Fujimi 1/72 Spitfire FR.14E

The Rolls-Royce Griffon engine was designed in answer to Royal Naval specifications which required an engine capable of generating good power at low altitudes. The concepts for adapting the Spitfire to take the new engine had begun as far back as October 1939; Joseph Smith felt that "The good big 'un will eventually beat the good little 'un." and Ernest Hives of Rolls-Royce thought that the Griffon would be "a second power string for the Spitfire." The first of the Griffon-engined Spitfires flew on 27 November 1941.

Although the Griffon-engined Spitfires were never produced in the large numbers of the Merlin-engined variants they were an important part of the Spitfire family and, in their later versions, kept the Spitfire at the forefront of piston-engined fighter development.

The first Griffon-powered Spitfires suffered from poor high altitude performance due to having only a single stage supercharged engine. By 1943, Rolls-Royce engineers had developed a new Griffon engine, the 61 series, with a two-stage supercharger. In the end it was a slightly modified engine, the 65 series, which was used in the Mk XIV. The resulting aircraft provided a substantial performance increase over the Mk IX. Although initially based on the Mk VIII airframe, common improvements made in aircraft produced later included the cut-back fuselage and tear-drop canopies, and the E-Type wing with improved armament.

The Mk XIV differed from the Mk XII in that the longer, two-stage supercharged Griffon 65, producing 2,050 hp (1,528 kW), was mounted 10 inches (25.4 cm) further forward: the top section of the engine bulkhead was angled forward, creating a distinctive change of angle to the upper cowling's rear edge. A new five bladed Rotol propeller of 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) in diameter was used, although one prototype JF321 was fitted with a six bladed contra rotating unit. The "fishtail" design of ejector exhaust stub gave way to ones of circular section. The increased cooling requirements of the Griffon engine meant that all radiators were much bigger and the underwing housings were deeper than previous versions.

The cowling fasteners were new, flush fitting "Amal" type, and there were more of them. The oil tank (which had been moved from the lower cowling location of the Merlin engine variants to forward of the fuselage fuel tanks) was increased in capacity from 6 to 10 gal.

The first test of the aircraft was in intercepting V1 flying bombs, and the Mk XIV was the most successful of all Spitfire marks in this role. When 150 octane fuel was introduced in mid-1944 the "boost" of the Griffon engine was able to be increased to +25 lbs (80.7"), allowing the top speed to be increased by about 30 mph (26 kn; 48 km/h) to 400 mph (350 kn; 640 km/h) at 2,000 ft (610 m).

The Mk XIV was used by the 2nd Tactical Air Force as their main high-altitude air superiority fighter in northern Europe with six squadrons operational by December 1944.

One problem which did arise in service was localised skin wrinkling on the wings and fuselage at load attachment points; although Supermarine advised that the Mk XIVs had not been seriously weakened, nor were they on the point of failure, the RAF nevertheless issued instructions in early 1945 that all F and FR Mk XIVs were to be retrospectively fitted with clipped wings.

Spitfire XIVs began to arrive in the South-East Asian Theatre in June 1945, too late to operate against the Japanese. It was this type which was rumoured to have been buried at an airfield in Burma after the war.

FR Mk XIV

Late in 1944 a number of Mk XIVs were converted to have a single camera fitted, facing to port or starboard. To achieve this a new hatch, similar to the radio hatch on Merlin-engine Spitfires, was installed. Otherwise this version of the FR Mk XIV was essentially the same as the standard aircraft. Later, purpose built conversions, also known as the FR Mk XIV, had the cut down rear fuselage with its tear drop–shaped canopy, and a port facing fuselage camera, with an additional rear fuel tank of 34 gallons which extended the Spitfire's range to about 610 miles (980 km) on internal fuel. In total, 957 Mk XIVs were built, over 430 of which were FR Mk XIVs. After the war, second hand Mk XIVs were exported to a number of foreign air forces; 132 went to the Royal Belgian Air Force, 70 went to the Royal Indian Air Force and 30 of its reconnaissance variant went to the Royal Thai Air Force.

The first thing one notices is that the kit is molded in a brown plastic, unusual for airplane kits. The molding is quite good and is well up to Fujimi's usual high standards in 1998 when this kit was issued. Typical of Spitfire kits in this scale, there are not a ton of parts, which is to be expected. Also typical of 1/72 kits is the rather minimalist cockpit. This one is a seat and stick that fits into a very unprototypical curved floor. There is also an instrument panel that fits into one fuselage half and a decal for instruments. Since this is a photo recon version, the builder will need to drill open the holes for the camera windows. One assumes this is one of the conversions as it has two camera windows. The camera can be fitted to point either way. The builder will need to remove the mounting points not used. Instructions show it aimed out the left (port) side.

Since the fuselage is a base Spit XIV, the upper fuselage is a separate piece. The engine upper cowling is two pieces so there will be a seam to fill. Fujimi liked separate prop blades and so it is here. These are keyed to get the right blade angle. The kit includes both the normal and cropped wing tips. Instructions show the normal ones being used, but if you have photos to the contrary, you can use the clipped ones. The large wing radiators have fore and aft grille faces. The kit also comes with the fuselage ferry tank. I have to assume this mass of fuel was not carried on ops, but you can install it if you so wish.

Instructions are well done and include Gunze paint references. Apparently British Interior Green is not in the Gunze catalogue as the instructions would have you mix this color. This color is also to be used for the underside of the airframe! I am guessing that this shade for the underside should be Sky. All four markings options are for aircraft of 28 Squadron operating in Malaya in 1946 and are nearly identical to the box art plane aside from serial and aircraft letter. The upper surfaces are Dark Green and Dark Earth. This kit is one of the 'Perfect Marking' series and includes what I have to assume are the Dark Green bits as decals. They look very dark. A separate application guide is provided for these decals. The kit decals also include the white theater bands, though you may want to paint these as well. At least you have the option. The decals are well printed, look to be a bit thick and have white which is off-white.  

Those seeking a nice photo recon Spitfire 14 could do no worse than this kit. I am aware that Academy also does a Spit XIV in this scale, but am not sure if it is the PR version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_%28Griffon-powered_variants%29

2013

Thanks to me for picking this one up.