The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. [12], On 5 March 1936,[13][nb 1] the prototype (K5054), fitted with a fine-pitch propeller to give more power for takeoff, took off on its first flight from Eastleigh Aerodrome (later Southampton Airport). Green, Peter. At the controls was Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers, chief test pilot for Vickers, who is quoted as saying, "don't touch anything" on landing. [106], Well-known Spitfire pilots included "Johnnie" Johnson34 enemy aircraft (e/a) shot down[107]who flew the Spitfire right through his operational career from late 1940 to 1945. In early marks of the Spitfire (Mk I to Mk VI), the single flap was operated manually using a lever to the left of the pilot's seat. This matter was almost conclusively answered in 1985 by aviation author Alfred Price, who received an account sheet with a handwritten note updating a line from "Not yet flown" to "Flew 5 Mar 36". [54], Mitchell's design aims were to create a well-balanced, high-performance fighter aircraft capable of fully exploiting the power of the Merlin engine, while being relatively easy to fly. Instrument selection occurs at the very top, while realtime controls default to the upper part of the instrument GUI, where two familiar faders control expression and timbral/dynamic volume. During the battle, Spitfires generally engaged Luftwaffe fightersmainly Messerschmitt Bf 109E-series aircraft, which were a close match for them. [95], Due to a shortage of Brownings, which had been selected as the new standard rifle calibre machine gun for the RAF in 1934, early Spitfires were fitted with only four guns, with the other four fitted later. The early Mark Is had a service ceiling of 31,900ft, and at 30,000ft could reach a speed of 315mph. Unfortunately, Mitchell died of cancer in June 1937. Allow cookies The Spitfire Audio App. "The Birth of a Thoroughbred.". This aircraft was the 155th built and first flew in April 1939. The last Lend-Lease shipment carrying the Mk IX arrived at the port of Severodvinsk on 12 June 1945. In June 1939, a Spitfire was fitted with a drum-fed Hispano in each wing, an installation that required large blisters on the wing to cover the 60-round drum. The resultant narrow undercarriage track was considered an acceptable compromise as this reduced the bending loads on the main-spar during landing. Although full-scale production was supposed to begin immediately, numerous problems could not be overcome for some time, and the first production Spitfire, K9787, did not roll off the Woolston, Southampton assembly line until mid-1938.[1]. This was based on pre-war testing that concluded that aircraft weren't easy targets, explosive shells from cannon were really le. [71], Another wing feature was its washout. As plane performance improved on both sides, and as the number of roles aircraft were asked to perform increased, so the Spitfire proved its versatility as a new range of designations was introduced. A team of original Supermarine designers worked with Aerofab Restorations of Andover for 10 years to create the facsimile. From February 1943 flush riveting was used on the fuselage, affecting all Spitfire variants. [153], The last non-operational flight of a Spitfire in RAF service, which took place on 9 June 1957, was by a PR Mk 19, PS583, from RAF Woodvale of the Temperature and Humidity Flight. [131], On 5 February 1952, a Spitfire 19 of 81 Squadron based at Kai Tak in Hong Kong reached probably the highest altitude ever achieved by a Spitfire. R. J. Mitchell designed the Supermarine Type 224 to fill this role. Both restored by American billionaire Thomas Kaplan, one has been donated to the Imperial War Museum and the second was auctioned in July 2015 at Christie's, London. [185] The Isaacs Spitfire (1975)[186] and the Time Warp Spitfire Mk V (1996) are homebuilt 60% scale replicas, and Bob DeFord of Prescott, Arizona built and flies a 100% scale replica.[187]. This mark could nudge 400mph (640km/h) in level flight and climb to an altitude of 33,000ft (10,000m) in under nine minutes. [24] A week later, on 3 June 1936, the Air Ministry placed an order for 310 Spitfires,[25] before the A&AEE had issued any formal report. [117] In 1944, the USSR received the substantially improved Mk IX variant, with the first aircraft delivered in February. While it did not cure the problem of the initial fuel starvation in a dive, it did reduce the more serious problem of the carburettor being flooded with fuel by the fuel pumps under negative "g". $15.00 . [81] The wing tips used spruce formers for most of the internal structure with a light alloy skin attached using brass screws. Spitfire F4 99d Conical Full Skateboard Wheels - 52mm; Spitfire F4 99d Classics Skateboard Wheels - 54mm; Spitfire F4 101d Classics Skateboard Wheels - 54mm; Spitfire F4 101D Classics Skateboard Wheels - 53mm; Spitfire F4 101d Classics Skateboard Wheels - 52mm; Spitfire Classic Forumula Bighead Burn Posse Bighead Skateboard Wheels - White - 57mm A masterpiece of aerodynamic