SUPERMARINE SEAFIRE Mk.III " FRENCH AERONAVALE & IRISH AIR CORPS" 1948

Description

The Supermarine Seafire was a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. The name Seafire was arrived at by abbreviating the longer name Sea Spitfire. The Seafire F Mk III was the first true carrier adaptation of the Spitfire design. It was developed from the Seafire Mk IIC, but incorporated manually folding wings allowing more of these aircraft to be spotted on deck or in the hangars below. Supermarine devised a system of two straight chordwise folds; a break was introduced immediately outboard of the wheel-wells from which the wing hinged upwards and slightly angled towards the fuselage. A second hinge at each wingtip join allowed the tips to fold down (when the wings were folded the wingtips were folded outwards). (Scale : 1/48e)