T.W. Mk XXV "Firebreather" Spitfire Techno-Wizard Fighter:

The Spitfire was one of the most important fighters of World War Two and shielded England from the German attacks during the darkest days. It was one of the fastest fighters of its time and served with the British military in virtually all fronts. The aircraft was even used on carriers although the fact that it did not have folded wings meant that only a limited number could be operated off of a flat top. While a case can be made that the American Mustang is a better fighter, the engine from the Spitfire (Rolls-Royce Merlin) is what turned the Mustang into an outstanding fighter.

The techno-wizard version of the Spitfire is actually simpler than the magical versions of the Lightning and the Mustang but still features many of the principles that make the other techno-wizard fighters outstanding aircraft. While it is not believed that the designers of the Mustang or the Lightning worked on the Spitfire, it is believed that one of the designers of the Spitfire observed one of the other designs, probably a Mustang, and was inspired by it. There are no groups producing Spitfires after the coming of the Rifts and the number of surviving Pre-Rifts Spitfires is tiny. Due to this, each of the aircraft has to be built from scratch. Every attempt has been made to duplicate the Spitfire faithfully and even internally, the techno-wizard Spitfire copies the original fighter as closely as possible. In many cases, pilots have tried to copy the original paint schemes of the British Fighters.

In North America, the design is fairly popular with Techno-Wizards although it takes a back seat to the Mustang and Lightning designs. The fact that the Spitfire is less expensive than either of the other designs has drawn some away from the other techno-wizard fighters. It is believed that the design of the fighter found its way to the island of England and techno-wizards over there have been copying the design. It is believed that the fighter may become more popular over in England due to its origin as a British plane.

Like the techno-wizard Mustang and Lightning, the Spitfire uses a dual flight system. The first is a power armor fusion reactor converted to providing power to the fighter's propeller. The engine produces far more power than any Rolls-Royce engine ever used in a Spitfire and increased the speed by about 10% compared to the fastest conventional Spitfires ever manufactured. The techno-wizard Spitfire can reach a maximum speed of 506 miles per hour. The Spitfire is slightly slower than the Mustang but is much faster than the Lightning. The secondary flight system is a telekinetic flight system. While only useful on Ley Lines, the flight system is virtually silent and is very useful for surprise attacks.

The frame and body of the fighter are made of high strength alloys that are many times stronger than any material even dream of when the original Spitfire was built. The body is enchanted so that it is immune to all fire and heat based weapons. This makes repairs more expensive than the Mustang or Lightning. The fighter carries modern electronics which are approximately the equivalent of those on most robot vehicles. In addition, the cockpit has designed with internal life support and is sealed. The pilot is fairly comfortable. Like the other techno-wizard aircraft of similar design, the displays are designed to simulate the displays of the original Spitfire. Like those other high tech displays, the displays are in reality multi configuration holographic plasma displays. They can be changed instantly when the pilot needs to.

The guns are where the fighter gets its name and is a play of the fighter's name "Spitfire" as well. There were many different weapon configurations on the original Spitfire. Some were armed with eight .303 machine-guns, some were armed with two 20 mm cannons and four .303 machine-guns, and finally some of the final models replaced the remaining four .303 machine-guns with two .50 heavy machine-guns. The Techno-Wizard "Firebreather" Spitfire carries four magical flame guns converted from heavy plasma weapons. When the guns fire, it appears as if the fighter is breathing fire. The flame guns are mounted in the wings of the fighter and inflict incredible damage although they have a shorter range than the Lightning Blasters carried on the Mustang and Lightning. The flame guns are powered by a tiny rift to the elemental plane of fire and have an unlimited payload. It is thought that the Rifts will have to be reopened every several years. The Techno-Wizard Spitfire has four hard points for ordnance. A large number of different ordnance can be carried on the fighter including bombs, missiles, and mini-missile pods. The fire control computer on the fighter is designed so guided munitions can be carried and so the fighter can engage in air to air combat. Due to the fighter having no integral weapons that inflict damage on targets which are impervious to energy, often mini-missile launcher pods are carried on the wings of the fighter.

