IBG 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V Trop North Africa 1942-43 (72592)

The Spitfire in the desert air war

IBG’s 1/72 scale kit depicts the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V Trop in North African service during 1942–43. Kit 72592 offers a subject from a period when the familiar British fighter was operating far from the green airfields of home, in the heat and dust of the Mediterranean theatre.

Historical background

The Spitfire Mk.V entered service in 1941, combining the established Spitfire airframe with the Rolls-Royce Merlin 45-series engine. It became a major wartime variant and served in several theatres as the RAF expanded and adapted its fighter operations.

For service in hot, dusty climates, tropicalised Spitfires received equipment intended to protect their engines from sand and dust. Air-intake filtration was a particularly important adaptation: keeping abrasive particles out of the engine was essential, even when the additional equipment affected performance and the aircraft’s appearance.

Spitfire Mk.Vs reached the North African campaign in 1942, strengthening Allied fighter forces during the struggle for control of the skies. Their service continued through the advance westwards and the fighting in Tunisia in 1943. For pilots and ground crews, desert operations meant not just enemy opposition but demanding conditions, dispersed airfields and constant maintenance.

Model details

• Manufacturer: IBG
• Scale: 1/72
• Subject: Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V Trop
• Theatre: North Africa
• Period depicted: 1942–43
• Kit number: 72592

Add a tropicalised Spitfire to your WWII aircraft collection, or use it as the centrepiece of a desert airfield scene that tells the story of the people and machines behind the North African air campaign.