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Spitfire

RAF Supermarine Spitfire XII banks above clouds.

Type Fighter
Manufacturer Supermarine
Designed by R. J. Mitchell
Maiden flight 5 March 1936
Introduction 1938
Retired 1955, RAF
Primary user Royal Air Force
Produced 1938–1948
Number built 22,351
Unit cost £12,604 (1939)[1]
Variants Seafire
Spiteful

The Supermarine Spitfire was a British single-seat fighter, used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries during the Second World War, and into the 1950s. An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing building testing selling and maintaining Aircraft, Aircraft parts Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that become famous for producing a range of sea planes and the legendary Supermarine Spitfire fighter Reginald Joseph Mitchell CBE, FRAeS, ( May 20, 1895 - June 11, 1937) was an aeronautical engineer, best known The maiden flight of an Aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1936: Events February British Marine Aircraft Ltd This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1938: Events Imperial Airways inaugurates scheduled service from London This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1955: Events February February 26 - George F WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A fighter aircraft is a Military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other Aircraft, as opposed to a Bomber, which is designed The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including [2] It was produced in greater numbers than any other Allied design. The Spitfire was the only Allied fighter in production at the outbreak of the Second World War that was still in production at the end of the war.

Produced by the Supermarine subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrongs, the Spitfire was designed by the company's Chief Designer R. J. Mitchell, who continued to refine the design until his death from cancer in 1937; the position of chief designer was then filled by his colleague, Joseph Smith. Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that become famous for producing a range of sea planes and the legendary Supermarine Spitfire fighter Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in Reginald Joseph Mitchell CBE, FRAeS, ( May 20, 1895 - June 11, 1937) was an aeronautical engineer, best known Joseph ("Joe" Smith was an English Aircraft Designer who took over as Chief Designer for Supermarine 's upon the death of R [3] Its elliptical wing had a thin cross-section, allowing a higher top speed than the Hawker Hurricane and many other contemporary designs. An elliptical wing is a Wing Planform shape first seen on Aircraft in the 1930s which minimizes induced drag. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

The distinctive silhouette imparted by the wing planform helped the Spitfire to achieve legendary status during the Battle of Britain. A planform or Plan view is a vertical Orthographic projection of an object on a horizontal plane like a Map. The Battle of Britain (German ''Luftschlacht um England'' is the name given to the sustained strategic effort by the German Luftwaffe during the summer and There was, and still is, a public perception that it was the RAF fighter of the Battle, in spite of the fact that the more numerous Hurricane shouldered a great deal of the burden against the potent Messerschmitt Bf 109. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Much loved by its pilots, the Spitfire saw service throughout the whole of the Second World War, in most theatres of war, in several roles and in many different variants. The Spitfire was to continue to serve as a front-line fighter and in secondary roles for several airforces well into the 1950s.

The Spitfire will always be compared to its main adversary, the Bf 109: both were among the finest fighters of their day, although the Spitfire ultimately proved to be a more flexible and tractable design, and kept its superb handling qualities through every permutation, although increased torque reaction from higher powered engines could cause 'swing' on take-off. [4]

Contents

Design and development

The still unpainted Spitfire prototype K5054 shortly before its first flight
The still unpainted Spitfire prototype K5054 shortly before its first flight

Mitchell's 1931 design to meet Air Ministry specification F7/30 for a new and modern fighter capable of 250 mph, the Supermarine Type 224, resulted in an open-cockpit monoplane with bulky gull-wings and a large fixed, spatted undercarriage powered by the evaporative-cooled Rolls-Royce Goshawk engine. A serial number is a unique Number assigned for Identification which varies from its Successor or Predecessor by a fixed discrete Integer This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry (AM specifications for Aircraft. The Supermarine Type 224 was a design submitted by Reginald Mitchell for a Royal Air Force (RAF competition to select a new fighter in 1934. In Aviation, the undercarriage or landing gear is the structure (usually wheels that supports an Aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi Evaporative coolers (also called swamp, desert, or air coolers) are devices that cool air through the simple Evaporation of water WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout This made its first flight in February 1934. [5] This aircraft was a big disappointment to Mitchell and his design team, who immediately embarked on a series of "cleaned up" designs, using their experience with the Schneider trophy seaplanes as a starting point. The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider " (commonly called Schneider Trophy, or prize or cup was a prize competition for Seaplanes Announced by The F7/30 design accepted was the biplane Gloster Gladiator

One big step to the Spitfire was the first design for the Supermarine Type 300 fighter which was on the drawing boards in November 1934 as a private venture design, started with the backing of Supermarine's owner, Vickers-Armstrongs. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The new design featured undercarriage retraction, an enclosed cockpit, oxygen breathing-apparatus and the newly-developed and much more powerful Rolls-Royce PV-XII engine, later named the Merlin. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Air Ministry issued a contract AM 361140/34 in December 1934, providing for the construction of Mitchell's "improved F. 7/30 design". On 3 January 1935 the Air Ministry formalised the contract and a new Specification F. Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 10/35 was written around the aircraft. [6] Just 15 months later, after several major design changes and refinements, on 6 March 1936 the sleek new prototype took off on its first flight. Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Name origin

The Air Ministry submitted a list of possible names to Vickers-Armstrongs for the new aircraft, now known as the Type 300. One of these was the improbable Shrew. The name Spitfire was suggested by Sir Robert MacLean, director of Vickers-Armstrongs at the time, who called his daughter Ann "a little spitfire. " The word dates from Elizabethan times and refers to a particularly fiery, ferocious type of person, and at the time, associated with a girl or woman of that temperament. Romance and reality The Victorian era and the early twentieth century idealised the Elizabethan era [7] The name had previously been used unofficially for Mitchell's earlier F. 7/30 Type 224 design. Mitchell is reported to have said that it was "just the sort of bloody silly name they would choose",[8] possibly an oblique reference to the Type 224.