Model Number: T.W. Mk XXV "Firebreather" Spitfire
Vehicle Type: Single Engine Techno-Wizard Fighter
Crew: One

M.D.C. by Location:
[1] Wings (2):120 each
[2] Elevators (2):50 each
[2] Rudder (1):60 each
Cockpit:110
Engine:100
Propeller:45
Landing Gear (2):10 each
[3] Main Body:230

Notes:
[1] Destroying a Wing will cause the plane to crash.
[2] Destruction of the elevators or rudder will leave the plane uncontrollable and pilot must eject to survive.
[3] Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will shut the Aircraft down completely, rendering it useless and causing it to crash if in flight

Speed:
Driving on Ground (Taxiing): Only possible for take offs and landings as well as for parking and storage. Speed is 40 mph (64 kph) when traveling and not on take off or landing.
Flying: 506 mph (814.3 kph) with an altitude of 45,500 feet (13868.4 meters) using conventional propeller driven flight. 200 mph (320 kph) on Telekinetic flight system but aircraft must remain on a ley line for flight system to operate.
Range: The Spitfire will overheat after twelve hours of operation at above 300 mph (482.8 kph) on propeller driven flight. Effective unlimited on Telekinetic flight system.

Statistical Data:
Height: 12 feet 8 inches (3.85 meters)
Wingspan: 36 feet 10 inches (11.23 meters)
Length: 32 feet 8 inches (9.95 meters)
Weight: 7,600 pounds (3,447.3 kg) empty, 9,500 pounds (4,309.1 kilograms) fully loaded
Power System: Dual Flight System, Fusion Reactor with five year lifespan and Telekinetic flight system for flight on ley lines.
Cargo: Minimal (Storage for small equipment), does not include hard points
Black Market Cost: 6.8 million credits.

Weapon Systems:

  1. Four (4) Heavy Flame Cannons: Mounted in the fighter's wings and replace the guns mounted in the original Spitfire. Each weapon is a converted heavy plasma weapon. All of the flame cannons can be fired together and inflict incredible damage when all four are fired together. No matter how many cannons are fired together, it counts as one attack. The flame cannons have a slightly better range and have an unlimited payload compared to hand held flame cannons. The weapon pulls its energy from a tiny Rifts into the Elemental plane of fire.
    Maximum Effective Range: 3,000 feet (914 meters).
    Mega Damage: 1D6x10 per flame cannon and 4D6x10 for all four cannons firing simultaneously (Counts as one attack)
    Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot (usually 4 or 5).
    Payload: Effectively Unlimited.
  2. Wing Hard Points (4): The "Firebreather" Spitfire can carry a variety of ordnance on its hard points. The fighter has two hard points on each wing for a total of four hard points. With the addition of sensor systems, the fighter can control missiles instead of just bombs and unguided rockets. Mini-Missile pods are very popular. There is no provision for jamming pods or towed decoys. External ordnance cannot be launched while the electrical field is active but is protected from the magical field while attached to the fighter.
    1. Bombs and Missiles: The only restriction is that a hard point must carry all the same type of missiles or bombs. Both unguided and guided bombs can be carried.
      Maximum Effective Range: Varies by missile type for missile and varies by altitude that bombs are dropped at (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
      Mega Damage: Varies by missile or bomb type (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
      Rate of Fire: Missiles can be fired and bombs can be dropped one at a time per hard point. Multiple hard points can be linked as one attack but must be the same size (light, medium, or heavy) and style of ordnance (all missiles or bombs in a volley)
      Payload: 4 short range missile or light bombs, 2 medium range missiles or medium bombs, or 1 long range missile or heavy bomb (all ordnance on a hard point must be the same size and type of ordnance)
    2. Mini-Missile Pod: Large capacity mini-missile pod. The aircraft normally carries missile pods for ground strafing, anti-troop, and anti-emplacement attacks. Normal missile used are armor piercing, plasma, or fragmentation mini-missiles.
      Maximum Effective Range: Varies with missile types, mini-missiles only (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
      Mega Damage: Varies with mini missile types (Go to Revised bomb and missile table).
      Rate of fire: Each pod can fire one at a time or in volleys of 2, 4, 8, or 16 and can be linked with other mini missile pods for greater number of missiles (Counts as one attack no matter how many missiles in volley)
      Payload: Each pod carries 16 mini-missiles.
  3. Techno-Wizard Modifications: The "Firebreather" Spitfire has the following Techno-Wizard Modifications built into the Fighter. These require P.P.E. or I.S.P. from the pilot.
    Special Features:

Special Equipment:
The fighter has all the standard features of a standard fighter (same as standard robot minus loudspeaker and microphone) plus these special features listed. The special equipment is a combination of both magic and technology

Combat Bonuses:

[Golden Age Weaponsmiths is a trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.]

By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune ).

Copyright © 2002, Kitsune. All rights reserved.

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