Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA7105 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XVIII, NH850/Z RAF 60 Squadron, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, Dec. 31, 1950 LIMITED EDITION with certificate

1/48 scale pre-finished Die-cast metal with a minimum of plastic. Professionally painted. All markings pad applied for superb results. Cockpit slides open. Cockpit side door opens. Comes with a pilot that can be removed. Comes with display stand. Landing gear is fully retractable and can be displayed up or down. Removable wing ammo bay covers. Propeller is metal. Extremely sought after by collectors.

THESE ARE PRE-PRODUCTION PICTURES NOT THE FINISHED MODEL

Externally the Spitfire Mk. XVIII the so called “Super Spitfire” was almost identical to the Mk. XIV except for the strengthened “E” wing with full span tips and stronger undercarriage. They were powered by either a Griffon 65 or the later models by a 67 that developed 2,375 hp. The FR XVIII had provisions for three cameras that required the removal of the rear fuel tank. The Mk XVIII was quite versatile and could carry up to 1,000 pounds of bombs on the center line and wing racks. Another option was as many as frame with 300 being built of which 200 were the FR variant.

June 1948 in Malaya, a British Colony at that time, three British estate managers were murdered by guerrillas and this forced the government to declare what would become the “Malayan Emergency”. The RAF was called upon to fly reconnaissance and bombing attacks on the guerilla camps. One of the squadrons assigned to this task was 60 Squadron that carried out the first attack of the campaign. Using rockets and fragmentation bombs the Spitfires flew sortie after sortie mostly in support missions for ground troops. One of these aircraft was the Mk. FR XVIII of CO, Sqn. Ldr. W G Duncan Smith DSO, DFC. In November 1950 Sqn. Ldr. W G Duncan Smith arrived with 60 Squadron’s first jet, the Meteor. This aircraft would replace the Spitfire and on January 1, 1951 the last ever RAF Spitfire offensive sortie was carried out by FR XVIIIs from 60 Squadron.

Specifications Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XVIII Type: Single Seat Fighter Country of Origin: United Kingdom Engine: 1 x Rolls-Royce Griffin 65 inline Piston Engine rated at 2,050hp. Later models 1 X Rolls-Royce Griffin 67 that developed 2,375 hp.

Armament: 2 x 20mm cannon plus 2 x 0.50 in. machine guns Also could carry 1,000lb of bombs.

Dimensions: Wing Span: 36ft 10 in. Length: 33ft 3.25 in. Wing Area: 244 sq. feet.

Weights: Loaded: 9,320lb Performance: Max Speed: 442 mph at 18,000ft. Service Ceiling: 41,000ft