Tim Hatton takes a look at Eduards re-release of the 1/72 scale ProfiPACK Spitfire HF Mk.VIII


Read the Review

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Hi, Tim!

Thanks Very Much for this great review!

I have a question regarding US 31st Fighter Group Mk.IIIs operating in the Mediterranean Theatre, which may seem a bit "off topic". In several of my books, there are photos of Spitfires with US National Insignia displayed on their Wings and Fuselage sides, purporting to be Mk.VIIIs in the photo captions. These Spitfires display the much "deeper" Lower Engine Cowlings that are normally associated with Mk.VIIIs, but they also display what looks to me like the "normal" Wing Tips of the Spitfire Mk.IXc...

Are the captions simply mislabeled, or are these Spitfires really Mk.VIIIs as the photos suggest, with Mk.IXc-style Wing Tips installed..?

Hoping you can help me out- This has confused me for a while.

VR, Dennis

Hi Dennis. Without seeing the photos I cannot be much help I'm afraid. Also I have to point out I'm no expert on the Spitfire. I did a quick Google search of the aircraft flown by the 31st Operations Group and it reveals they flew the Spitfire Mk.Vb and later the Spitfire Mk.VIII. Its possible what you are looking at are the Mk.VIII's with the standard type 'C' or universal wing. The subject of the review: the Spitfire HF Mk.VIII had the 'C' wing with pointy wing tips. These were only fitted early on the production run but as noted in the review the pointy wing tips were replaced with standard type 'C' wings. Apparently the wing tips were interchangeable to suite the mission or the pilots requirements. Whether this was done in practice in the field is another matter.
Hope this helps.
tim

Hi, Tim!

Thank You, yes! This does help! The "c" Wing- That answers my question quite well...