Tamiya 61035 - 1/48 Spitfire Mk.Vb Trop.  [61035]

In regards to the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb Trop.

The Supermarine Spitfire is considered by numerous as the utmost beautifully designed solitary chair fighter appearing during WWII. The Spitfire had many major and small changes throughout its long production life. Early improvements led to the Mk.V group of Spitfires which became the most widely produced versions of most Mk's. The primary improvements ended up being the furnishing of three wing armament configurations, and also the use of the stronger Merlin kind 45 motor. Many numerous Mk.V was the "b" winged version which had a mixed armament of two 7.7mm machine guns and on 20mm cannon in each wing.
The Spitfire that demonstrated such superb performance over its homeland, was also urgently required for operations overseas. Among the better known versions was the North African prepared Spitfire designated "TROP", for Tropical. The largest problem in desert operations had been the intake of abrasive sands into the motor, which quickly wore away moving components. To overcome this difficulty a Vokes air conditioner filter ended up being affixed throughout the carburetor intake.

Even though filter was effective, its large mass reduced the aircraft's speed. The issue ended up being resolved by the neighborhood maintenance unit stationed at Aboukir, who designated an inferior more streamlined device which was equally effective. The clipped wing versions, which had better low altitude maneuverability, were commonly seen in North Africa.