Airframe

In the mid-1930s aviation design teams started developing a new generation of all-metal, low wing fighter aircraft. Aircraft such as the French Dewoitine D.520, and Germany's Messerschmitt Bf 109 were designed to take advantage of new techniques of monocoque construction, and new high powered, liquid cooled, in-line aero engines. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Monocoque, from the French for single ( mono) and shell ( coque) is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external They also featured refinements such as retractable undercarriages, fully enclosed cockpits and low-drag, all metal wings (all introduced on U. S. civil air-liners years before, but slow to be adopted by the military who favoured the simplicity and maneouverability of the biplane. )

Mitchell's design aims were to create a well balanced high performance fighter aircraft which would be able to fully utilise the power of the Merlin engine and, at the same time would be relatively easy to fly. To that end his design team developed an airframe which, for its day, was complex.

The exceptionally well streamlined semi-monocoque duralumin fuselage featured a large number of compound curves and was built up from a skeleton of 19 frames, starting from the main engine bulkhead, or frame number one. Monocoque, from the French for single ( mono) and shell ( coque) is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium or dural) is the trade name of one of the earliest types of age-hardenable Aluminium alloys A former is a structural member of an Aircraft Fuselage, of which a typical fuselage has a series from the nose to the Empennage, typically perpendicular Aft of the engine bulkhead were five half frames to accommodate the fuel tanks and cockpit. From the seventh, which was the frame to which the pilot's seat and (later) armour plating was attached, to the 15th, which was mounted at a forward angle just forward of the tailfin, the frames were oval in shape, each reducing slightly in size, and had numerous holes drilled through them to lighten the structural weight as much as possible without weakening them. Frame 16 formed a double bulkhead with frame 17, which was extended to form the main spar of the vertical fin; frame 18 formed the secondary spar. Just aft of this the 19th frame formed the rudder post. Aircraft flight control surfaces allow a pilot to adjust and control the aircraft's flight attitude A combination of 14 longitudinal stringers and two main longerons helped form a light but rigid structure to which sheets of alclad stressed skinning were attached. In Aircraft construction a Longeron or Stringer is a thin strip of wood or metal to which the skin of the aircraft is fastened Alclad is a trademark of Alcoa used as a generic term to describe corrosion resistant Aluminium sheet formed from high-purity aluminium surface layers metallurgically There was plenty of room to later fit camera equipment and fuel tanks. [2][9]

The skin of the fuselage, wings and tailplane was attached with rivets, and in critical areas, such as the wing forward of the main spar where an uninterrupted airflow was required, flush rivets were used. In some areas, such as the rear of the wing, the top was riveted and the bottom fixed by woodscrews into sections of spruce; later pop-riveting would be used for these areas. Spruce refers to Trees of the genus Picea, a genus of about 35 species of Coniferous Evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae A rivet is a mechanical Fastener. Before it is installed it consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end [10] From 1943 on, flush riveting was used throughout the entire airframe; the first version of the Spitfire to change to flush riveting was the Mk XII closely followed by all Castle Bromwich built Mk IXs. [11] At first the ailerons, elevators and rudder were fabric covered. However, once combat experience showed that the fabric covered ailerons became impossible to use at high speeds the fabric was replaced with a light-alloy, enhancing control throughout the speed range of the Spitfire.

Elliptical wing design

From early on Mitchell and the design staff were contemplating an elliptical wing shape to solve the conflicting requirements of having the lowest possible thickness-to-chord ratio to reduce drag, and having room to install a retractable undercarriage, as well as the projected armament and ammunition which, in April 1935, was changed from two . In reference to Aircraft, chord refers to the distance between the leading edge and trailing edge of a Wing, Horizontal stabilizer or Vertical stabilizer In Fluid dynamics, drag (sometimes called fluid resistance) is the force that resists the movement of a Solid object through a Fluid (a 303 Vickers machine guns in each wing to four . The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled. 303 Brownings. The Browning M1919 is a.30 caliber Medium machine gun family widely used during the 20th century

It has been suggested that Mitchell copied the wing shape of the Heinkel He 70. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Mitchell's aerodynamicist, Beverley Shenstone, however, has pointed out that the He 70 was designed to fulfill a completely different role and that other aircraft also had elliptical wings. The Spitfire wing was much thinner with a completely different section. As a practical engineer Mitchell was fully aware of the efficiency of the elliptical wing, as were Siegfried and Walter Günther, who designed the Heinkel. [12][13] In any event, the single-spar elliptical wing was enough to sell the Air Ministry on this new Type 300, which they funded by a new specification, F. 10/35, drawn up around the Spitfire.

Spitfire flying over the English coast (from a period photograph)
Spitfire flying over the English coast (from a period photograph)

A design aspect of the wing which contributed greatly to its success was an innovative spar boom design, made up of five square concentric tubes which fitted into each other. Two of these booms were linked together by an alloy web creating a lightweight and very strong main spar. In an aircraft the spar is the main structural member of the wing running widthways across the span of the wing at right angles (or thereabouts to the Fuselage. The undercarriage legs were attached to pivot points built into the inner, rear of the main spar and retracted outwards and slightly backwards into wells in the non-load carrying wing structure. The narrow undercarriage track was considered to be an acceptable compromise as it allowed the landing impact loads to be transmitted to the strongest parts of the wing structure.

