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I am reluctant to apply the word "cropped" to something that rotates at 28,000rpm.
The low altitude Seafires featured engines with reduced superchargers.
Engine power went to the propeller, not the supercharger.
The low altitude engines were also installed in some old, beat up, Spitfire_Vs after D-Day. The aircraft were not popular with the pilots. In France, you really wanted a Spitfire_IX or XIV.
Your comparing a MkV Trop fitted with a Merlin 46 running 9 psi boost, at the time of this test both the Merlin 45 and 46 were cleared for 16 psi, that Spitfire did 330mph when regular MkV hit 375mph to give you an idea of it's performance loss.Test between Zero and Spitfire Mark V tropical
The son of the pilot of the Spitfire is on this forum and stated his dad bent the tail of the Spitfire 15 degrees during the test against the Zero. He first stated it was 9 degrees but he misread his dads writing, I believe in his flight log.
I don't think they went nuts with LF and HF Spitfires in '41-'42. Spitfire_Vs with Merlin_55Ms were flown over France after D-Day in '44. These were known as "clipped, clapped, cropped Spitties". There were much better Spitfires out there.The Spitfire LF.Vs hastily introduced in 1941/1942 to combat Fw 190s at low altitude?
As I understand it the "clapped" refers to them being used machines that were modified. Clipped and cropped refers to them being optimised for a specific purpose, that is low altitude speed/climb and a higher rate of roll. Other Spitfires were modified with extended wing tips pressurised cockpits etc for high altitude performance but were awful to fly at lower levels and didnt like to land, preferring to float along the runway, technology is sometimes a compromise and at other times a pursuit of a single goal.I don't think they went nuts with LF and HF Spitfires in '41-'42. Spitfire_Vs with Merlin_55Ms were flown over France after D-Day in '44. These were known as "clipped, clapped, cropped Spitties". There were much better Spitfires out there.
Just because better technology has been introduced, it doesn't mean that everybody gets to fly it.
I don't think they went nuts with LF and HF Spitfires in '41-'42. Spitfire_Vs with Merlin_55Ms were flown over France after D-Day in '44. These were known as "clipped, clapped, cropped Spitties". There were much better Spitfires out there.
Just because better technology has been introduced, it doesn't mean that everybody gets to fly it.
Why not optimise the second line machines for the use you intent to put them to? D-Day was an amphibious landing, everything of importance was at ground level, by mid 1944 Spitfire Mk Vs were not going to be tasked with providing "top cover".They may well have still been flying them over the D-Day beaches, as a significant proportion of Spitfires in service in 1944 were still Vs. But they were relegated to ground attack or secondary roles.
303 Squadron were certainly the highest CLAIMERS. However modern research comparing actuals to claims places 603 Squadron as top scorers, with 303 in 4th place.
Not at all, aircraft are like any other fighting machine, there is a balance between performance firepower and protection, the Zero doesn't have that balance.
Have fun flying either way across the channel doing 200mph at 13,000ft with 850 litres in unprotected tanks in 1940-41.
The later A6M3s got trim tabs for the ailerons as did all the Zeros afterwards.The link below is a link to an evaluation of the A6M5 Model 52. It notes the controls are very good up to over 300 mph.
I remember reading (Air Classics methinks) a B-17 was used in Viet Nam for special missions. This was because the B-17 didn't look American.