Here are some images of PCM's 1/32 scale Supermarine Spitfire MK. XVI e.
This aircraft served with the South African Air Force 1948.
From Wikipedia"
The Mk XVI was the same as the Mk IX in nearly all respects except
for the engine, a Merlin 266. The Merlin 266 was the Merlin 66 and was
built under licence in the USA by the Packard Motor Company.
The "2" was added as a prefix in order to avoid confusion with the
engines, as they required different tooling. All Mk XVI aircraft
produced were of the Low-Altitude Fighter (LF) variety. This was not
determined by the length of the wings (clipped wings were fitted to most
LF Spitifres), but by the engine, which had been optimised for
low-altitude operation. All production Mk XVIs had clipped wings for low
altitude work and were fitted with the rear fuselage fuel tanks with a
combined capacity of 75 gal.
Many XVIs featured cut-down rear fuselages with "bubble" canopies. On
these aircraft the rear fuselage tank capacity was limited to 66 gal.
Because of a slightly taller intercooler and rearranged accessories
on the Packard Merlins a new, bulged upper cowling was introduced and
also appeared on late production IXs.
Armament for most Mk XVIs consisted of 2 × 20 mm Hispano II cannon -
each with 120 rpg - and 2 × .50 calibre Browning machine guns - each
with 250 rpg. 1 × 500 lb (227 kg) bomb could be carried underneath the
centre rack, and 1 × 250 lb (114 kg) bomb could be slung under each
wing. Some production aircraft had rear fuselage fuel tanks in addition
to the main tank which allowed it to fly approximately as far as the
Spitfire Mk VIII. Problems with the licence-built engines limited
introduction to front-line squadrons for several months. A total of
1,054 Mk XVIs were built by Castle Bromwich.
1 comment:
Hello,
I stumbled onto your site while searching for info on the wheel wells of the Spitfire Mk XVIe. I must say, I really like the looks of your SAAF Mk XVIe, but would have really liked a bit more info on the use of the airplane in the SAAF. Nice build though and thanks for posting.
Brad
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