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This page is about the British fighter Spitfire Mk IIb. For other versions, see Spitfire (Family).

Spitfire Mk IIb
Spitfire Mk IIa Spitfire Mk Vb/trop

Britain II Rank

Battle rating:
AB RB SB
3.7 3.7 3.0

Fighter

Research: Purchase:
11 000 38 000
Show in game

Description
The Spitfire Mk IIb is a rank II British fighter with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB) and 3.0 (SB). It has been in the game
since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.
Contents
The Spitfire Mk IIb is an excellent turn-fighter and has excellent climb and speed characteristics - forming a middle 1 Description
ground between the sheer speed of the German fighters and American fighters and the nimble agility of the Japanese 2 General info
machines. These aircraft, however, have little in the way of armour protection - any hits will most likely damage 2.1 Flight performance
something, and in addition, you will be helpless if you try to head-on something. Turn-fighting is the most efficient way of 2.1.1 Details
using this nimble, fast fighter, and it should be used in this way most of the time. A suggested loadout is to equip Tracers 2.2 Survivability and armour
on the 7.7 mm machine guns, and Stealth Belts on the 20 mm cannons - this allows maximal amounts of damaging rounds 2.3 Modifications and economy
- namely the Armour-Piercing Incendiary (AP-I), High-Explosive Fragmentation Semi-Armour-Piercing Incendiary 3 Armaments
(HEF-SAPI) and High-explosive Fragmentation Incendiary (HEF-I) rounds. The technique to use this loadout will be 3.1 Offensive armament
described in the "Usage in battles" section. 4 Usage in battles
4.1 Manual Engine Control
Note, however, that with the two 20 mm cannons, the Spitfire Mk IIb can also be used as a reasonable Boom & Zoom
4.2 Pros and cons
fighter with fewer results. It is recommended to maximise the use of AP-I ammo for the Spitfire Mk IIb's 7.7 mm machine
5 History
guns and the HEF-I ammo for the 20 mm cannons for air damage. It is also advisable to make sure that you conserve your
5.1 In-game description
ammo and only fire when you have a clear target, as you'll find you'll run out of ammo very quickly. Sixty rounds of 20
mm is not a very large ammunition pool and will run out faster than the machine guns in most cases. 6 Media
7 See also
8 External links
General info
Flight performance

Max speed
at 4 572 m 571 km/h

Turn time 15 s

Max altitude 10 000 m

Engine Rolls-Royce Merlin-XII

Type Inline
Cooling system Water

Take-off weight 3t

As mentioned constantly, the Spitfire Mk IIb has excellent turn-fighting, climbing, and speed characteristics for a fighter. With the Merlin engine, the Spitfire Mk IIb can
utilise the power to gain speed and altitude for an energy advantage over its opponents, as well as having the manoeuvrability to perform aerobatic manoeuvres to get out
of a sticky situation.

Max Speed Turn time Rate of climb

(km/h at 4,572 m) Max altitude (seconds) (metres/second) Take-off run
Characteristics
(metres) (metres)
AB RB AB RB AB RB

Stock 550 534 15.9 16.5 16.0 16.0

10000 300
Upgraded 597 571 14.4 15.1 23.9 19.4

Details

Features

Combat flaps Take-off flaps Landing flaps Air brakes Arrestor gear

X X ✓ X X

Limits

Flaps (km/h) Max Static G

Wings (km/h) Gear (km/h)
Combat Take-off Landing + -

760 270 N/A N/A 230 ~10 ~6

Optimal velocities (km/h)

Ailerons Rudder Elevators Radiator

< 321 < 400 < 350 > 500

 Compressor (RB/SB)

Setting 1

Optimal altitude 100% Engine power WEP Engine power

4,490 m 1,140 hp 1,311 hp

Survivability and armour

Crew 1 person

Speed of destruction
Structural 760 km/h
Gear 270 km/h

38 mm Bulletproof glass in cockpit front.