engineering, the Spitfire was among the finest fighter aircraft of the Second World War. As the wing roots started to stall, the separating air stream started to buffet (vibrate) the aircraft, warning the pilot, allowing even relatively inexperienced pilots to fly it to the limits of its performance. [49][50], When the last Spitfire rolled out in February 1948,[51] a total of 20,351 examples of all variants had been built, including two-seat trainers, with some Spitfires remaining in service well into the 1950s. The actual name derives from the Falco columbarius bird of prey rather than . A tail skid completed the technical arrangements for take-off and landing. Both were shot down and became prisoners of war, while flying Spitfires over France in 1941 and 1942. Its maximum cruising speed, though, was 210mph at 20,000ft, and at economical speed its range was 575 miles. He co-ordinated a team of 25 pilots and assessed all Spitfire developments. [14][nb 2] This eight-minute flight[12] came four months after the maiden flight of the contemporary Hurricane. Numerous films and documentaries featuring the Spitfire are still being produced, some of which are listed in this section. Douglas Bader (20 e/a) and "Bob" Tuck (27 e/a) flew Spitfires and Hurricanes during the major air battles of 1940. Henshaw wrote about flight testing Spitfires: After a thorough preflight check, I would take off, and once at circuit height, I would trim the aircraft and try to get her to fly straight and level with hands off the stick Once the trim was satisfactory, I would take the Spitfire up in a full-throttle climb at 2,850rpm to the rated altitude of one or both supercharger blowers. The first of the production Spitfires with these engines was the Mark XII with the Griffon III or IV, followed by the Mark XIV with the 2050hp Griffon 65, driving a five-blade Rotol propeller. It eventually reached Mark 24, some of those marks being specialist Photo Reconnaissance (PR) planes, others reserved for the Navy and christened Seafire. [102] In November 1938, tests against armoured and unarmoured targets had already indicated that the introduction of a weapon with a calibre of at least 20mm was urgently needed. [28], The first production Spitfire came off the assembly line in mid-1938[1] and was flown by Jeffrey Quill on 15 May 1938, almost 24 months after the initial order. The wing section used was from the NACA 2200 series, which had been adapted to create a thickness-to-chord ratio of 13% at the root, reducing to 9.4% at the tip. [79], The Spitfire had detachable wing tips which were secured by two mounting points at the end of each main wing assembly. [10] In April 1935, the armament was changed from two .303in (7.7mm) Vickers machine guns in each wing to four .303in (7.7mm) Brownings,[11] following a recommendation by Squadron Leader Ralph Sorley of the Operational Requirements section at the Air Ministry. [101], Even if the eight Brownings worked perfectly, pilots soon discovered that they were not sufficient to destroy larger aircraft. The Mark II had better protection for the pilot as well, with increased armour behind the pilots seat to protect his head. The ellipse was simply the shape that allowed us the thinnest possible wing with room inside to carry the necessary structure and the things we wanted to cram in. The cabin pressure fell below a safe level, and in trying to reduce altitude, he entered an uncontrollable dive which shook the aircraft violently. These included a 4 Squadron SAAF Mk VB in North Africa, where a second seat was fitted instead of the upper fuel tank in front of the cockpit, although it was not a dual-control aircraft, and is thought to have been used as the squadron "run-about". The Spitfire continues to be highly popular at airshows, on airfields and in museums worldwide, and holds an important place in the memories of many people, especially the few still living who flew the Spitfire in combat. At first a private venture, it was taken up by the Air Ministry, whose fighter spec, F16/36, would be written around this design. During the Second World War, Jeffrey Quill was Vickers Supermarine's chief test pilot, in charge of flight testing all aircraft types built by Vickers Supermarine. Price, Alfred. [67] The undercarriage legs were attached to pivot points built into the inner, rear section of the main spar, and retracted outwards and slightly backwards into wells in the non-load-carrying wing structure. The Spitfire continued to play increasingly diverse roles throughout the Second World War and beyond, often in air forces other than the RAF. The Bf 109s angular canopy with its thick frame fell short. In fact, the more numerous Hurricane shouldered more of the burden of resisting the Luftwaffe. The SpitfireMark II had slower maximum and cruising speeds, but a faster climb rate, being able to reach 20,000ft in 7 minutes, and had an improved ceiling of 32,800ft. [134], Although R. J. Mitchell is justifiably known as the engineer who designed the Spitfire, his premature death in 1937 meant that all development after that date was undertaken by a team led by his chief draughtsman, Joe Smith, who became Supermarine's chief designer on Mitchell's death. [144], The Seafire II was able to outperform the A6M5 Zero at low altitudes when the two types were tested against each other during wartime mock combat exercises. