what was the best spitfire - can of worms opener

[JollyJack]

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/the-spitfire-mk-xiv-and-not-the-p-51d-was-the-best-piston-engined-fighter-of-wwii-in-europe-even-according-to-adolf-galland-heres-why/

more worms: https://www.stephenjbedard.com/spitfire-vs-hurricane-britains-twin-pillars-of-fighter-defense-in-wwii/

Edited August 7 by JollyJack

[Avimimus]

Spitfire I/II (and Hurricane I) are the best Spitfires... because the best weapon is the one you have, and the most sensitive point in the war was the beginning when it was absolutely essential that England stay in the war rather than seeking a ceasefire - and the RAF was an important part of that. The success of all of the subsequent spitfire variants depends upon that.

If one wanted the technical pinnacle of Spitfire evolution, then the Fr.47 Spitfire of Korea would be a good candidate. It resolved some of the issues of the XIV (e.g. with respect to pitch control), and introduced extremely high performance with its contra-rotating propellers.

P.S. As for me, I've got a bit of a soft spot for the midwar V and IX variants... but they don't really meet either of the above criteria.

[Gutholz]

Do P51s and Spitfires not fill too different roles to compare them? Spitfire is the more agile turnfighter. P51 has almost double the range, making it better for escorts escort but it is also 1/3 heavier.

[Panzerkatze]

If you ask from Luftwaffe pilots, the best Spitfire was the one which was shot down.

[Lusekofte]

15 hours ago, Gutholz said:

Do P51s and Spitfires not fill too different roles to compare them? Spitfire is the more agile turnfighter. P51 has almost double the range, making it better for escorts escort but it is also 1/3 heavier.

You are right. Albeit griffon engined Spitfires outclimed a P 51 massively and outperformed all other competitors in manoeuvres and was on par with the rest. It just did not have the range. 
except from the recce version. 

[JollyJack]

Due this movie,

I got interested in early spitfires and understood around 1940 the Mk2 was most used, but it seems it is not in IL2?

PS there are some weird He111 planes in this film, probably animated with a simple Airfix model?

Edited August 8 by JollyJack

[kraut1]

21 hours ago, JollyJack said:

I got interested in early spitfires and understood around 1940 the Mk2 was most used, but it seems it is not in IL2?

 

Yes, in IL-2 Great Battles no early MK1 and MK2.

But thanks to the invisible cannon skin by Off_Winters it is possible to simulate one.

In the https://forum.il2-series.com/topic/37-1940-battle-of-britain-mod-early-v03/

Mod this skin is included as the default SpitVb skin and I have modified the armament a bit to simulate the 8 x MG armament.

 

[Ramstein]

A Spitfire I serviced and worked with at an airshow at a base I was stationed at in Germany.

[Panzerkatze]

^ Beautiful piece of aviation history.