Quote:
Originally Posted by cydno
I think I saw one in a trailer (the one with shorter wings)... This version of the spitfire was called by some of the RAF pilots as "clipped", "clapped" and "cropped" and was definitively not the pilot's choice.
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That refers to the MkVB when they were still in service in 1944 and were all approaching the end of both the airframe lives and engine lives i.e. clapped.
They had Merlin 45M with a cropped (the cropped bit )supercharger and a higher boost/octane fuel an to give them more power at lower altitudes so they could be used in the 2nd TAF. The lack of wing tips was to give a better roll rate at lower altitudes (clipped).
It was very much the pilots choice in 1941 but by 1944 it was scraping the barrel. Although they were just as good performers as the Spit IX at very low altitude where the 2nd TAF operated most of its aircraft. They only had 60 round drums for the Hispano MkII though.
08-18-2009, 03:40 PM
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