4 mm Steel plate in pilot's seat
6-7 mm Steel plate behind the pilot.
Critical components located at the front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
More fuel tanks located in wings near the fuselage
Cooling systems heat up ridiculously fast

Modifications and economy

Repair cost Basic → Reference

AB 1 000 → 1 266
RB 3 000 → 3 798
SB 2 930 → 3 709

Total cost of modifications 10 320

23 700

Talisman cost 750

Crew training 11 000

Experts 38 000
Aces 250
Research Aces 220 000

Reward for battle AB / RB / SB

40 / 110 / 210 %
124 / 124 / 124 %

Modifications

Your priorities should be the weaponry upgrades and engine upgrades. It is suggested to research the gun upgrades first, and use engine upgrades to unlock tiers. New 7
mm MGs are not really needed since the Brownings are relatively reliable. Airframe upgrades can take priority over the 7 mm MGs. However, to really make this bird
sing, you need to have the radiator upgrade and all 20 mm cannon upgrades.

Armaments
Offensive armament

Weapon 1 2 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.I cannon

Ammunition 120 rounds
Fire rate 600 shots/min

Weapon 2 4 x 7.7 mm Browning machine gun

Ammunition 1 400 rounds
Fire rate 1 000 shots/min
The Spitfire Mk IIb is armed with:

2 x 20 mm Hispano Mk.I cannons, wing-mounted (60 rpg = 120 total)

4 x 7.7 mm Browning .303 machine guns, wing-mounted (350 rpg = 1,400 total)

In continuous firing, assuming that no jams happen at all, the Hispano's ammo will dry up quicker than the 7.7 mm Brownings. However, jams do happen and the Hispanos
will jam quicker than the Brownings.

Usage in battles
The Spitfire is a high-performance thoroughbred, which is more than a match for any and all
opposition it faces at its battle rating. However, if you don't know what you're up against and
just try to out-turn everything with flat turns, you'll be able to get kills you need to grind up the
tree, but you will not be able to excel in using the plane. Something important to remember is
the seven P's: Proper Perusal, Planning & Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.

In order to use your plane most effectively, you need to know your own plane almost inside-out
(Perusal). In order to fight, you need to plan your every move well and have a good idea of how
you're going to start your match and at what point you're going to RTB (Planning). You need to
know and be prepared to fight enemies that may have better performance than you in a turn, in
the vertical, in a straight line, or all three, and have tactics to combat them when necessary
(Preparation).

The Spitfire Mk IIb is a very good turn-fighter, being one of the most agile aircraft in the game,
and has good weapons configurations that can be used against enemies. It can reliably out-turn
A Spitfire Mk IIb, perched on a hill.
many of the aircraft in-game, and out-zoom-climb some as well with WEP on. It has an
excellent rate of climb, and due to this and the armament, is a good bomber interceptor. Using
its agility, speed, and rate of climb, it can easily run rings around enemy fighters and dispense
punishing blows as well. However, there are several points to be kept in mind while flying the Spitfire Mk IIb. These are:

1. The relatively low amount of damage that the 7.7 mm Browning machine guns put out
2. The propensity of the 20 mm Hispano to jam after prolonged firing
3. Lack of any armour on the engine and (relatively) small amounts of windscreen glass armour
4. Decreased engine power at altitudes higher than ~3900-4300 metres
5. Proximity of vital systems towards the front of the aircraft, including a forward fuel tank that does not self-seal, and will keep burning until all the fuel
inside has disappeared.
6. Lack of combat flaps
7. Increased efficiency of control surfaces (ailerons, elevators, rudder) at medium speeds (300 km/h-450 km/h) and engine efficiency at low altitudes (below
4,500 m)
8. Inability to hold WEP for long, before the engine begins overheating without MEC
9. The float carburettor, should the plane pull any negative G, the carburettor will be fuel-starved cutting power to the engine
10. Similarity of the muzzle velocity of the 20 mm Hispano and the 7.7 mm Brownings (meaning that they'll have similar trajectories- this seems unimportant,
but the significance will be explained shortly)

This fighter, unlike American and German fighters, is neither a gun platform nor a potent Boom & Zoom fighter. It is well-armed and can Boom & Zoom decently, but if
an aspiring pilot tries to fly it like a P-40, the Spitfire will be shot down very, very quickly. Conversely, if a pilot tries to fly it like a Bf 109, while they might have some
amounts of success, the Spitfire is outperformed as a B&Z fighter by US fighters such as the F4U-1A and German fighters such as the Bf 109. It will not be able to hold its
top speed for very long due to its lacking cooling systems unless the radiator is forced open by manual engine control - which doubles or triples the WEP time when used
properly (forced 100% radiator directly after takeoff). In addition, the aircraft does not have combat flaps, which means you cannot have 'reserve manoeuvrability' to out-
turn a fighter in order to retreat.

