The final Spitfire versions, i.e. the Mk.21, 22 and 24, sometimes also called the second generation Spitfires, had corresponding navalized counterparts in the Seafire Mk.45, 46 or 47 versions. The Mk.47 Seafire was most similar to the Spitfire 24 type, its airframe was considerably modified though. The arresting hook was a necessity of course, in this case of the sting shaped variety at the very end of the aircraft. The Y type wing could be folded to not the limit this Seafire’s service aboard the Navy’s latest carriers. The propeller had six blades and was counter-rotating. The South Marston production plant gave in total 99 examples of this very last Seafire version which eventually went to No.800 Sqn on the HMS Triumph, No.804 Sqn detached on the HMS Ocean, and also to some FAA training squadrons or RNVR squadrons. Their post-war service was uneventful and the machines were discharged in the mid fifties. The only exception was the 800 Sqn Seafires that were deployed against communist insurgents in Malaya in 1949, flying off the deck of the HMS Triumph. And a year later, the same unit took part in the initial stages of the Korea War. From 3 July to 20 September 1950, the unit accumulated 245 offensive fighter missions and 155 ground attack sorties over the Korea Peninsula.
Our model kitset covers two Seafire Mk.47 options that were operated in Korea in 1950. One of the airframes became ‘famous’ for its rather spectacular looking crash in the waters off Malta in the Mediterranean, the other one was flown from a UK base. The kit also contains a fret of photo etches and a new sprue with alternative bomb and rocket missile armament parts.
Item #SH72501 is available now from Special Hobby - Price: 26.20 Euros
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