Ahead of the spar, the thick-skinned leading edge of the wing formed a strong and very rigid D-shaped box, which took most of the wing loads. At the time the wing was designed this D-shaped leading edge was intended to house steam condensers for the evaporative cooling system intended for the PV XII. The constant problems with the evaporative system in the Goshawk led to the adoption of a 100% glycol cooling system and a new radiator duct design, devised by a Fredrick Meredith of the RAE at Farnborough. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Ethylene glycol ( monoethylene glycol ( MEG) 12-ethanediol, IUPAC name: ethane-12-diol) is an Alcohol with two -OH The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE England, was a British research establishment latterly under the UK Ministry of Defence [14] This meant that the leading edge structure lost its function as an evaporator, but it was later to become very useful with its adaptation to house integral fuel tanks of various sizes. [15][16]

The wing section used was a NACA 2200 series which had been adapted to create a thickness to chord ratio of 13% at the root reducing to 6% at the tip. The NACA airfoils are Airfoil shapes for aircraft wings developed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA A dihedral of six degrees was adopted to give increased lateral stability. Dihedral is the upward angle from horizontal of the wings or tailpane of a Fixed-wing aircraft or the wing of a Bird.

Another feature of the wing was its washout. Washout refers to a feature of wing design to deliberately reduce the lift distribution across the span of the Wing of an Aircraft. The trailing edge of the wing twisted slightly upward along its span, the angle of incidence decreased from +2 degrees at its root to -1/2 degree at its tip. Angle of incidence is a measure of deviation of something from "straight on" for example in the approach of a ray to a surface or the angle This caused the wing roots to stall before the tips, reducing tip stall that may have resulted in a spin. For other uses see Stall. In Aerodynamics, a stall is a sudden reduction in the lift forces generated by an Airfoil In a tight turn the disturbance of the slipstream near the wing-root caused a distinctive "juddering" through the control column and fuselage skin, warning the pilot that the Spitfire was nearing a stall. Many other aircraft of the time gave no advance warning and would flick straight into a spin, which was often fatal. In combat, experienced pilots were able to use the tight turning ability and stall warning provided by the wing to full advantage, especially when pursuing or being pursued by a Bf 109 which had a higher stalling speed and could often fall into a spin without much warning. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout [17]

The elliptical wing and tail units are shown to good effect in this photograph of a Spitfire Mk VB, which also shows good detail of the Type B armament layout.
The elliptical wing and tail units are shown to good effect in this photograph of a Spitfire Mk VB, which also shows good detail of the Type B armament layout.

The elliptical wing was able to reach a safe Mach number of 0. Mach number (\mathrm{Ma} or M (generally ˈmɑːk sometimes /ˈmɑːx/ or /ˈmæk/ is the speed of an object moving through air or any Fluid 83 and maximum of 0. 86 without encountering the problem of Mach-induced aileron flutter, a phenomenon which continued to blight many newer designs.

At first the complexity of the wing design, especially the precision required to manufacture the vital spar and leading edge structures, caused some major hold-ups in the production of the Spitfire. This was amplified when the work was put out to sub-contractors, most of whom had never dealt with metal-structured, high-speed aircraft. Over time, however, these problems were overcome and thousands of these wings, of six basic types, were built. [16]

One flaw in the thin-wing design of the Spitfire manifested itself when the aircraft was brought up to very high speeds. When the pilot attempted to roll the aircraft at these speeds, the aerodynamic forces on the ailerons were enough to twist the entire wingtip in the direction opposite of the aileron deflection (much like the way an aileron trim tab will deflect the aileron itself). For the band with a similar name see The Ailerons Ailerons are hinged control surfaces attached to the Trailing edge of the Wing of a Fixed-wing Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger Control surface on a Boat or Aircraft. This so-called aileron reversal resulted in the Spitfire rolling in the opposite direction to the control-column input. Control reversal is an adverse effect on the controllability of Aircraft. The new wing of the Spitfire F. Mk 21 and its successors was designed to help alleviate this problem. [18]

The ellipse also served as the design basis for the Spitfire’s fin and tailplane assembly, once again exploiting the shape’s favourable aerodynamic characteristics. Both the elevators and rudder were shaped so that their centre of mass was shifted forward thus reducing control surface flutter. The longer noses and greater propeller wash resulting from larger engines in later models necessitated increasingly larger vertical and, later, horizontal tail surfaces to compensate for the altered aerodynamics, culminating in those of the Mk 22/24 series which were 25% larger in area than those of the Mk I. [19][20]

Carburettor versus Fuel Injection

Early in its development, the Merlin engine's lack of direct fuel injection meant that both Spitfires and Hurricanes, unlike the Bf 109E, were unable to simply nose down into a steep dive. Fuel injection is a system for mixing fuel with air in an Internal combustion engine. This meant a Luftwaffe fighter could simply "bunt" into a high-power dive to escape an attack, leaving the Spitfire sputtering behind, as its fuel was forced by negative "g" out of the carburettor. g-force (also G-force, g-load) is a measurement of an object's Acceleration expressed in g s A carburetor (North American spelling or carburettor ( Commonwealth spelling) is a device that blends air and Fuel for an Internal RAF fighter pilots soon learned to "half-roll" their aircraft before diving to pursue their opponents. The use of carburettors was calculated to give a higher specific power output, due to the lower temperature, and hence the greater density, of the fuel/air mixture fed into the motor, compared to injected systems. In March 1941, a metal diaphragm with a hole in it was fitted across the float chambers. In mechanics, a diaphragm is a sheet of a semi-flexible material anchored at its periphery and most often round in shape It partly cured the problem of fuel starvation in a dive, and became known as "Miss Shilling's orifice" as it was invented by a female engineer, Beatrice "Tilly" Shilling. Fuel starvation and fuel exhaustion (sometimes referred to as fuel depletion) are problems that can affect Internal combustion engines fuelled by either The Miss Shilling orifice was a very simple technical device made to counter engine cut-out in early Spitfire and Hurricane fighter aeroplanes during the Battle Beatrice (Tilly Shilling OBE MSc ( 8 March, 1909 &ndash1990 was an Aeronautical engineer who was responsible for correcting a serious Further improvements were introduced throughout the Merlin series, with Bendix-manufactured injection carburettors introduced in 1943. The Bendix Corporation was an American manufacturing and engineering company which during various times in its 60 year existence made brake systems aeronautical hydraulics

