Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Ia "Export & Egypt"

Kovozavody 1/72

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II.
It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the
war. The Spitfire remains popular among enthusiasts. Around 70 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world.

The Spitfire was a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft designed by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works, which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928. Mitchell modified the Spitfire's distinctive elliptical wing (designed by Beverley Shenstone)
with innovative sunken rivets to have the thinnest possible
cross-section, achieving a potential top speed greater than that of
several contemporary fighter aircraft, including the Hawker Hurricane. Mitchell continued to refine the design until his death in 1937, whereupon his colleague Joseph Smith took over as chief designer. 

A type

The A-type was the original wing design, with eight .303 calibreBrowning machine guns,
with 300 rounds per gun (rpg). The basic structure of the wing was
unchanged until the C type in 1942. The one major alteration made to
this wing, soon after production started, was the incorporation of a
heating system for the gun bays, to prevent the guns from freezing up at
high altitudes. To achieve this, open structures, such as wing ribs,
surrounding the gun-bays were closed off, forming closed bays for each
gun. Ducting was added, which drew heated air from the engine radiator
and transferred it into the now-closed weapon-bays. Underwing vents,
covered by streamlined triangular blisters just inboard of the wingtips,
extracted the air, creating a negative pressure differential, and
caused more heated air to be drawn in, ensuring a steady supply of
heated air without any need for a mechanical blower. To keep cold air
from blowing in via the muzzle openings in the leading edge,
they were sealed with red fabric adhesive tape by ground crew while
loading the ammunition trays. The guns fired through the tape, so they
were no longer sealed after combat. Towards the end of 1940, the fabric
covered ailerons were replaced by ones covered in light alloy. The A-type wing was only compatible with the 8 × .303Browning machine gun armament suite.