There were versions of both the VIII and IX that carried the 4 cannon armament, though they were relatively rare.
As for the M61/63, I have various performance figures for the Spit, would assume its the Merlin 63, but they're not actually specified, and still can't find those books with the graphs.
Nevermind though, will keep looking, they have to be around somewhere.
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@DaveW,
I've got enough photos to work with at the moment. Enjoy your holiday mate.
AFAIK the B-wing mounted early Hispano cannon using a locally produced ammunition feed. It was found unreliable and a new feeder essentially copied from the original French was used and designated the C-wing. Basically same as B-wing but less frequent cannon jams.
I've always been confused about the Mark IX (Merlin 61 or 63) at any rate. Output ratings at typical combat altitudes (2-5km) aren't any different to the Mark V (Merlin 45). AFAIK the Merlin 61 was just a Merlin 45 with the two-stage unit fitted. I'd think this should improve high altitude performance, but performance without the recompression of intake (under say, 4km) should be roughly identical, particularly in the same, although slightly heavier and bulkier airframe.
The particular concern about the Fw-190A was low altitude performance, which was stated roughly 30mph over contemporary opposition at low altitudes (such as the Mark Vb). The Merlin 61 introduced vastly improved high altitude performance.
The new kid on the block at the time was the DB-605A with its 5.8km altitude rating (compared to circa 4km for the Merlin 45).
If the publications around weren't specifically stating otherwise, I mean if you just examined the facts and drew your own conclusions, it looks to me like the Merlin 60-series was rushed into service to combat the Me-109G H
Hey GBrutus!
Hows the model doing? Any screenshots for us yet?
@vanir,
I believe from the books I read as a youth that the spitfires flown over to France would typically be flying at 12,000'+ (heavy on the plus) so mid to higher altitude performance was definitely desireable.
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Hi Redcanuck,
Progress has been slow as my main hard drive went tits up so I'm using my old pc at the moment and running 3ds max on it is a no go. Hopefully my new drive should arrive in the next couple of days then I can get back to work.