Production

The prototype (K5054) first flew on 6 March 1936, from Eastleigh Aerodrome (later Southampton Airport), just four months after the maiden flight of the contemporary Hawker Hurricane. Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Southampton Airport is the 20th largest Airport in the UK, located in Eastleigh near Southampton. Southampton ( IPA /ˌsaʊθˈhæmptən/ is the largest city in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout [21] Testing continued until 26 May 1936, when Captain J. Events 451 - The Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire takes place Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "Mutt" Summers, (Chief Test Pilot for Vickers (Aviation) Ltd. ) flew K5054 to RAF Martlesham Heath and handed the aircraft over to Squadron Leader Anderson of the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE). RAF Martlesham Heath is a former Royal Air Force airfield in England. The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE was a research facility for British military aviation from 1918 to 1992 [22]

The Air Ministry placed an order for 310 aircraft on 3 June 1936, before any formal report had been issued by the A&AEE, interim reports being issued on a piecemeal basis. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman Emperor, entering Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The British public first saw the Spitfire at the RAF Hendon air-display on Saturday 27 June 1936. Hendon Aerodrome was an aerodrome in Hendon, north London, England and between 1908 and 1968 was an important centre for Aviation. Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Castle Bromwich

To build the Spitfires in the numbers anticipated, a huge new facility was started on 12 July 1938 at Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham, as a "shadow" to Supermarine's original Southampton factories: the most modern machine tools then available were being installed two months after work started on the site. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Castle Bromwich is a suburb situated within the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of West Midlands. Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um Southampton ( IPA /ˌsaʊθˈhæmptən/ is the largest city in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England Although the project was at first managed and equipped by Morris Motors Ltd under Lord Nuffield, who was an expert in mass construction in the motor-vehicle industry, it was funded by government money. Morris Commercial Cars The Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company William Richard Morris 1st Viscount Nuffield GBE CH ( 10 October 1877 &ndash 22 August 1963) was the founder of the However, although the new factory had been completed in late 1939 continual problems were experienced in building a complete airframe. The Spitfire's stressed-skin construction required skills and techniques outside the experience of the local labour force and a continual stream of changes were demanded by the RAF. Finally, on 17 May 1940, with no sign of a single Spitfire being built, Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, outmanoeuvred Lord Nuffield and took over Castle Bromwich for the government. Events 1521 - Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for Treason. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. William Maxwell "Max" Aitken 1st Baron Beaverbrook Bt Beaverbrook immediately sent in experienced management staff and experienced workers from Supermarines and Vickers-Armstrongs. Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in In June 1940, 10 Mk IIs were built, the first of thousands of Spitfires to emerge from Castle Bromwich (which also built 305 Avro Lancasters). "Lanc" redirects here Distinguish from Lank (adjective and from Amon Lanc (a place in Tolkien's fiction [23]

Production dispersal

The Germans were fully aware of the importance of the Spitfire and during the Battle of Britain concerted efforts were made by the Luftwaffe to destroy the main manufacturing plants at Woolston and Itchen, near Southampton. The Battle of Britain (German ''Luftschlacht um England'' is the name given to the sustained strategic effort by the German Luftwaffe during the summer and Woolston is a district of Southampton, England, located on the eastern shore of the River Itchen. The River Itchen is a River in Hampshire, England. It flows from mid-Hampshire to join with Southampton Water in the city of Southampton Southampton ( IPA /ˌsaʊθˈhæmptən/ is the largest city in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England The first raid, which missed the factories, came on 23 August. Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire Over the next month other raids were mounted until, on 26 September both factories were completely wrecked, with 92 people being killed and a large number injured: most of the casualties were experienced aircraft production workers. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a [24][25]

Fortunately for the future of the Spitfire many of the production jigs and machine tools had already been relocated by 20 September and steps were being taken to disperse production to small local facilities throughout the Southampton area. Events 451 - The Battle of Chalons takes place in North Eastern France. To this end the British government requisitioned the likes of Vincent's Garage in Station Square Reading, which later specialised in manufacturing Spitfire fuselages, and Anna Valley Motors, Salisbury which was to become the sole producer of the wing leading-edge fuel tanks for photo reconnaissance Spitfires, as well as producing other components. Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ as Redding) is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between Salisbury (ˈsɒlzbri ˈsɔːlzbri ('Solzbry' or ˈzɔːwzbri ('Zawzbry' — moving from RP to local dialect) is a cathedral city in the A purpose built works, specialising in manufacturing fuselages and installing engines, was built at Star Road, Caversham in Reading. Caversham is a Suburb in the Unitary authority of Reading, England, although historically Caversham was part of Oxfordshire. The drawing office, in which all Spitfire designs were drafted was relocated to another purpose built site at Hursley Park, near Southampton. This site also had an aircraft assembly hanger, with its associated aerodrome, where many of the prototype and experimental Spitfires were assembled and flown. [24]

Four towns and their satellite airfields were chosen to be the focal points for these workshops. They were:

Completed Spitfires were delivered to the airfields on large Commer "Queen Mary" low-loader articulated trucks, there to be fully assembled, tested, then passed on to the RAF. Commer was a British manufacturer of commercial vehicles which existed from 1905 until 1979 A Queen Mary trailer is a type of Semi-trailer designed for the carriage and recovery of aircraft [24]

