1:48 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VIII in RAF, RAAF, SAAF service

The version that never made it over the Channel

The Mk.VIII was a Spitfire built for long distances and hot climates. While the Mk.IXs ruled over Europe, the Mk.VIIIs went to the Mediterranean, to Burma and to Australia. That is where camouflages arose that you will never see on European aircraft, and the sheet follows them across four continents.

From Sicily to the Australian north

• Italy 1944 - aircraft of No. 601 and No. 92 Squadrons RAF, among them JF502 and JG164
• Sicily 1943 - JF693 of No. 244 Wing, the aircraft of its leader C. B. F. Kingcome
• MT775 of No. 145 Squadron, led by one of the most successful fighter pilots of the Mediterranean theater
• Burma 1944 - MT705 of No. 152 Squadron
• Australia 1944 and 1945 - four aircraft with A58 serials from No. 457 and No. 452 Squadrons

What makes the sheet interesting is the variety of operators. Besides the British squadrons there are South African units, the Canadian No. 417 Squadron from Italy and the Australian units defending the northern coast. From a single item a modeler can therefore put together a miniature survey of Allied service away from the Western Front.

Before applying them, check the position of the serial number on the fuselage against the drawing; on aircraft with the Australian A58 designation it sits somewhere other than on the British ones. Small differences of this kind are exactly what an expert notices first on a finished model.

For a collector the Mk.VIII is rewarding in that both clipped wingtips and the full span were commonly found on it. Combined with the desert filter under the nose, the aircraft takes on a silhouette that cannot be mistaken for the European versions.