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Britain's Supermarine Spitfire Mk V fighter^1,2,3,4

Design

The Spitfire Mk V was a design combining the Mk I and Mk II airframe with the Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 engine.⁴

Improvements During Production

The ailerons changed from being fabric covered to metal covered.⁴ The Merlin 50 and Merlin 55 engine had negative 'g' carburetors to help eliminate stalls in tight turns and maneuvers.⁴ The armor was also increased.⁴

Drop tanks were developed for the Spitfire Mk V.⁴

Tropical Version

A tropical version of the Spitfire Mk V had a large Vokes filter under the nose.⁴

Prototype

The Spitfire Mk V prototype first flew in December 1940.⁴

Production

Deliveries of the Spitfire Mk V began in February 1941.⁴ Production continued until 1943.⁴

Variants

Spitfire Mk V:
Spitfire Mk VA:
Spitfire Mk VB:
Spitfire Mk VC:
Spitfire LF.VA: Starting in 1943 converted from Mk Vs.⁴ Optimized for low altitude work.⁴ Used Rolls-Royce Merlin 45M engine.⁴
Spitfire LF.VB: Starting in 1943 converted from Mk Vs.⁴ Optimized for low altitude work.⁴ Used Rolls-Royce Merlin 50M engine.⁴
Spitfire LF.VC: Starting in 1943 converted from Mk Vs.⁴ Optimized for low altitude work.⁴ Used Rolls-Royce Merlin 55M engine.⁴

Usage

Australia (246), Britain, Canada, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Soviet Union (143), Turkey, and the United States (100+) used the Spitfire Mk V.⁴

	Supermarine Spitfire Mk V⁴ Supermarine Spitfire F.V⁴	Supermarine Spitfire Mk VA¹ Supermarine Spitfire F.VA⁴	Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB^2,3 Supermarine Spitfire F.VB⁴	Supermarine Spitfire F.VC⁴	Supermarine Spitfire LF.V⁴
Type	Fighter bomber⁴	Fighter¹ Fighter bomber⁴ Interceptor¹	Fighter^2,3 Fighter bomber⁴	Fighter bomber⁴	Fighter bomber⁴
Crew	1⁴	1^1,4	1^2,3,4	1⁴	1⁴
Engine (Type)		Rolls-Royce Merlin 45⁴ Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 Vee piston¹	Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 piston^2,3,4	Rolls-Royce Merlin 45⁴	Rolls-Royce Merlin 45M⁴
OR		Rolls-Royce Merlin 50⁴	Rolls-Royce Merlin 50^2,3,4	Rolls-Royce Merlin 50⁴	Rolls-Royce Merlin 50M⁴
OR		Rolls-Royce Merlin 55⁴	Rolls-Royce Merlin 55⁴	Rolls-Royce Merlin 55⁴	Rolls-Royce Merlin 55M⁴
OR		Rolls-Royce Merlin 56⁴	Rolls-Royce Merlin 56⁴	Rolls-Royce Merlin 56⁴
Cylinders		V 12⁴	Inline² V 12^3,4	V 12⁴
Cooling
HP		1,440¹, 1,470⁴	1,440^2,3, 1,470⁴	1,470⁴
Propeller blades		3⁴	3⁴	3⁴	3⁴
Dimensions
Span	36' 10"⁴ 11.23 m⁴	36' 10"^1,4 11.23 m^1,4	36' 10"^2,3,4 11.23 m^2,3,4	36' 10"⁴ 11.23 m⁴	36' 10"⁴ 11.23 m⁴
Length	29' 11"⁴ 9.12 m⁴	29' 11"^1,4 9.12 m^1,4	29' 11"^2,3,4 9.11 m^2,3, 9.12 m⁴	29' 11"⁴ 9.12 m⁴	29' 11"⁴ 9.12 m⁴
Height	11' 5"⁴ 3.48 m⁴	11' 5"^1,4 3.02 m¹, 3.48 m⁴	11' 5"^2,3,4 3.48 m^2,3,4	11' 5"⁴ 3.48 m⁴	11' 5"⁴ 3.48 m⁴
Wing area		242 ft² ¹ 22.48 m² ¹	242 ft² ^2,3 22.48 m² ^2,3
Weight
Empty		5,000 lb¹ 2,267 kg¹	5,100 lb^2,3 2,313 kg^2,3	5,100 lb⁴ 2,313 kg⁴
Loaded		6,400 lb¹ 2,911 kg¹	6,785 lb^2,3 3,078 kg^2,3	6,785 lb⁴ 3,078 kg⁴
Performance
Speed @ 6,000' / 1,829 m					357 mph⁴ 574 kph⁴
Speed @ 13,000' / 3,960 m			374 mph^2,3 602 kph^2,3
Speed @ 13,000' / 3,962 m	374 mph⁴ 602 kph⁴
Speed @ 13,000' / 5,945 m		374 mph¹ 594 kph¹
Climb	3,250'/minute⁴ 990 m/minute⁴				4,720'/minute⁴ 1,438 m/minute⁴
Climb to 20,000' / 6,095 m			7.5 minutes^2,3
Climb to 20,000' / 6,096 m	7.5 minutes⁴
Service ceiling	37,000⁴ 11,277 m⁴	37,000'¹ 11,125 m¹	37,000'^2,3 11,280 m^2,3		36,500'⁴ 11,125 m⁴
Range	470 miles⁴ 756 km⁴	1,135 miles¹ 1,827 km¹	470 miles^2,3 756 km^2,3
Range with drop tanks					990 miles⁴ 1,593 km⁴
Armament
Wings		8: 0.303" MG⁴ 8: 7.7 mm Browning MG¹ 350 rounds each¹	2: 20 mm^2,3,4 4: 0.303" MG⁴ 4: 7.7 mm MG^2,3	8: 0.303" MG⁴
OR				2: 20 mm⁴ 4: 0.303" MG⁴
OR				4: 20 mm⁴
Bombs				1: 500 lb⁴ 1: 227 kg⁴
OR				2: 250 lb⁴ 2: 113 kg⁴

Sources:

Aircraft of WWII, General Editor: Jim Winchester, 2004
Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Editor: Karen Leverington, 1995
The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, General Editor Chris Bishop, 1998
Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998