Supermarine Spitfire 1/72 Scale Models

British Mk.I - This is a model of a fighter that participated in the 1940 Battle of Britain. The Spitfire entered service in the summer of 1938. Like most Hawker Hurricane Mk.Is, most Spitfire Mk.Is were powered by the Rolls Royce Merlin III engine. But the Spitfire's superior aerodynamic design, especially its elliptical wing, gave it better performance, providing the RAF with a fighter that could engage the German Messerschmitt Bf 109E on equal terms. Spitfires gained fame during the Battle of Britain, although Hawker Hurricanes were more numerous at the time and downed more German planes. Almost 1,600 Mk.Is were produced before production shifted to the Mk.II, with its more powerful Merlin XII, in the fall of 1940. About 900 Mk.IIs were produced, and Spitfires were finally numerous enough by the beginning of 1941 to replace the Hawker Hurricane as the RAF's primary fighter.

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American Mk.Vb - This is a model of a fighter that flew against the Vichy French in Algeria during Operation TORCH in November 1942. The U.S Army Air Force obtained Spitfires from the British during the summer of 1942 in a reverse Lend-Lease arrangement. They were originally flown from Britain against the Luftwaffe in Western Europe, but American Spitfire units later saw extensive action in North Africa, and then Italy, against the Germans and Italians. In fact, the American air force units in the Mediterranean theater originally equipped with Spitfires did not switch over to the American-built P-51 Mustang until 1944. The Mk.V Spitfire, with its more powerful Merln 45 engine, entered service in February, 1941, just in time to deal with Germany's new fighter, the F variant of the Messerschmitt Bf 109. About 6,500 Mk.Vs were produced, more than any other variant, and they were provided to many allied air forces, and saw action in all theaters of WWII. The Mk.V held its own in Western Europe until the advent of the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190A fighter in late 1941.

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Soviet Mk.Vb - This is a model of a fighter that flew against the Germans on the Eastern Front in 1943. As part of Churchill's Lend-Lease program, the British began sending the Soviets Hawker Hurricane, Curtiss P-40, and Bell P-39 fighters in late 1941. The Soviets had requested Spitfires too, but their requests were initially denied. The RAF, in fact, was reluctant to allow any Spitfires to leave Britain until 1942. The Spitfire Mk.V was the first variant to be sent overseas, the first ones going to Malta in March, 1942, and then North Africa that May, although significant numbers of Spitfires weren't available in North Africa until late 1942. It wasn't until 1943 that Spitfires were sent to the Pacific theater, arriving in Australia in February. The Soviets finally received their first Spitfires in January, 1943, and had obtained about 1,300 by the end of the war.

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British Mk.IX - This is a model of a fighter that fought the Germans over Western Europe in 1944. The Mk.IX variant was designed specifically to deal with the German Focke-Wulf 190A. It featured even more powerful versions of the Merlin engine, but the only major external difference was that the number of exhaust pipes on each side of its cowling was increased from three to six. The Mk.IX entered service in the summer of 1942 and was so successful that its production was second only to that of the Mk.V version, with about 5,700 being built. The Mk.IX was considered by many to be the best Spitfire variant ever made, although development of the Spitfire continued and about 20,350 were built by the time production ended in 1947.

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British Seafire Mk.IIC - This is a model of a carrier fighter that participated in Operation TORCH, the Allied invasion of Vichy French North Africa in November, 1942. During this operation, the British painted their planes with American insignia in the hope that the French would be less likely to fire upon them. Seafires were navalized Spitfires, fitted with tail hooks to operate from aircraft carriers. There were many versions of the Seafire, but the Mk.III, introduced in late 1943, was the first version built with folding wings to facilitate onboard handling. By 1943 Seafires were the Royal Navy's primary British-built carrier fighter, replacing the Fairey Fulmar, but the Fleet Air Arm also used American-built Grumman Wildcat, Hellcat, and Vought Corsair carrier fighters. Like the Spitfire, production of the Seafire continued after the war, with about 2,400 built by the time the plane's production ended in 1949.

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