Spitfire VIII

[1K3]

Was Spit VIII used only on the Meditteranean and Far-East (Asia) front?

[Guppy35]

Originally posted by 1K3
Was Spit VIII used only on the Meditteranean and Far-East (Asia) front?

Yes

Postwar they served with the Indian Air Force

They went to the "Tropical" theaters because of the plan to tropicalize the 8 from the start as well as the longer range.

Spit 9s stayed in England and didn't originally have the tropical filter under the nose, although the 9 ended up in the MTO as well.

[Mike Williams]

Spitfire VIII’s also served with squadrons in France and the Balkans.

324 Wing, comprised of 43, 72, 93, and 111 Squadrons which were in part equipped with Spitfire VIII’s, moved to southern France in August 1944 followed by a move to Lyon/Bron in eastern France in September.  43 Sqdn. made their first attack across the German border on September 12, 1944.

Here’s a photo of a 43 Squadron Spitfire VIII at Ramatuelle, France August 1944.


This map taken from 43 Squadron by J. Beedle shows 43 Squadron’s travels  from about mid 1943 through to war’s end.  


The Free French Wing, 1ère Escadre de Chasse was equipped with some Spitfire VIII’s.  It was based at Dijon & Luxeuil in eastern France, ending the war at Colmar, France near the German Border.

Some Spitfire units of the Balkan Air Force such as 253 Squadron were equipped with Spitfire VIII’s.  They were based at Prkos, Yugoslavia near the end of the war.

See also  Spitfire VIII Performance

[Guppy35]

Still MTO based though with 43 etc.  No VIIIs with 2 TAF or flying out of England.

The prettiest of the Merlin Spits to be sure

[Makoyouidiot]

Originally posted by Guppy35
Still MTO based though with 43 etc.  No VIIIs with 2 TAF or flying out of England.

The prettiest of the Merlin Spits to be sure

Nope, that honor goes to the Mark I and II spits

[SgtPappy]

The problem with the Mk.VIII is that it's over 200 lbs. heavier than the Mk.IX (no fuel or ammo) and that's going to cause some crap turning compared to the Mk.IX. I actually feel the F4U-1A turns much better than the Spitfire VIII.

[1K3]

Originally posted by SgtPappy
The problem with the Mk.VIII is that it's over 200 lbs. heavier than the Mk.IX (no fuel or ammo) and that's going to cause some crap turning compared to the Mk.IX.

That's offset with more power, 1,700+ hp for VIII vs 1,500 for IX

[Angus]

More power and a stronger airframe.
The one without the extended tips was maybe the finest of them all, although Broadhurst put his money on the clipped IX with the 25 boost.

BTW, pilots in India reported the VIII's they received as insanely good, climb to 20K in 5 minutes, top speed 420, full trop gear, and ready to tear holes in the sky.

[Squire]

IX is 6455 empty.

VIII is 6679 empty.

So that makes the VIII about 3 1/2 percent heavier. Hardly a huge increase.

Its engine is roughly 10 percent more powerfull.

In any case all the earlier war a/c tend to turn better simply because they are lighter. P-51B vs a P-51D, 109G-2 vs a 109K-4, A6M2 vs an A6M5, Spit V vs Spit IX, ect.

[SgtPappy]

Originally posted by Squire
IX is 6455 empty.

VIII is 6679 empty.

So that makes the VIII about 3 1/2 percent heavier. Hardly a huge increase.

Its engine is roughly 10 percent more powerfull.

In any case all the earlier war a/c tend to turn better simply because they are lighter. P-51B vs a P-51D, 109G-2 vs a 109K-4, A6M2 vs an A6M5, Spit V vs Spit IX, ect.

Huge when you're dogfighting against another spit of the same variant. Also, an LF.IX would prbably do better (which is pretty much the XVI).

[Kev367th]

Originally posted by SgtPappy
Huge when you're dogfighting against another spit of the same variant. Also, an LF.IX would prbably do better (which is pretty much the XVI).

Actually our XVI is an LF IXe, check out the FTH, its 1000ft too low to be a XVI.

So an easy model additon = remove 50 cals, add 4 x 303 = LF IX .