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Mk 5b Spitfire aerials


kitman

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Hi . Just in the process of finishing a mk 5b Tropical and clipped wing spitfire. It flew with 601 squadron in the middle east. Can any one tell me what the aerial arrangement was for this mark of spitfire and if where it flew had any bearing on the aerial configuration. Thanks in

advance

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Aerial on Vb is usually internal in NW Europe as VHF so just the mast, but Tropical ones could have the old External wire if the old HF radio sets were still used in theatre ( according to the Mk.V Manual).  Look for terminals and insulators on the rudder or aerial mast to confirm on photos.

Vb in NW Europe would have the cheese cutter IFF wires from fuselage (roundel) to tail plane tips but depends if IFF was in use where your Tropical Spitfire went.

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If you have a photo of your subject, look for a triangle at the top of the aerial mast pointing back toward the rudder. If there is one, the aircraft had the HF radio, and would have used the wire strung between the mast and fin. Neither the triangle nor aerial wire was present when a VHF radio system was installed.

Edited by Rolls-Royce
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On 9/17/2021 at 3:51 PM, fishplanebeer said:

Just to add that although Vb's had no aerial wire in some instances the antenna still had the connectors fitted to them for some reason, so they were not clean/smooth in appearance.

 

Regards

Colin.

Correct. The trailing edge of the mast near the tip would have a slightly "toothy" appearance in that case. That was the leftover mounting bracket for the triangular piece.

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