26.10.2009, 14:50
RichardH Wrote:Deac Wrote:From what I've read, the latest Mark Spit to see combat was the XVI...
The last Spitfire mark to see service in the ETO was the F 21 - the so-called Super-Spitfire developed from 1943. It was Griffon powered (initially with 61 series engines) and had a completely re-engineered structure - most importantly, a much stronger and larger wing with squared-off tips. It only shared the cockpit bays with previous marks, everything else was redesigned. It had larger ailerons, thicker skinning and a wide-track undercarriage with 5 blade prop (or six blade contra-prop).
It was first issued to 91 Sqn in Jan 1945 and from April was used to shoot-up V2 launch sites in Holland. On 26th April two F 21s sank a German midget submarine as it left the Hook of Holland.
By the end of the war eight F 21s were fitted with Griffon 85s and six blade contra-props. The contra-props were used more widely on Seafire Mk.47s after the war.
The F 21 was what the earlier Mk XIV aspired to be. Though it was more capable than the Mk XIV, the F 21 was a late entrant to the war and not built in great numbers. To that extent it was similar to Germany's Ta 152 H and C.