looking...

Airfix Spitfire Mk Ia (1979 tooling)

Supermarine Spitfire I, R6595/DW O, 610 County of Chester Squadron, RAF
Biggin Hill, August 1940, P/O F. K. Webster, KIA 26 August 1940.

I was reviewing the Group Build section of Fine Scale Modeler last month and when I spotted an Airfix group decided I could be in and do a quick build of an older Mk Ia I had in my stash. My original plans for the kit were to convert it to a PR Mk I something or other that would not be a quick nor easy effort. So I rummaged through my spare decals and found an old Aeromaster sheet of Spitfires from the Battle of Britain (72-028). Paint and glue at the ready I jumped in.

The Aircraft

Spitfire Mk I, R6595, from first production batch of 450 aircraft on third contract awarded 9 August 1939.  This was the first aircraft in the batch, delivered 7 May 1940 to Number 8 Maintenance Unit. Delivered to 610 Squadron on 28 July 1940. Because of timing this aircraft would have been delivered to 8 MU with then then-required Night/White undersurfaces. While at the MU it would have been repainted with Sky undersurfaces per directives dating from June 11. This is certainly during the period from June to September where a controversial shade of Sky could have been applied, ranging from Sky Grey, Sky Blue, Eau-de-Nil, through to actual Sky.  As an example for demonstrating all the possible variations, this subject hits them all. Aeromaster suggest Sky.

This aircraft is featured in a fairly well known and widely published photograph from the period.  On Monday 26 August, 1940, the aircraft crashed after being badly damaged by a Bf109; the pilot, Pilot Officer F. K. Webster, was killed while attempting to land at Hawkinge.

References:  Spitfire the History, 610 Squadron History.

The Model

As mentioned above, this is the older tooling Airfix Spitfire Mk Ia dating from 1979.  Airfix modified the molds to be a snap together kit in the early 1980's.  Actually a fairly accurate kit in shape and outline, but the detail is raised (arguably more accurate) and the cockpit is nearly void except for a seat. The cockpit is not much of a problem if using the kit canopy as it is rather thick, most especially if one is to put a pilot in there. But if wanting to use a vac canopy much detail will be needed. For this effort I chose the kit canopy with no pilot.

As this was for the FSM Group Build I didn't want to take too long and it's the last of my old tooling Mk I kits. I removed the snap together pins to correct alignment but overall the fit is very good. As is typical of this kit and similar offerings from that period, construction was very quick and I was ready for painting within an hour. I almost felt like a kid again!

After a primer coat from a spray can, I hand painted the camouflage using Humbrol enamels.  Dark Earth (29) and Dark Green (116), after Sky (90) was airbrushed for the undersides.  Future was applied for the decals and followed with a light wash using Payne's Gray oil was applied.  A 50/50 mix of Future with Acryl clear flat was then applied as a final sealer.

Back to the undersurface color:  Humbrol 90 is listed as a recommended enamel paint for Sky, however the formulation has changed over the years. I have two tins, one the earlier Super Enamel before Hornby and Hornby's version with the blue stripe. The difference is subtle with the older paint looking truer to Sky with a slightly greener hue than the later paint.  Conversely the later paint is slightly bluer. I cannot stress how subtle the difference is and lighting conditions matter greatly. So based on the subject's timing, I used the later tin of "blue stripe" 90 as a local interpretation of sorts for Sky.

And that was that. A very fun build of a fairly familiar subject. It's unique with the oversized markings on the fuselage and fills a void in my collection of early Spitfires. Total time was less than 7 hours spread over a couple of weeks in order for paint and clear coats to thoroughly cure.