Spitfire Mk IIa
Contents
Description
The Spitfire Mk IIa is a Rank II British fighter with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB/RB) and 3.0 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.35.
For those who don't historically know much about the Spitfire, in 1941 in the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire flew to intercept enemy fighters because of its speed and agility- the Hurricanes were sent to destroy Heinkel Bombers. This same logic can be applied to War Thunder Realistic Battles- the Spitfire should first climb, using its excellent rate-of-climb, then intercept high patrolling fighters, if possible, bringing them lower. The Spitfire is fast, with a top speed around 600km/h, although in a straight line, it normally reaches around 460km/h. Do not head-on in the Spitfire- it can destroy your engine and your gun convergence won't save you- avoid head-ons and go for turnfights. A sensible opponent will try to energy fight you- to avoid destruction, climb quickly away from them, then dart back into their trajectory arc, normally underneath them; you can do that, since you have a good lift rate- eventually, either the opponent will miss and overshoot, allowing you to destroy them, or will dive, which you can follow, but be careful- the Spitfire will wing rip at around 500km/h or less, so don't pull hard or your wings will fly away...
The Spitfire has a relatively good ammo count- the 4-digit ammo can be deceiving, since there are 8 guns on the aircraft, making only around 400 rpg- you can use this to ground attack light or unarmoured targets, usually with stealth or omni-purpose belts, but this job should be left to dedicated gun-platforms, like the Hurricane and Hellcat
General info
Flight Performance
Stat card
| Characteristics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | |||||||
| Max Speed (km/h at 4,572 m) |
Max altitude (meters) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (meters/second) |
Take-off run (meters) | |||
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | ||
| 545 | 535 | 10,000 | 16.1 | 16.5 | 14.0 | 16.0 | 300 |
| Upgraded | |||||||
| Max Speed (km/h at 4,572 m) |
Max altitude (meters) | Turn time (seconds) | Rate of climb (meters/second) |
Take-off run (meters) | |||
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | ||
| 599 | 571 | 10,000 | 14.8 | 15.1 | 27.3 | 19.4 | 300 |
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 | |
| + | - | |||
| 760 | 270 | 290 | ~14 | ~8 |
| Optimal velocities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons (km/h) |
Rudder (km/h) |
Elevators (km/h) |
Radiator (km/h) |
| < 321 | < 400 | < 465 | > 250 |
| Compressor (RB/SB) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Setting 1 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| 4,490 m | 1,140 hp | 1,311 hp |
Engine performance
| Engine | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine Name | Number present | ||||
| Rolls-Royce Merlin-XII 12-cylinder | 1 | ||||
| Engine characteristics | |||||
| Weight (each) | Type | Cooling | |||
| 625 kg | Inline | Water | |||
| Engine power (Stock) | |||||
| Mode | Max | Take-off | |||
| Arcade | 921 hp | 1,074 hp | |||
| Realistic/Simulator | 911 hp | 1,064 hp | |||
| Engine power (Upgraded) | |||||
| Mode | Max | Take-off | |||
| Arcade | 1,148 hp | 1,301 hp | |||
| Realistic/Simulator | 1,020 hp | 1,173 hp | |||
| WEP Duration | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcade | Realistic/Simulator | ||
| 25 seconds | Infinite | ||
Survivability and armour
- 38 mm Bulletproof glass in cockpit front.
- 4 mm Steel plate in pilot's seat.
- 6-7 mm Steel plate behind the pilot.
Armaments
The Spitfire Mk IIa is armed with:
- 8 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun, wing-mounted (350 rpg = 2800 total)
Usage in the battles
When in a fight with an enemy plane, which is not Japanese, proceed to entice them into a TnB (Turn and Burn) fight, wait until they get close enough and then turn into them, forcing a turning fight,
It is faster than Japanese planes, so if attacked by one, either use a Rolling Scissors technique or just fly away and if in a good position, Boom and Zoom it.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Controllable | Controllable No automatic pitch |
Controllable | Not controllable | Combined | Not controllable | Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Eight 7.7 mm machine guns provide great anti-fighter power.
- Great turn rate.
- Good roll rate at low speed.
- Better-than-average top speed.
- Great rate of climb.
- Better engine power than Mk Ia.
- Decent amount of armour, a front 38 mm glass and rear 4-7 mm steel plates.
Cons:
- Machine guns only effective if target is hit in continuous bursts.
- Machine gun armament lacks the long range hitting power of cannons.
- Ammo can run out quickly in prolonged, uncontrolled bursts.
- Quick kills against large bombers without a pilot snipe is difficult, prolonged engagements exposes the Spitfire to the defensive gunners.
- Machine guns cannot penetrate heavily amoured targets.
- Bad high altitude performance.
- Roll rate stiffens dramatically at ~350 km/h.
- Pulling negative G's and rolling the plane (Realistic/simulator only) can cause the carburetor(engine) to fail.
History
Media
Skins and camouflages for the Spitfire Mk.IIa from live.warthunder.com.
Read 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.
ETC.
Sources
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- page on aircraft encyclopedia;
- other literature.