Flight Testing

One of the factors in the success of the Spitfire is that every single one built was flight tested before delivery. During the Second World War Jeffrey Quill was Vickers Supermarine's chief test pilot who oversaw a group of 10 to 12 pilots[27] responsible for testing all developmental and production Spitfires built by the company in the Southampton area. Jeffrey Kindersley Quill OBE AFC (1913–1996 was a British Royal Air Force officer and Test pilot and the second man to fly the Jeffrey Quill devised the standard testing procedures, which, with some variations for the numerous variants, operated from 1938, and was in charge of all flight testing of all aircraft types built by Vickers Supermarine. [28][29] Alex Henshaw, Chief Test Pilot at Castle Bromwich from 1940, was placed in charge of testing all Spitfires built at that factory, coordinating a team of 25 pilots, and also assessing Spitfire developments. Alexander Adolphus Dumfries Henshaw MBE ( 7 November 1912 - 24 February 2007 was a British It is estimated that Henshaw flew at least 10% of all Spitfires built. [30][31]

A total of 20,351 examples of all variants were built, including two-seat trainers, with some Spitfires remaining in service well into the 1950s. A trainer is an Aircraft used to develop piloting navigational or war-fighting skills in flight crew The Spitfire was the only British fighter aircraft to be in continual production before, during, and after the Second World War. [32]

Operational history

Main article: Supermarine Spitfire operational history

The operational history of the Spitfire with the RAF started with the first Mk Is, which entered service with 19 Squadron on 4 August 1938. See also Supermarine Spitfire and See also [[Supermarine Spitfire (early Merlin powered variants]] [[Supermarine Spitfire (late Merlin powered variants]] and [[Comparison No XIX Squadron is a Squadron of the Royal Air Force. History No Events 70 - The Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The last flight of a Spitfire in RAF service, which took place on 9 June 1957, was by a PR 19, PS583, from RAF Woodvale of the Temperature and Humidity Flight. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) RAF Woodvale is a Royal Air Force airfield located four miles south of Southport, Merseyside in a village called Formby. This was also the last known flight of a piston-engined fighter in the RAF.

Although the Spitfire achieved legendary status during the Battle of Britain it is now sometimes forgotten that the aircraft was to continue to play increasingly diverse roles throughout World War II and beyond, often in air forces other than the RAF. The Battle of Britain (German ''Luftschlacht um England'' is the name given to the sustained strategic effort by the German Luftwaffe during the summer and World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

For example, the Spitfire became the first high-speed photo-reconnaissance aircraft to be operated by the RAF. Reconnaissance (also scouting) is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information Unarmed and armed, at high, medium and low altitudes, and often ranging far into enemy territory, these Spitfires kept a close watch on the Axis powers, providing an almost continual flow of valuable intelligence information right throughout the war. The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries In 1941 and 1942 PRU Spitfires were to provide the first photographs of the Freya and Würzburg radar systems and, in 1943, would help confirm that the Germans were building the V1 and V2 vergeltungswaffe ("vengeance weapons") by photographing Peenemünde, on the Baltic Sea coast of Germany. Freya was an Early warning radar deployed by Germany during World War II, named after the Norse Goddess Freyja. The Würzburg radar was the primary ground-based Gun laying Radar for both the Luftwaffe and the German Army during World War II. The Fieseler Fi 103, better known as V-1 (German Vergeltungswaffe 1 was an early Cruise missile used during World War Two See also Vergeltungswaffe The V-2 rocket ( Vergeltungswaffe 2 was the first Ballistic missile and first man-made object to achieve Vergeltungswaffe ( German for "retaliatory weapon" "reprisal weapon" or "vengeance weapon" was a term assigned during World War II by the Nazis Peenemünde (peːnəˈmʏndə is a village in the northeast of the German (Western part of the Usedom island The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude.

In the Mediterranean the Spitfire blunted the heavy attacks on Malta by the Regia Aeronautica and Luftwaffe and, from early 1943, helped pave the way for the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy. Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands The Royal Air Force ( Regia Aeronautica) was the name of the Italian Air Force established as an independent service from 1923 until the ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Over the Northern Territory of Australia RAAF Spitfires helped defend the port city of Darwin against air attack by the Japanese Naval Air Force. The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the center of the mainland continent as well as the central northern regions For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF) is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service ( Japanese:" 海軍航空本部 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun Koku Hombu) was the air branch of the Imperial Japanese

These are just some of the many facets of the operational history of the Spitfire.

Speed and altitude records

The Spitfire Mk XI flown by Sqn. Ldr. Martindale, seen here after its flight on 27 April 1944 during which it was damaged achieving a true airspeed of 606 mph (975 km/h).
The Spitfire Mk XI flown by Sqn. Ldr. Martindale, seen here after its flight on 27 April 1944 during which it was damaged achieving a true airspeed of 606 mph (975 km/h). Events 1124 - David I becomes King of Scotland. 1296 - Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Beginning in late 1943, high-speed diving trials were undertaken at Farnborough to investigate the handling characteristics of aircraft travelling at speeds near the sound barrier (i. Farnborough is a Town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout e. the onset of compressibility effects). Because it had the highest limiting Mach number of any aircraft at that time, a Spitfire XI was chosen to take part in these trials. The Critical Mach number (Mcr of an aircraft is the slowest Mach number at which the airflow over a small region of the wing reaches the speed of sound Due to the high altitudes necessary for these dives, a fully feathering Rotol propeller was fitted to prevent overspeeding. Dowty Rotol is the final incarnation of three major British aviation supply firms Dowty Equipment, Rotol Airscrews and British Messier, which Overspeed is a condition in which an engine is allowed or forced to turn beyond its design limit It was during these trials that EN409, flown by Squadron Leader J. R. Tobin, reached 606 mph (975 km/h, Mach 0. 891) in a 45 degree dive. In April 1944 the same aircraft suffered engine failure in another dive while being flown by Squadron Leader A. F. Martindale, when the propeller and reduction gear broke off. Martindale successfully glided the Spitfire 20 miles (32 km) back to the airfield and landed safely.