Try to find lone opponents to face off against as the Spitfire performs best when facing enemies one at a time. Always keep an eye on the tactical map as your adversaries
(mostly 109s) will travel in "wolf packs" and shoot you down. For fighting at low altitude stay above the opponent you have singled out and dive on them. If you have too
much energy go for a high yo-yo manoeuvre to bleed your energy. 90% of the time you will easily out-manoeuvre anything you face so get on their tail and shoot them
down. For high altitude fighting, try to get the altitude advantage and bait your opponent into a turn fight. Stay away from energy sapping manoeuvres as at high altitude
this will lead to the Mk IIb being left a sitting duck (also stay away from 1v2s and the like).

Abuse the vertical as well as the horizontal in a fight. Use manoeuvres such as yo-yos and chandelles that will bleed the speed of an enemy while allowing you to retain
more speed than your enemy. Your primary opponent - Bf-109s (Primarily E-3s and E-4s, sometimes even F-4s) - perform better in the vertical than you do, so do not try to
out-dive or out-climb them. Should you try to climb against a Bf-109 ending its dive and entering a loop, usually, you will bleed speed and stall out, making you a sitting
duck for anybody who decides to target you. If you can, try to fly downwards instead of heading up. Make a split-S instead of an Immelmann to perform a reversal- roll
inverted (upside down) and then pull hard on the elevator, looping back up to get back into a fight. Use your superior turning abilities in the semi-vertical, making
chandelles instead of pure loops. You can theoretically use flat turns only, but if you get into an uptier, you'll be out-performed by Zeroes (who perform better at lower
speeds) and Fw 190 A-1s (which have excellent energy retention and will still be going fast when you're stalled out in a turn). When fighting these aircraft, it is
recommended that you fight less in terms of strictly up or down, but instead, plan your engagement according to whether you're travelling at a faster speed (You're
outrunning them) or above/below them. When engaging these aircraft, having altitude definitely helps. Spitfires can out-dive A6M2s, and can out-turn Fw-190s. In both
cases, however, if you bleed too much speed, you will be shot down due to becoming easy meat. The A6M2 stalls at a lower speed than you and also turns better at speeds
below 330 km/h (205 mph), while the Fw-190, although unable to turn as fast as you do, will be able to keep its speed for longer.

Of course, to do everything that was described, it is better to have altitude before doing so. For example, you can't make a split-S from the astronomically low altitude of
200 metres (650 ft) and expect not to crash into the ground. While pilots may tell you otherwise, you should not climb to 3000m and stay there for the entire match.
Remember the proverb: Speed is Life. Altitude is Speed in the Bank. Spitfire pilots should use their excellent Merlin engine to climb into the 4000m range in order to be
able to gain energy when necessary to either run away or to fight an enemy.

Experienced players may recommend that you use landing flaps below 250 km/h to get an edge in turn time. Don't do this if you're a new pilot. The Spitfire IIb will slow
down dramatically if you do so and you'll end up losing too much speed. Landing flaps may increase lift, but they also reduce your speed by acting as brakes by increasing
drag. They also rip easily, and unless micromanaged, they will immediately rip off, leading to difficulties in controlling the plane.
Using the armaments:

A possible strategy for the Spitfire Mk IIb's set of armaments is one akin to that used on the Hurricane Mk IV, using the cannons sparingly to conserve ammo and reduce
chances of jamming. Use the cannons when in the aircraft's most effective convergence range and envelope, and use the machine guns to 'sight' the cannons. Fire the
machine guns tracer belts for maximum AP-I and tracer ammo to get an idea of where the cannon rounds will go, and then fire cannons once you know where you should
aim. This technique works well because the Hispano cannons and the 7.7mm guns share similar muzzle velocities to one another.

