The last production Spitfires were the Mk. 21, 22, and 24. The Equivalent Navy models were the Seafire F Mk. 45, 46, and 47. The Seafire Mks. 46 and 47 came with a contra-rotating propeller to negate the tendency to swing on takeoff. None of these Spitfire and Seafire models were produced in large numbers. All came with a teardrop canopy, and for the first time the wing was redesigned. The new wing was similar in plan, but was stronger, carried more fuel, housed a longer landing gear (which allowed a larger diameter propeller), and carried four 20mm cannon. The Seafire Mks. 46 and 47 had improved folding wings, while the Mk. 45 had fixed wings. The Seafire 47 served in the Korean War. With these models the Spitfire had reached the end of its long career. WW2 was over and the jet age had begun. A total of about 22,800 Spitfires and Seafires of all types had been produced.
The Seafire had seen more than eight years of first-line service and the number of combat sorties that it flew in that time must surely have approached five figures. No. 800 Squadron had the honor of carrying out the last combat sorties of the Spitfire/Seafire family when in June 1950, the Korean War started. During the Korean Conflict the Seafire carried out 245 air patrols and 115 strike missions against land and sea targets without any losses due to enemy fire. When the Korean war broke out,HMS Triumph was in Far East waters with No 800 Squadron with its Seafire F.47s on board . Their first operation was a strike by 12 Seafires and 9 Fireflies on Haeju airfield on 3 July 1950. Because of their short range, the Seafires were frequently given the Combat Air Patrol task over the fleet. During the Inchon landings in September, Seafires flew armed reconnaissance missions and spotted for the bombarding cruisers. But, by the end of the month, No 800 Squadron had only three serviceable aircraft and no replacements were available in the Far East. The inevitable crop of landing accidents and cumulative airframe stress damage meant the end of the Seafire's operational life. HMS Triumph was replaced by HMS Theseus with its Sea Furies and Fireflies.
The final version Mk.47 was powered by a 2,375hp Rolls Royce Griffon 85 engine giving it a maximum speed of 723km/h (452mph) at 6,242m (20,500ft). It was armed with four Hispano 20mm cannons and up to eight 27kg rockets or 675kg bombs mounted beneath the fuselage and wings. This final Seafire variant had a distinctive look, and impressive performance: it had faster climb and dive rates than the Sea Vampire jet
Nobody would pretend that the Seafire had been the ideal carrier fighter. It was an airplane, which seemed tailor-made for the pilot and few other aircraft that would have permitted the liberty of the crab-type approach that many pilots used for deck landings. It was a lousy ditcher and a number of fatal accidents resulting from its emulation of the diving characteristics of a submarine, but it had been designed for fighting not ditching.
A good aircraft, too late. The 2200HP of Griffon 87 drove a contra-rotating propeller, which virtually eliminated the torque reaction from the power available. It had the huge Spiteful tail section, and a folding wing. Unfortunately it was overtaken by technology (mostly the jet) and only 90 were built.
Effects
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-On startup there is automatic engine smoke.
-Then follow the exhaust flames with smoke.
-Wing vortex effect appears by default at 2.5g or quick roll rate.
-Continuous blue flames with smoke if engine is running .
-Wing cannon with flash, smoke and falling cartridges can be triggered with the standard Strobe key (O).
It is much nicer however if you put the standard Strobe key (O) to the trigger from your joystick.You can change this in the Key menu.
It is a good idea if you replace the standard (L) key for lights by the L+CTRL, (normaly activating the landing lights only). This avoids you having to have all lights on when pulling the trigger.
Installation:
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-Unzip " Seafire 47" into a temporary file and move the "Seafire 47" folder into the main Aircraft directory.
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-Read instructions carefully when installing the spitfire_mki.gau , say YES...when asked if the gauges sources should be trusted. If you say no....most of the gauges are not going to work !
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-Put the complete Propfighters map (without removing anything in it !!!) into your Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator X\gauges folder. Let it overwrite any previous install you may have, there are only some new gauges added.
-Put the spitfire_mki.gau into your Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator X\gauges folder.
-Copy the effects into the Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator X\effects folder.
-Add the 20can.wav in your Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator X\sound folder.
Flying the model
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The model has been tested in FSX demo only. It should perform perfectly with the FSX full version. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
This plane is a fair, non critical but very powerful flying machine.
-Shift+H(or+G) lowers the landing hook.
-Shift+W folds wings
-'O' Trigers cannon.
TAKE-OFF : With the contraprops you'll not have much torque on takeoff.
1.Parking brake on, start engine, 1/4 flaps
2.Disengage parking brake
3.Hold slight rudder- brake to keep the aircraft straight
4.Take off at about 110 Knots, wheels and flaps up at 130 Knots.
5.To fire guns activate O-key or trigger.
6.Approach at 25% flaps, wheels down at 120 Knots.
7.Touchdown at 95-100 Knots.
CREDITS
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Special thanks to :
-W.Dickens, who created the original model.
-Mike Hambly for his sound file.
-Saverrio Maurri for the FS9 autopilot.
LEGAL:
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This project is released as freeware. You may modify it and repaint it. You may upload this file to another website as long as it is not for profit. You need the written permission of the original authors to use any of these files for commercial purposes, otherwise a simple credit would be nice. This file should not cause any problems with your computer, but I accept no responsibility if you think it does.
Happy Landings!! Ground or Carrier!!
A.F.Scrub
January 2007
Email: af_scrubbypc@hotmail.com
