**** DONE: GB-62 1/48 Spitfire Mk.Vb(1) - Spitfires

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Thanks guys. So, going through the books I find that Castle Bromwich had the IFF antennae entering the fuselage via the red centre if the roundel. Just need to find out how they were attached to the stabilizer. Aaaaaaaand, I find out, all CB built Vbs retained windscreens with the external armour. I'll leave this one on until after the painting and then replace.....maybe
 
Sorry Fubar,
I wanted to ask about a particular feature on your model that reproduces two rails on both wings.
I was wondering what they were and if they are present on all the Mk V's.

Thank you Berny
 

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Not a very good pic (below), but this shows the attachment bracket on the tail-plane for the IFF wire (wrongly described as an HF radio antenna wire in the SAM book, from where the pic was sourced).
It was simply a metal tab, with a hole in it, where the wire attached. (somewhere, I have a better, more detailed pic I took myself, but it's hidden somewhere in the 1,000s of images on file !).
However, note that the presence of the lead-in socket on the fuselage was not necessarily evidence of the presence of the "cheese cutter" wires, as the socket was still present on MkIX, Mk.XII and some early Mk.XIV airframes, even though these normally had the IFF Mk.III dipole antenna beneath the starboard wing.
Also, I'm not sure that all CBAF Mk.Vs had the external windscreen armour. Certainly early production CBAF airframes had this, but I think that later production CBAF MkVs had the internal armour and "blown" canopy fitted, as in the Supermarine production, and these were also known to be retro-fitted either in the field or at MUs.
Don't forget that the Mk.V also retained the undercarriage indicator pegs, protruding through the upper wing surface when the gear was down and locked.


 
Geo, the attachment points of the IFF wires go to the tips of the horizontal stabs and are almost flush with the leading edge. Here's a grainy pic of the attachment point:



I'd suggest that at 1/48, just glue the thread to the leading edge where the elevator starts. The entry point at the fuselage can be seen below relative to the radio hatch:



AW, dang, crossed posts with Terry. At least we have consistent info!
 
Berny5664 said:
Sorry Fubar,
I wanted to ask about a particular feature on your model that reproduces two rails on both wings.
I was wondering what they were and if they are present on all the Mk V's.

Thank you Berny
Click to expand...

fubar57 said:
Wheel well reinforcement strips which were later added to the inside of the wheel well. Not sure when the change was made
Click to expand...


IIRC the stiffeners appeared in October/November 1941. As I have mentioned it in the another thread ( see the quotation above ) the strengthening strakes were attached to these Spits that showed the damages to the metal skin there. Therefore these were retrofitted to the early models as well. Regarding the Spitfire Mk.V there were three mods regarding the reinforcing of the wheel-well top skin, the Mod 455, 529 and 532. None of them stated what kind of the exact modification it was. Anyway the Mod 455 was incorporated 10 October 1941.
 
Thank you Wurger.
It's true you had already written it, but I didn't realize that they were the ones.
Now I'm going to remember it.
Thank you
 
Crimea_River said:
Just to belabour the point, the sketch posted by Wojtek in the GB62 intro thread shows the IFF antenna wires. Not 100% proof but indicates they were probably present:

View attachment 783516
Click to expand...

OK. I went through the footage titled "64 Squadron At RAF Station Hornchurch 1942" of the IMW collection . There are seen the squadron Spitfires Mk.Vb. Their codes are SH-D, Z, X, F, G, N, B and also the SH-V and a few more but from distance. To sum up my observations ...

1. Almost all Spits had the bulged cockpit hood type with the oval small window covered with the thin glass on the port side (the exception SH-Z, no small window). The bullet-proof front glass was of the external type for all.
2. the wheel hubs were the full rim version.
3. the prop was the Rotol mostly with the longer pointy spinner but at least two of the Spits there had the De Havilland one with the smaller and not that pointy one.
4. the exhaust pipes were the fishtail mostly, except those with the De Havilland prop that had the "kidny" type ones. The exception is the SN-Z having the fishtail pipes and the De Havilland prop + the smaller spinner.
5. the top antenna was the VHF one contained within the mast itself. No "pennant" on the mast but just two small "teeth" at the back edge. There is no mount of the antenna wire on the fin tip.
6. The IFF antennae ... although the insulators on the fuselages can be found, there was no wire going to the horizontal stabilisers noticable. Also no traces of the mounts there.

the general view ...


the props, spinners, exhaust pipes , antanna mast , SH-D, SH-Z, SH-B




IFF antennae


the sourde of the screenshots: 64 SQUADRON AT RAF STATION HORNCHURCH [Allocated Title]
 
Beauty. Everything in the kit but the mast will need slight modification. The aircraft was damaged during the Operation Jubilee. Damage included the area in front of the fin so I'm thinking a more modern fin flash was installed and possibly the fuselage roundels as well
 


I'm wonder if it is not the one you are talking about.


the pic source: John Worthington Harder - RAF Museum
 
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