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Edward "Ted" Powles,[132] was on a routine flight to survey outside air temperature and report on other meteorological conditions at various altitudes in preparation for a proposed new air service through the area. Although resolving the problems took time, in June 1940, 10 Mk IIs were built; 23 rolled out in July, 37 in August, and 56 in September. [33][35] On 17 May, Minister of Aircraft Production Lord Beaverbrook telephoned Lord Nuffield and manoeuvred him into handing over control of the Castle Bromwich plant to his ministry. By the beginning of 1939, the factory's original estimated cost of 2,000,000 had more than doubled,[33] and even as the first Spitfires were being built in June 1940, the factory was still incomplete, and suffering from personnel problems. Please imagine getting in and out of the bath . The German government approved the deal, but only in return for a number of. Here are some examples of compliments that might work well on a strong woman: 75 Compliments for a Strong Woman. Length - 9.12m. [197][198], Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era, British single-seat WWII fighter aircraft, "Spitfire" redirects here. As the war progressed, the C wing became more common. This was a strengthened double frame which also incorporated the fireproof bulkhead, and in later versions of the Spitfire, the oil tank. ", "Monument campaign for WWII female auxiliary pilots", "Eden Camp Modern History Theme Museum, Malton, North Yorkshire", "New memorial to honour the workers who built 'Secret Spitfires' during the war", "In pictures: Royal Mail's British design classic stamps", "Spitfire Restorations by Aircraft Restoration Company's Historic Flying Ltd", "How realistic are Dunkirk's Spitfire flight scenes? At the end of the trials, RAF pilots found that Firestreak infra-red guided missiles had trouble acquiring the Spitfire due to a low exhaust temperature, and decided that the twin ADEN 30mm (1.2in) cannons were the only weapons suited to the task, which was complicated by the tight turning circle of the Spitfire, and the Lightning's proclivity for over-running the Spitfire. As the situation is Europe worsened, it fell to the Air Ministry - itself desperately trying to build squadrons for the RAF - to decide the priorities for the nations that could be allowed to take examples from the Southampton production line. They soon discovered that the Spitfire[nb 3][20] was a very capable aircraft, but not perfect. [172], British organisation, the Aircraft Restoration Company (Formally Historic Flying Limited),[183] has either restored, overhauled or built from scratch a significant proportion of the Spitfires that are now airworthy. During the Battle of Britain (JulyOctober 1940), the public perceived the Spitfire to be the main RAF fighter. is spitfire a compliment | The rest of the structure and skins were entirely alloy, except the control surfaces which were fabric covered until mid-1940.I think the Supermarine Spitfire is one of the best planes ever to flyNaw, the P-51D with the Rolls engine was the best all around fighter of the war, the Spitfire lacked in just a couple of areas compared to the Mustang, this kind of hurts to . 1113, 17, 42, 64, 6768, 92. [139] Currently several of the trainers are known to exist, including both the T Mk VIII, a T Mk IX based in the US, and the "Grace Spitfire" ML407, a veteran flown operationally by 485(NZ) Squadron in 1944. Versions of the Spitfire were equipped with machine-guns, cannons, rockets, and bombs. 56. The Mark VAs could reach a speed of 376mph at 19,500ft, at which height the Mark VBs speed was 369mph, whilst the Mark VCs reached 374mph at 13,000ft. [143] Early Seafire marks had relatively few modifications to the standard Spitfire airframe; however cumulative front line experience meant that most of the later versions of the Seafire had strengthened airframes, folding wings, arrestor hooks and other modifications, culminating in the purpose-built Seafire F/FR Mk 47. He was given the task of building nine new factories, and to supplement the British car-manufacturing industry by either adding to overall capacity or increasing the potential for reorganisation to produce aircraft and their engines. Mitchell developed the Spitfire's distinctive elliptical wing with innovative sunken rivets (designed by Beverley Shenstone) to have the thinnest possible cross-section, achieving a potential top speed greater than that of several contemporary fighter aircraft, including the Hawker Hurricane. In April 1944, the same aircraft suffered engine failure in another dive while being flown by Squadron Leader Anthony F. 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