Spitfire F Mk XIVc

Spitfire F Mk XIVc

Spitfire F Mk XIVc

Britain

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.7	5.7	5.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:6 090

This page is about the premium British strike fighter Spitfire F Mk XIVc. For other uses, see Spitfire (Family).

Description

The Spitfire F Mk XIVc is a rank IV premium British fighter with a battle rating of 4.7 (AB), 5.7 (RB), and 5.3 (SB). This aircraft was introduced in Update 1.41.

General info

Flight Performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

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
691	673	12000	18.6	19.0	16.4	18.8	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
768	726	12000	17.0	17.3	36.9	24.3	400

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
794	260	N/A	~13	~8

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 321	< 400	< 470	> 250

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,600 m	1,510 hp	2,129 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
8,600 m	1,320 hp	1,824 hp

Survivability and armour

• 42.8 mm Bulletproof glass in front of the pilot.
• 12.7 mm Steel plate between fuel tanks.
• 4 mm Steel plate on pilot's seat. Behind pilot is another 6-7 mm steel plate.
• 3 mm Steel plates around ammunition.

• Critical components located at the front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
• More fuel tanks located in wings near the fuselage

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Spitfire F Mk XIVc is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannon, wing-mounted (120 rpg = 240 total)
• 4 x 7.7 mm Browning machine guns, wing-mounted (350 rpg = 1400 total)

Suspended armament

The Spitfire F Mk XIVc can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

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

Usage in battles

The Spitfire F Mk.XIVc is the pinnacle of dogfighting at mid to high altitude. Primarily a fighter, this plane excels at catching unsuspecting pilots still climbing to altitude and amazing at the spitfire trademark of dogfighting.

Vehicle characteristics

While it does use the older wing and body type of pre-Griffon Spitfires, this aircraft takes the best of both worlds and becomes a monster at its rank. Utilizing the powerful Griffon engine, this plane has amazing acceleration and climb rate, even better than the Merlin variants. This aircraft does not compromise on manoeuvrability as it can still turn on a dime. Beware of the brittle wing construction as taking hard G turns at 600+ kph can break its wings.

Tactics

This aircraft has an ideal operating altitude of between 4,000 m - 6,000 m due to the properties of the Griffon engine, but this aircraft has no problems climbing past that altitude, though manoeuvrability is slightly compromised at altitudes higher than 7,000 m. This aircraft excels at energy dog fighting, a mix between energy fighting and dog fighting. The insanely good acceleration coupled with the great climb rate and energy retention allows this aircraft to excel in horizontal dog-fighting as well as vertical energy manoeuvres. Don't get into extended energy fights as many pure energy fighters can outdo this aircraft in pure energy fights.

Specific enemies worth noting

American aircraft can really outdo this plane in speed and energy retention, but cannot dogfight this plane very well. German planes are even more dangerous due to their high top speed and energy retention. This plane can adequately fight Japanese aircraft, but Zeroes can turn faster than you can, though they don't accelerate in a straight line as fast. If you stay up above 4,000 m, you can deal with most Soviet aircraft effectively.

Counter-tactics

Booming and zooming and pure energy fights is this thing's weakness, it does not hold up well in drawn-out fights of speed.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable	Not controllable	Controllable	Combined	Controllable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator		Offensive 7.7 mm belts
II		Compressor	Airframe	Offensive 20 mm belts
III	Wings Repair	Engine		New 7.7 mm MGs	HMBC Mk.2
IV		Engine Injection	Cover	Mk.II year 1943

All modules are purchased due to it being a premium plane.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Famed Hispano Mk.II's provide excellent damage in tandem with the Air targets belt
• 7.7 mm Tracer belt can help with aiming, as the Browning's and the Hispano's have a similar muzzle velocity
• Great turning ability
• Effective climb rate
• Smaller repair costs than normal tree variant
• Excellent acceleration
• Air Targets belt are stealth (AB)
• Extremely powerful Rolls-Royce Griffon engine provides solid medium-to-high altitude performance
• Above-average roll rate at medium speeds
• Can equip a single 500 lb bomb for ground attack
• Has relatively no trouble when being up-tiered
• Effective earner of Silver Lions and Research Points

Cons:

• Its characteristics are not as refined as the normal tree variant.
• As with all Spitfires, it has an airframe that is very vulnerable to battle damage
• 7.7 mm Brownings have low stopping power and are woefully inadequate at this rank
• Air Targets belt are stealth (RB/SB)
• Stiffens up at higher speeds
• Carrying the 500 lb bomb is a waste of the plane's dogfighting potential

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === Encyclopedia Info ===, also if applicable).

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 02:55 discusses the Spitfire F Mk XIVc.

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

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• 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;
• other literature.