The video below shows how to use the aiming technique described:

[WAR THUNDER WIKI CONTENT] Spit5re Mk. IIb guns

An example of an attack made using the machine guns to "aim" the cannons.
This attack was done with a Spitfire Mk IIb, but it should be actively used in
any Spitfire with .303s coupled with cannons (Spitfires IIb through LF Mk
IXc)

Go for deflection shots against enemy aircraft. These shots are side-on shots where you "lead" an enemy aircraft in front of you, and get off a burst when you're not directly
behind them, but instead when they're turning. While this may be difficult for newer players, it provides valuable training and is a good learning experience for later tiers.
In addition, should you use this technique, you can easily cause enemy planes' wings to completely fall off if you pull it off right and hit a wing spar. Bf 109s, with their
single wing spars, are especially vulnerable to a well-aimed side-on shot. If your cannon ammo drops to 50 rounds or below that, try and return to base quickly. That way,
if you get bounced on the way back, you can at least have some cannon ammo left to surprise any raider looking to attack you.

Fighting the enemy:

[Expand]
Click Expand to show

Specific enemies worth noting:

[Expand]
Click Expand to show

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements

Radiator
Mixer Pitch Supercharger Turbocharger
Oil Water Type

Controllable Not controllable Controllable Not controllable

Controllable Separate Not controllable
Not auto controlled Not auto controlled Not auto controlled 1 gear

Pros and cons

Pros:

Absolutely amazing turn capabilities, even at low speeds

Superb climb capabilities
Relatively good armament with a 20 mm and 7.7 mm combination arrangement
Very easy aircraft to control
Good acceleration
Short bursts can decimate the enemy, even bombers if aimed correctly

Cons:

7.7 mm machine guns have low damage and stopping power

Cannons have a low ammo count in general - just enough for 6 seconds of firing
Hispano Mk.I 20 mm has a tendency to jam under continuous firing when not upgraded
Hispano cannons may be finicky to use if you are not able to aim them well
Due to aforementioned weapon disadvantages, proper trigger discipline, convergence, and knowing the effective cone of fire is key
Wings overload quickly when turning at high speeds
Most enemy contemporaries at the 2.3-3.3 matchmaking range can out-dive you
 Low dive speed limit
Poor roll rate, especially at high speed
Poor high-altitude performance (compared to lower altitudes)
Engines easily overheat
The only position for flaps is in landing mode

History
In-game description

The Supermarine Spitfire was a British fighter which served with various nations from the late 1930's up into the 1950's. It was a single-engine, all-metal, low-wing
monoplane with retractable landing gear. Various modifications served as fighters, interceptors, high-altitude fighters, fighter-bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. A total
of some 20,300 Spitfires of all types were built during the war, including two-seater trainers.

In the summer of 1939, an early Spitfire Mk I was fitted with the new Rolls Royce Merlin XII engine, which had a higher output of 1175 HP and was fitted with a Coffman
engine starter instead of the previous Merlin's electrical starter system. This, combined with the Rotol variable pitch propeller which had been used on many Spitfire Mk Is
would now form the powerplant of the new Spitfire Mk II, although some production models used the De Havilland propeller. The Mk II was some 6-7 mph faster than the
later Spitfire Mk I, but still slower than the original Spitfires before a series of modifications increased the aircraft's weight. As with the Mk I, the Spitfire Mk II was
produced with either eight machine guns as the Spitfire Mk IIA, or two 20mm cannon and four machine guns as the Mk IIb. The earlier problems with cannon fitted to the
Mk IB had now been solved by introducing a belt feed system to the weapon to replace the earlier drum, turning the cannon on its side and fitting a blister on the wing to
house the new mechanism.

920 Spitfire Mk IIs entered service; 750 Mk IIA and 170 MK IIB, although fighters used in the air-sea rescue role were later designated Mk IIC. The Spitfire II quickly
replaced the Spitfire I, with the older variant being relegated to use in Operational Training Units. By April 1941, RAF Fighter Command had completed re-equipping with
the Mk II, although this too would soon be replaced by the Mk V.

Media
Skins

Skins and camouflages for the Spitfire Mk IIb from live.warthunder.com. (https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=spitfiremkii)

Videos

PIPISTRELLO; Playing on the Tiger / War Thunder. Th…

The Shooting Range #92 - Metal Beasts section at 02:45 discusses the
Spitfire Mk IIb.

See also
Sea Hurricane Mk IC

External links
[Devblog] Spitfire Mk IIb: an old friend
Official data sheet - more details about the performance (https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/287256-supermarine-spitfire-mk-iib/)
[Wikipedia] Supermarine Spitfire (early Merlin-powered variants) - Mk II (Type 329)

Supermarine [Expand]

Britain fighters [Expand]

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 This page was last edited on 8 December 2021, at 13:54.

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