Supermarine Spitfire F Mk. VIII - Refining the legend

Suggestions Aircraft
1

Spitfire F Mk VIII - Refining the legend

image

images

image

image
image2560×1707 283 KB

image
image
image1024×572 150 KB

image

Hello there, I’m here to suggest the SpitfireMk VIIII for the British Air Tree of War Thunder. The Mk VIII was designed to replace the Mark V; however, it never quite got the recognition it deserved compared to some marks that entered service before it did.

The Mk VIII saw service across the air forces of the British Empire and allies in the RAF, RAAF, SAAF and USAAF, where it saw notable success and had its own moments of fame with legendary aces such as Clive Cadwell of the Royal Australian Air Force.

KEY INFORMATION

Great turn-fighting capability

C-type (universal wing) configuration

Rolls-Royce Merlin 63 engine for good performance at medium altitudes

Reasonable gun loading

1000lbs of Bombs (2x 250lb and 1x500lb)

Self-sealing fuel tanks

History

History

Development

Development of the Mk VIII began in 1941 with the intention of replacing the Mk V; the Royal Air Force required a more refined and capable fighter to stay competitive with the rapidly advancing technology of the Second World War. It was to be a much more refined aircraft compared to its predecessors; the fuselage was strengthened, the rear landing wheel became retractable, a pointed tip rudder was added, self sealing fuel tanks were installed in the leading edge of the wings for more range, the merlin 60 and 70 series engines replaced the earlier Merlin 45 series for more power and the aircraft was to be capable of carrying two 250lb bombs under each wing as well as a 500lb bomb on the fuselage. With drop tanks, the Mk VIII was capable of flying for 1500 miles.

In service

The first Mk VIII was produced in november 1942 however it took until June 1943 for the squadron to be equipped with the mkVIII (a year after the first mkIX entered service), this was in the Mediterranean relieving the mkVs which had started to become outmatched by its German and Italian peers, ready for the invasion of Sicily where it then saw extensive use over italy and france where its improvements and refinements over the mkV.

The Spitfire Mk VIII’s main success was in the Far East and India, taking over once again from the Mk V, which was an even match for the aircraft operated by the Japanese forces. The Mk VIII proved itself to be a far superior fighter to the Ki-43 and Ki-44, achieving total air superiority in India and Burma. The Mk VIII would go on to be a major fighter and light bomber for the Allied offensives pushing Japanese forces out of Burma.

Specifications/General Characteristics

1 pilot

Weight - 3538KG

Engine - Rolls Royce Merlin 63 (1710hp @ 8500ft 1520@ 2100ft)

Fuel (internal) - 555L (100/150 grade avgas) all self-sealing

Fuel (external drop tank) - either 136L, 409L or 772L

4-bladed propeller

Gunloads - 2x hispano mk2 20mm cannon (120 rounds per gun) and 4x Browning .303 machine guns (350 rounds per gun)

Ability to carry a total of 1000lbs of bombs (1x 500lb and 2x 250lb)

Length - 9.14m

Height - 3.05m

Wingspan - 11.23m

Wing Area- 23.09 m^2

Top speed - 408mph @ 25,000ft

Maximum speed - 470mph IAS

Thank you, everyone, for taking a look at my suggestion. I believe the Mk VIII will complement the British air tree by giving a nice little upgrade over the Mk IX while giving representation to a lesser spoken about variant of the Spitfire.

Sources:
Would you like to see this in-game?
  • Yes
  • No
0 voters
Where would you like to see it?
  • Tech Tree
  • Premium/Pack
  • Event
0 voters
4 Likes
2

Honestly this would be a perfect filler in between the two Mk IX’s and the 14. Early Mk IX with the Merlin 61 at 4.7 then this with the 63 at 5.0 or 5.3 and the LF IX at 6.0 with the XVI (With 150 Octane) at 5.7

Then we can have the VI and VII as our high altitude Spitfires with the extended wing and pressurised cockpit. Mk VI would be nice for 4.0 and the VII would be 4.3

Gives us a Spitfire for every BR from 3.0 to 6.7 oardefault and then Spiteful/Seafang for 7.0

1 Like
3

I do think this would be ideal as a 5.0 as the 63 gives us a power bump over the 4.7 mkIX.

@Nostalgistic did the suggestion for the LF mk VIII a while back, he helped me with sources, do think that one is a solid alternative to the LF mk IX. Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk VIII - Overshadowed by Mark IX

theres also the HF which i plan to suggest soon, the merlin 70 would be rather pointless as we dont ever go to the altitudes where it has any benefit over a merlin 45 in WT but would be a cool alternative option to the mark V

4

image
image1080×306 98.8 KB

6 Likes
5

This your next suggestion?

6

No need

7

No point in it coming since we have the LF IX and the Plagis for one with the B type wing instead of the C type. Could work as an event vehicle I guess.

1 Like
8

+1 new Spitfires are always welcome!

1 Like
9

+1 I been waiting for this suggestion

2 Likes
10

Still baffling to me that the pinnacle model Merlin Spitfire is not in the game.

2 Likes
11

we have a few skins of mkVIII spitfires on mkIX models, most notably Clive Cadwells spitfire.

this one was the best mark that a majority of British air forces saw, deserves a spot in the limelight more than the mkIX for the most part

2 Likes