That any operational aircraft off the production line, cannons sprouting from its wings and warts and all, could readily be controlled at this speed when the early jet aircraft such as Meteors, Vampires, P-80s, etc could not, was certainly extraordinary. ― Jeffrey Quill[28]

On 5 February 1952, a Spitfire 19 of No. Events 1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France. Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 81 Squadron RAF based in Hong Kong reached probably the highest altitude ever achieved by a Spitfire. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Ted Powles, 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. Flight Lieutenant ( Flt Lt in the RAF; FLTLT in the RAAF and RNZAF, F/L in the former RCAF) is a junior Meteorology (from Greek grc μετέωρος metéōros, "high in the sky" and grc -λογία -logia) is the Interdisciplinary He climbed to 50,000 feet (15,240 m) indicated altitude, with a true altitude of 51,550 feet (15,712 m). The cabin pressure fell below a safe level, and in trying to reduce altitude, he entered an uncontrollable dive which shook the aircraft violently. He eventually regained control somewhere below 3,000 feet (900 m) and landed safely with no discernible damage to his aircraft. Evaluation of the recorded flight data suggested that, in the dive, he achieved a speed of 690 mph (1,110 km/h, Mach 0. 94), which would have been the highest speed ever reached by a propeller-driven aircraft. [33]

The critical Mach number of the Spitfire's original elliptical wing was higher than the subsequently-used laminar-flow-section, straight-tapering planform wing of the follow-on Supermarine Spiteful, Seafang and Attacker, illustrating that Reginald Mitchell's thoughtful and practical engineering approach to the problems of high speed flight had paid off handsomely. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Supermarine Seafang was a British Rolls-Royce Griffon -engined Fighter aircraft designed by Supermarine to Air Ministry The Supermarine Attacker was a British single-seat naval jet fighter built by Supermarine for the Royal Navy 's Fleet Air Arm (FAA.

Variants

Main article: Supermarine Spitfire variants part one
Duxford, 2001. The "Grace Spitfire," a preserved trainer version, ex-No. 485 Squadron RNZAF.
Duxford, 2001. The "Grace Spitfire," a preserved trainer version, ex-No. 485 Squadron RNZAF. No 485(NZ Squadron was a New Zealand Spitfire squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II.

As its designer, R. J. Mitchell will forever be known for his most famous creation. However, the development of the Spitfire did not cease with his premature death in 1937. Mitchell only lived long enough to see the prototype Spitfire fly. Subsequently a team led by his Chief Draughtsman, Joe Smith, would develop more powerful and capable variants to keep the Spitfire current as a front line aircraft. As one historian noted: "If Mitchell was born to design the Spitfire, Joe Smith was born to defend and develop it. "

There were 24 marks of Spitfire and many sub-variants. These covered the Spitfire in development from the Merlin to Griffon engines, the high speed photo-reconnaissance variants and the different wing configurations. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Spitfire Mk V was the most common type, with 6,487 built, followed by the 5,656 Mk IX airframes produced. [34] Different wings, featuring a variety of weapons, were fitted to most marks; the A wing used eight . 303 machine guns, the B wing with four . 303 machine guns and two 20 mm Hispano cannon, and the C or Universal Wing which could mount either four 20 mm cannon or two 20 mm and four . The Hispano-Suiza HS404 Autocannon was one of the most widely used aircraft weapons of the 20th century used by British, American 303 machine guns. As the war progressed, the C wing became more common. [35] The final armament variation was the E wing which housed two 20 mm cannon and two .50 inch Browning heavy machine guns. This article is about the.50 caliber M2 machine gun For the.30-06 M2 machine gun see M1919 Browning machine gun.

Pilots of 611 West Lancashire Squadron lend a hand pushing an early Spitfire Mark IXb, Biggin Hill, late 1942. (RAF Official)
Pilots of 611 West Lancashire Squadron lend a hand pushing an early Spitfire Mark IXb, Biggin Hill, late 1942. No 611 (West Lancashire Squadron was an British Auxiliary Air Force later Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron formed in 1936 and finally disbanded London Biggin Hill Airport is an airport at Biggin Hill on the southern edge of the United Kingdom 's capital city of London. (RAF Official)

Supermarine developed a two-seat variant to be used for training and was known as the T Mk VIII, but no orders were received for this aircraft and only one example was ever constructed (identified as N32/G-AIDN by Supermarine). Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an Aircraft. However, in the absence of an official two-seater variant, a number of airframes were crudely converted in the field. These included an RAF 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 only unofficial two-seat conversions that were fitted with dual-controls were a small number of Russian lend/lease Mk IX aircraft. These were referred to as Mk IX UTI and differed from the Supermarine proposals by using an inline "greenhouse" style double canopy rather than the raised "bubble" type of the T Mk VIII.

In the postwar era, the idea was revived by Supermarine and a number of two-seat Spitfires were built by converting old Mk IX airframes with a second "raised" cockpit featuring a bubble canopy. A bubble canopy is a canopy made like a soap Bubble, which attempts to provide 360° vision to the pilot These TR9 variants were then sold to the Indian Air Force and a total of nine to the Irish Air Corps. The Indian Air Force (Devanāgarī भारतीय वायु सेना IAST Bhartiya Vāyu Senā is the air arm of the Armed Forces of India and has the The Irish Air Corps (Aer Chór na hÉireann provides the air defence function of Oglaigh na hÉireann ( the Irish Defence Forces) in support of the Army and Today, only a handful of the trainers are known to exist, including both the T Mk VIII and a T Mk IX based in the U. S. , and the "Grace Spitfire" ML407 – a variant of the Mk IX that is a privately owned (formerly IAC-162) TR9 and operates out of Duxford, UK. No 485(NZ Squadron was a New Zealand Spitfire squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II. The term privately held company refers to ownership of a business company in two different ways first referring to ownership by non-governmental organizations and second Duxford is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, some ten miles south of Cambridge. The second cockpit of this aircraft has been lowered and is now below the front cockpit. IAC-161 (Previously PV202) has also been recently restored to flying condition.

