Trumpeter 02850 British Supermarine Spiteful F Mk.XIV

The Supermarine Spiteful was a British low wing fighter with a metal structure with retractable landing gear. The drive was provided by a single piston engine Rolls-Royce Griffon 85 with a power of 2 375 hp. The prototype flight took place in 1944. In the course of serial production in the period 1945-1947 only about 20 examples of this aircraft were made. The armament was 4 Hispano-Suiza Mk. V cal. 20 mm.

Supermarine Spiteful was created as the last development version of the Spitfire family planes. Its creation was closely related to the production of a new laminar profile wing at Supermarine. Originally, the fuselage of the Spitfire Mk. XIV, but after the tragic accident in 1944, the ideas were abandoned and a completely new plane was developed. Despite the small production batch, as many as three development versions were created. The first - designated the F Mk 14 was the most produced, with the Griffon 85 engine. The second - the F Mk 15 - was powered by a Griffon 89 engine and had two counter-rotating propellers. The Supermarine Seafang plane evolved from this version. In the last version - the F Mk 16 - the Griffon 101 engine was used, which allowed the plane to accelerate up to 795 km / h! Despite the very good performance, Supermarine Spiteful aircraft did not manage to take a wider part in World War II, and due to its ending and introducing jet aircraft into service, their production was significantly limited.