Gocad

And I want a Mk VIII (the best Merlin Spit) and a Mk XIV (the best Griffon Spitfire).

The FM gurus may have to add a thing about this, but the way I see it wouldn't be to difficult to mod the F.IX & H.F.IX. The sole difference between those versions is for the most part at which altitude their Merlin engine developed its maximum HP, so adjusting the AltitudeDataTable in the engine section of the Spitfire_data.ini should do the trick. Then again, the differences would probably be minimal and the majority of the Mk IX were powered by the Merlin 66 (that's the version rated for low altitudes) anyway.

Like Wrench said, just the Mk 22 and Seafires....and everything beyond the Mk 21 was considered to be Spitfires in name only anyway. I think I have made quite a few posts lamenting that there is no Mk XIV/XVIII around.

No need for that

The Universal wing was actually the C-wing, since it could mount anything from 8 .303 Brownings to 4 20mm Hispano cannons...of course C-wing Spitfires usually carried the same armament as the B-Wing. I think you could also mount two .50 cal MGs and 2 Hispano cannons, but judging how these guns were mounted on the E-wing, that was probably done only as a field modification. FYI, I have a rather complete list of all RAF squadrons that have flown the Spitfire... SpitfireSqds.pdf

Yes, I did that. Not to mention that using consecutive serial numbers with late Merlin Spitires would be a bit unrealistic anyway, using the serial number range RR231-240 as an example: RR231-232 : H.F. IX RR233 L.F. IX - cancelled RR234 (L.F.) XVI RR235 H.F. IX RR236 (L.F.) XVI RR237 L.F. IX RR238-239 H.F. IX RR240 (L.F.) XVI Serial numbers can drive you nuts

I don't want to brag, but I have been over this for the DAT Spitfires a year or so ago....and I'm currently working on a template for the TW Spits, since having one gives a bit more flexibility when creating skins. So far I haven't done than just figuring out the decal positions (thus the wrong roundels on the wings and all that) Still, nice decals.

Well, Wrench was so kind and gave me his Spitfire template (thanks!), which I put to good use immediately: That's a skin for a Mark VB Trop of 249 Sqn RAF. Stationed at Malta these Spitfires had an improvised paint job that paid tribute to the fact they operated over water most of the time. That's a skin for a Mark VIIIC of 131 Sqn RAF. This paint job was used on Spitfires tasked with high altitude operations. That's obviously a Mark VIIIC in American service. Once it's finished it will bear the markings of the 308th FS. There is still some work to do (decals for example ) and there are more Spitfire skins to come. Some of them will be skins for the foreign users of the Spitfire (Denmark, Greece, Norway, Russia and a few others). Spitfire models covered will be the V (incl. LF & Trop) series and the VIII. The Mark VIII will also be used as stand-in for the IX, which is not available. (Although Wrench may say otherwise. ) The VIII was the better model anyway. And I'm open to suggestions, praise and other comments.

The Spitfire has a lot of rivets....I won't bother to count em, though.

No, TK has provided the correct ammo amount for his Spits, the two .50cal MGs in the E-wing had only 250 rounds each, while the .303 MGs in the C-wing had 350 rounds each. I just checked that in Haynes' Owners Workshop manual for the Spitfire. (And no, I'm not building my own Spitfire...I wish I could though.)

Nice skins.

Good news.

It's rather the way how TK arranges the templates that makes it so time consuming. Drawing lines and riveting the whole thing isn't that much of an issue, but trying to figure out where's what...oh my.

- press "select ground target" button - drop JDAM That's all there is.

The Mustang IVs were also camoed. There are several profiles of them in the recently published AotA #93. But as much as I would like to see those in game, I wouldn't dare to say that I'm going to make them, given my current progress making a template for the TW Spitfires....

Could it be that the invasion stripes need to moved a bit further? I know it's not very good to see here and these are Royal Navy aircraft, but there and on the image of kits depicting the RAF Venoms from the Suez time frame have the invasion stripes next to the tail boom. I'm looking forward to this and would have probably volunteered to help, but my new job is currently taking the time I would need to get anything done...

Excerpt from Fighter Aircraft by Alfred Price, who's citing a summary of comparison of the P-51B against the Spitfire IX conducted during WWII in Britain and the States. "Rates of roll: Although the alierons feel light, the Mustang cannot roll as quickly as the Spitfire at normal speeds. The alierons stiffen up only slightly at high speeds and the rates of roll become the same at about 400 mph." Since I'm no expert on the P-51, it could be that there was an improvement of with the P-51D, but given that the Spitfire XIV was said to have an even more significant advantage over P-51(B), I'm not really sure. To be honest, I have the impression that TK assigned the Spit IXE with clipped wings to the IDF simply to make it easier to distinguish them from the Egyptian Spitfires, not to mention that not all Spitfire IXE had clipped wings. That was only the case with the Mk XII. Btw, I have accepted a long time ago that the AI pilots simply don't care what they are flying or what they are going up against. Unlike a human pilot they simply can't know the "DO and DON'Ts" of the aircraft they are flying at that point.

That particular mission? No, I didn't. To be honest I'm just following the this topic and keep wondering, what is exactly the issue here? I think TK already explained it on the the TW forum that the Spitfire is simply better suited for the kind of combat the AI seems to prefer. That in mind and the constant AI weirdness that happens all the time, it's not really surprising that P-51 has a hard time in the SF world against the Spitfire.

The Brits did test the Spitfire IX against a Mustang III (that's the P-51C, which was not that much different compared to the P-51D) and found that while the Mustang had a better high altitude performance, was faster and had of course a superior endurance, the Spitfire had an edge in terms of turning and roll rate. The Spitfire IX also climbs faster, but is behind the Mustang in a dive. Regarding the armament, well the Spitfire has two 20mm cannons, which do make a difference (notice the AI kills). Of course, there's also the question how TK implemented all this, but in general it would depend which strategies you would use during combat. It's also worth noting that it was determined after testing that no definite conclusion could be reached which aircraft was superior since "these two aircraft should never be enemies. The choice is a matter of taste". Any apparent superiority of one aircraft over the other should most likely be attributed to pilot training (or the lack thereof).

Well, the RAF had a rather passive role anyway...they just got involved into combat when their aircraft where identified as Israeli or Eqyptian. So considering that the game engine can't handle neutrals, it might make more sense to keep them out the campaign...not to mention that the types used by RAF at that time aren't available anyway.

Too bad we don't have a Spitfire Mk XVIII (for No 208 Squadron). How come the Griffon Spitfires (i.e. the MkXII, XIV & XVIII) have been ignored so far? Btw, the RAF had also Tempests in the area.

I do plan to create a template for the TW Spitfire...I just need to find the time to do so. But I've done that (or someone else), it shouldn't be that much of a problem to create that skin.

I like them all equally...but my vote went to SF2V.

My favorite Delta at work...