Naval variants

Main article: Supermarine Seafire

The Seafire was a naval version of the Spitfire specially adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout An aircraft carrier is a Warship designed with Although never conceived for the rough-and-tumble of carrier-deck operations, the Spitfire was considered to be the best candidate available at the time and went on to serve with distinction. Modifications included an arrester hook, folding wings and other specialised equipment. Some features of the basic design were, whilst unproblematic for land operation, problematic for carrier deck operations. One was poor visibility over the nose; and like the Spitfire, the Seafire had a relatively narrow undercarriage track which meant that it was not ideally suited to deck operations. The addition of heavy carrier equipment also added to the weight of the machine and reduced low-speed stability, critical for such operations, and normally a forte of the Spitfire. Early marks of Seafire had relatively few modifications, however late marks were heavily-adapted.

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. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Contemporary Allied carrier fighters such as the F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair, however, were considerably more robust and practical for carrier operations. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A performance advantage was regained when late-war Seafire marks equipped with the Griffon engines supplanted their Merlin-engined predecessors.

The name Seafire was arrived at by collapsing the longer name Sea Spitfire.

Griffon-engined variants

Main article: Supermarine Spitfire variants part two
The first Griffon-powered Spitfire, DP845.
The first Griffon-powered Spitfire, DP845.

The first Rolls Royce Griffon-engined Mk XII flew on August 1942, but only five had reached service status by the end of the year. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout This mark could nudge 400 mph in level flight and climb to an altitude of 30,000 feet (10,000 m) in under eight minutes. Although the Spitfire continued to improve in speed and armament, range and fuel capacity were major issues: it remained "short-legged" throughout its life except in the dedicated photo-reconnaissance role, when its guns were replaced by extra fuel tanks.

Newer Griffon-engined Spitfires were being introduced as home-defence interceptors, where limited range was not an impediment. These faster Spitfires were used to defend against incursions by high-speed "tip-and-run" German fighter-bombers and V-1 flying bombs over Great Britain. The Fieseler Fi 103, better known as V-1 (German Vergeltungswaffe 1 was an early Cruise missile used during World War Two

As American fighters took over the long-range escorting of USAAF daylight bombing raids, the Griffon-engined Spitfires progressively took up the tactical air superiority role as interceptors, while the Merlin-engined variants (mainly the Mk IX and the Packard-engined XVI) were adapted to the fighter-bomber role. The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II.

Spitfire LF. Mk. XIIs of 41 Squadron in mid-1943.
Spitfire LF. Mk. XIIs of 41 Squadron in mid-1943. No 41 Squadron (also written as "No XLI Squadron" of the Royal Air Force is currently the RAF's Fast Jet

Although the later Griffon-engined marks lost some of the favourable handling characteristics of their Merlin-powered predecessors, they could still out-manoeuvre their main German foes and other, later American and British-designed fighters. The distinctive Merlin sound of a supercharger whine and the accompanying whistle from the under-wing radiators was replaced by a deeper, throatier growl. A supercharger is an air compressor used for Forced induction of an Internal combustion engine. [28]

Griffon-engined Spitfires and Seafires continued to be flown by many squadrons of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve until re-equipped in 1951–52. The Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( RAuxAF) is the volunteer reserve part of the Royal Air Force.

In late 1962, Air Marshal Sir John Nicholls instigated an interesting trial when he flew a Spitfire against the supersonic Lightning F 3 interceptor in mock combat at RAF Binbrook. John Nicholls may refer to John Nicholls (footballer (born 1939 Australian footballer Jack Nicholls (born 1943 British Anglican Bishop WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout RAF Binbrook, located at Binbrook, England, was opened as a Bomber Command station in June 1940 during World War II. At the time British Commonwealth forces were involved in possible action against Indonesia over Malaya and Nicholls decided to develop tactics to fight the Indonesian Air Force P-51 Mustang, a fighter that had a similar performance to the Spitfire PR 19. [36] He concluded that the most effective and safest way for a modern jet-engined fighter to attack a piston-engined fighter was from below and behind; contrary to all established fighter-on-fighter dictum. [37]

Survivors

Preserved Spitfire at Duxford. Notice the late-war "bubble" canopy
Preserved Spitfire at Duxford. Notice the late-war "bubble" canopy

There are approximately 44 Spitfires and a few Seafires airworthy worldwide, although many air museums have static examples. A bubble canopy is a canopy made like a soap Bubble, which attempts to provide 360° vision to the pilot For example, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry has paired a static Spitfire with a static Ju 87 R-2/Trop. The Museum of Science and Industry (MSI is located in Chicago, Illinois in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood adjacent to Stuka dive bomber. The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from Stu rz' ka' mpfflugzeug, " Dive bomber " was a two-seat (pilot and rear gunner [38]

Spitfires at Goodwood, West Sussex 2006
Spitfires at Goodwood, West Sussex 2006

Memorials

Operators

See also: List of Supermarine Spitfire operators
The Spitfire Mk VIII "Grey Nurse" which saw action with No. 457 Squadron RAAF in the South West Pacific Area is one of two Spitfires still flying in Australia, both owned by Temora Aviation Museum.
The Spitfire Mk VIII "Grey Nurse" which saw action with No. 457 Squadron RAAF in the South West Pacific Area is one of two Spitfires still flying in Australia, both owned by Temora Aviation Museum. Hamilton ( Kirikiriroa in Māori) is the centre of New Zealand 's fourth largest Urban area, and is the country's seventh largest City This is a list of operators of the Supermarine Spitfire Operators; Royal Australian Air Force No The grey nurse shark (Australia spotted ragged-tooth shark (Africa or sand tiger shark (US and UK Carcharias taurus, is a large Shark No 457 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron of World War II. The South West Pacific was one of two theatres of World War II in the Pacific region between 1942 and 1945. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Temora Aviation Museum is an Australian Aerospace museum located in Temora New South Wales.
Polish Spitfire Mk V from the 303 Kościuszko Squadron flown by S/Ldr Zumbach
Polish Spitfire Mk V from the 303 Kościuszko Squadron flown by S/Ldr Zumbach
American Spitfire MK V of the 334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group.
American Spitfire MK V of the 334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group. RAF No 303 "Kościuszko" Polish Fighter Squadron ( Warszawski Dywizjon im The 4th Fighter Group was an American element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF Eighth Air Force during World War II, and is
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[49]
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Popular culture

