Jabberwocky
Staff Sergeant
syscom3 said:Which Spit had the fastest climb rate to 33,000 ft?
I have no figures for 33,000 feet, but lots for 30,000:
British testing shows that the HF Mk IX (Merlin 70) could get to 30,000 feet in just 7.8 minutes. A HF VII (Merlin 71, only 14 made serving with just 1 squadron) might actually be very slightly faster than that, as its best throttle height is about 2,000 feet higher.
Mk XIV could get to 30,000 feet in 8.3 minutes
A Mk VIII (Merlin 66) could get to 30,000 feet in 8.6 minutes
A standard LF Mk IX (Merlin 66) could get to 30,000 feet in 8.4 minutes
A early Mk IX (Merlin 61) could get to 30,000 feet in 9.2 minutes
A +25 lbs capable Mk VIII/IX would be faster than any of these, having a boost of some 100-800 fpm over the +18 lbs Mk IX, depending on altitude and boost power. I just don't have any hard and fast figures handy. The boost (and climb rate) climb rate advantage gets less and less with altitude, petering out at about 18,000 feet. Still, it should get to 20,000 feet in under 4 and a half minutes , and climb the same as a standard IX above 18,000.
See this report http://www.spitfireperformance.com/jl165rr.html for more details