Assembled model 1/48 aircraft Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk.XIV Airfix A05135 118 Parts in a set Continuing the wartime development of the famous Supermarine Spitfire, the Mk.XIV saw the classic shape of the famous Mitchell fighter combined with the stunning power of the new Rolls Royce Griffon engine. The resulting aircraft was excellent and one of the RAF's most powerful fighters of the Second World War, proving particularly successful when used against the German V-1 flying bomb attacks on southern Britain from the summer of 1944. The adoption of the Rolls-Royce Griffon engine gave the Spitfire a significant performance boost, but it did not come without a few challenges for Supermarine's designers and pilots transitioning to the aircraft. Fitting the new engine into the existing Spitfire airframe required redesigning both the front and rear of the aircraft and the use of Rotol's distinctive five-bladed propeller. Pilots used to the Merlin-powered versions of the aircraft found that the Griffon turned the propeller in the opposite direction, and while earlier aircraft tended to veer to the left on takeoff, the Griffon-powered machines would turn in the opposite direction if the pilot forgot and applied his usual corrective inputs, their first flight could be particularly short and awkward. As the only type of British fighter to remain in production throughout World War II, the Spitfire was constantly improved to ensure it remained at the forefront of fighter aircraft, with Griffon-engined aircraft achieving speeds of around 80 mph faster than the original Mk.I machines. With the purr of the early Merlin engines replaced by the guttural growl of the mighty Griffon, these later developments appear to be much more powerful versions of the fighter than the classic early Spitfires, although they are largely a development of them. The Griffin-engined Spitfire Mk.XIV had better performance than the purebred Mk.IX and was therefore superior to both the Luftwaffe's Focke Wulf Fw 190 and the later versions of the Messerschmitt Bf 109. Taking part in air support operations and in the months following the D-Day landings, the Mk.XIV saw extensive use by 2nd Tactical Air Force, equipping all 20 Spitfire squadrons operating from the Continent in the months between D-Day and VE-Day. Primarily acting as armed reconnaissance, these formidable fighters searched for targets behind German lines in an attempt to impede both their retreat and their ability to send reinforcements to the current front line. Their speed also made them the ideal aircraft to counter the growing Doodlebug threat that southern Britain faced in the months following Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings. BAE SYSTEMS is a registered trademark of BAE Systems plc. What's inside
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