Spitfire F Mk XIVe

Spitfire F Mk XIVe

Spitfire Mk Vc

Spitfire F Mk XVIIIe

Spitfire F Mk XIVe

Spitfire Mk Vc

Spitfire F Mk XVIIIe

Britain

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.0	5.7	5.3

Class:

Fighter

Research:46 000

Purchase:155 000

This page is about the British fighter Spitfire F Mk XIVe. For the premium version, see Spitfire FR Mk XIVe. For other versions, see Spitfire (Family).

Description

The Spitfire F Mk XIVe is a rank IV British fighter with a battle rating of 5.0 (AB), 5.7 (RB), and 5.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.41.

General info

Flight performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 8,537 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
690	670	12000	18.5	19.2	19.1	19.1	400
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 8,537 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
767	723	12000	16.7	17.4	32.7	24.5	400

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	X	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
794	260	290	~10	~6

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 321	< 400	< 350	> 500

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,100 m	1,510 hp	2,150 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
8,100 m	1,340 hp	1,852 hp

Survivability and armour

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass in cockpit front.
• 4 mm Steel plates in pilot's seat.
• 4-7 mm Steel plates behind the pilot.
• 3 mm Steel boxes around the wing ammunition.
• 12.7 mm Steel plate between fuel tanks.
• 6 mm Steel plate in front of liquid cooling system.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Spitfire F Mk XIVe is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannons, wing-mounted (135 rpg = 270 total)
• 2 x 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine guns, wing-mounted (260 rpg = 520 total)

Suspended armament

The Spitfire F Mk XIVe can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 1 x 500 lb G.P. 500 lb Mk.IV bomb (500 lb total)

Usage in battles

The Spitfire F Mk XIVe, being outfitted with a Griffon engine, does not have as stellar of a climb rate as its Merlin engine counterparts. However, it still does have a very competitive rate of climb, and can usually come out above all but a few opponents. With such an altitude advantage, the pilot is able to choose which engagements to pursue, and the ability to choose engagements wisely is necessary. Since dogfighting in the Spitfire can involve prolonged turn-fights, make sure that no other enemies are nearby, or that if there are, that they can be dealt with by teammates. This plane's engines gives it great acceleration, and it also accelerates well in dives. Be careful though, since at very high speeds, sharp manoeuvres may cause the wings to snap.

As far as maoeuvrability goes, the Spitfire is still very good at turning, especially at high altitudes. It also has a good roll rate, making rolling scissors maoeuvres a viable tactic in dogfights.

With these flight characteristics, the Spitfire is a sort of jack of all trades. It can turnfight well, of course, but it can also boom and zoom or energy fight with much success. However, the plane does have some drawbacks. For one, the powerful engine is prone to overheating, so throttle and WEP management may be necessary. Additionally, performance at low altitudes can be inadequate in certain situations. Finally, the only ordnance that the plane can carry is a single 500 lb bomb. While this can certainly destroy an enemy tank in ground realistic battles, precise aim is required to do so consistently, and the one bomb is the only anti-tank weapon that the plane has. Still, it excels in an anti-fighter role in ground RB; its excellent manoeuvrability is well suited for the gamemode's tendency to involve one on one dogfights.

The Spitfire F Mk XIVe carries a fairly standard ammunition count: not particularly high and not very low. It's possible to spray a little bit, but it is also wise to keep an eye on your ammo count, and to preserve ammunition if possible.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Auto control available	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Auto control available	Combined	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 12 mm	Offensive 20 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 12 mm MGs	New 20 mm cannons
III	Wings repair	Engine			Mk.II year 1942	HMBC mk.2
IV		Engine injection	Cover		Mk.II year 1943

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Very good at turning, especially at high altitude
• Excellent climb rate
• Very accurate guns when modifications have been researched and equipped
• Lots of ammo for cannons and machine guns
• Very powerful engine that provides a very good acceleration
• Very good dive rate
• Can perform turnfights, BnZ and energy fighting equally.
• Good roll rate.

Cons:

• Performance at low altitude is somewhat inadequate
• Guns perform badly when stock
• Wings are prone to breaking when diving at a very high speed just like any other Spitfire model
• Poor performance and manoeuvrability at low altitude
• No combat flaps configuration
• Unable to carry ordnance larger than a small bomb
• Overheats quickly

History

In-game description

The Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIV was a single engine, single seat fighter which served with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. In 1941 the Spitfire Mk.IV was the first Spitfire to be trialed with the new Rolls Royce Griffon engine. By the time the Griffon Spitfire entered service with the RAF in February 1943, subsequent modifications had redesignated the aircraft as the Spitfire Mk.XII. As successful as this new Spitfire was at low altitudes, the Mk.XII's performance was actually inferior to the Merlin engine Mk.IX at medium and high altitudes. Thus, the Spitfire Mk.XIV entered service as an interim fix. Fitted with a Rolls Royce Griffon 65 with two-stage supercharger producing 2050 hp, the Mk.XIV immediately corrected many of the performance shortcomings suffered by the Mk.XII. The fuselage was strengthened to harness the powerful engine and a five bladed Rotol propeller replaced the earlier four bladed examples. Early models were fitted with the Type C wing although later Mk.XIVs were equipped with the Type E wing housing two 20mm Hispano cannons and two .50 caliber Browning machine guns or four 20mm cannons, as well as a high visibility teardrop canopy. A common modification to the Mk.XIV was the clipped wing, which increased roll rate and gave a marginal increase to speed, but at the most of rate of climb.

The Spitfire Mk.XIV entered service with Nos. 91, 322 and 610 Squadrons in southeast England where it saw notable success as an interceptor against V-1 Flying Bombs but also as part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force in operations over occupied Europe. Spitfire Mk.XIVs were also planned for use in the Far East but whilst a number of airframes were shipped to Burma, none were operational before the end of the war. The Spitfire Mk.XIV met mixed reviews from its pilots; whilst there was no doubt of the huge performance increase the new variant offered, it was uncomfortable to fly and lacked the balance and control harmonization of earlier Merlin engine Spitfires. Just under 1000 Spitfire Mk.XIVs were produced with exports being employed by the Air Forces of India, Belgium and Thailand.

Media

The Shooting Range #95 - Metal Beasts section at 03:42 discusses the Spitfire F Mk XIVe.

The Shooting Range #124 - War Machines section at 00:28 discusses the Griffons.

See also

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• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
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