Specifications (Spitfire Mk Vb)

Data from The Great Book of Fighters[50] and Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II[51]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Later versions (VB on)

See also

Related development

Comparable aircraft

Related lists

References

Notes

  1. ^ Price, 1986. The Browning M1919 is a.30 caliber Medium machine gun family widely used during the 20th century The United Kingdom, along with the British Empire 's crown colonies, especially British India, declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939 after the Lucy Lady Houston DBE ( April 8 1857 &mdash December 29 1936) born Fanny Lucy Radmall, was an English benefactor philanthropist WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that become famous for producing a range of sea planes and the legendary Supermarine Spitfire fighter The Second World War was not won by one nation the Allies not only had to cooperate while fighting on the ground but pooling of technological resources in weaponry aircraft and new technologies The Supermarine S6B was a racing seaplane developed by Reginald Mitchell for the Supermarine company in order to win the Schneider Trophy in 1931 WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Supermarine Seafang was a British Rolls-Royce Griffon -engined Fighter aircraft designed by Supermarine to Air Ministry WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Aircraft with a production run greater than 5000 aircraft Numbers in list are based on numbers in each aircraft article Many aircraft types have served in the Royal Air Force since it was formed in 1918 by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. The List of aircraft of World War II includes all aircraft and aerial vehicles used by the combatants of World War II p. 67.
  2. ^ a b Morgan and Shacklady, 1992.
  3. ^ Green 1975
  4. ^ Spitfire XIV vs Bf 109 G/K
  5. ^ Avia.russia.ee Supermarine Type 224 Retrieved: 6 March 2007. Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
  6. ^ Price, 1999. p 16, 17.
  7. ^ Wikidictionary: spitfire
  8. ^ Deighton 1977, p. 99.
  9. ^ Spitfire constructionRetrieved 20 February 2008
  10. ^ Spitfires and Polished Metal: Restoring the Classic Fighter Graham Moss and Barry McKee, Airlife, 1999
  11. ^ Spitfire IX,XI and XVI describedRetrieved 10 April 2008
  12. ^ Note: The ellipse is proven to be the most efficient wing shape in terms of optimum spanwise lift distribution, whilst the associated chord tapering results in a high aspect ratio, important for lessening induced drag so that airflow does not ‘break’ over the wing. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 879 - Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks. 1407 - the lama 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Also of noteworthy importance is the type’s low thickness-to-chord ratio – the thin wings promote effective airflow, another vital factor in reducing drag.
  13. ^ Carpenter 1996
  14. ^ Note: Starting with the Merlin XII fitted in Spitfire Mk IIs in late 1940 this was changed to a 70% water-30% glycol mix.
  15. ^ Note: See Supermarine Spitfire variants for details.
  16. ^ a b Price 1999
  17. ^ Spifire I versus Bf 109E
  18. ^ Andrews and Morgan 1987, p. 227-228. Note: The theoretical aileron reversal speed with the new wing increased from 580 mph to 850 mph.
  19. ^ Dibbs and Holmes, 1997. p. 190.
  20. ^ Tanner,1976. Section 1. Fig. 1.
  21. ^ Best of Battle of Britain,Air & Space. Air & Space magazine is a bimonthly magazine put out by the National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved: 3 April 2008
  22. ^ Note: Although March 5 has often appeared as the date of the first flight, Alfred Price has researched the subject and explains in The Spitfire Story that 6 March is the right date. Events 1043 - Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common
  23. ^ Castle Bromwich Retrieved: 9 February 2008.
  24. ^ a b c Smallwood 1996, p. 8–15.
  25. ^ A worker at Woolston Retrieved: 9 February 2008. Events 474 - Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common
  26. ^ Note: On the road between Salisbury and Andover there is a "Spitfire Lane" leading to the Chattis Hill aerodrome Discussion on Spitfire shadow sites Retrieved: 10 February 2008. Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is situated on the River Anton some 18 Events 1355 - The St Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common
  27. ^ Note: the test pilots were based at Highpost and flown by light aircraft to the other airfields.
  28. ^ a b c Jeffrey Quill 1983.
  29. ^ Spitfire Testing Retrieved: 9 September 2008. Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common
  30. ^ Alex Henshaw, 1999
  31. ^ Henshaw Retrieved: 9 February 2008. Events 474 - Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common
  32. ^ Lists of serial numbers/contractsRetrieved: 22 February 2008. Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne
  33. ^ (Pdf file) Description of this flight
  34. ^ Spitfire: Simply Superb part three. Air International, Volume 28, Number 4. April 1985.
  35. ^ Flintham 1990, p. 254–263.
  36. ^ Green 2007, p. 91.
  37. ^ Price 1991, p. 158.
  38. ^ List of Airworthy SpitfiresRetrieved 23 February 2008
  39. ^ Aviation Museum (AU)
  40. ^ Hellenic Air Force Museum Spitfire
  41. ^ Area 51. Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common
  42. ^ Spitfire at Fantasy of Flight
  43. ^ [1]Retrieved: 6 April 2008
  44. ^ TE330 sale reportRetrieved: 25 March 2008
  45. ^ Note: There are conflicting accounts about the year TE330 was shipped to the US. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1199 - Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France which leads to his death on April 6. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common
  46. ^ Kiwi aircraft imagesRetrieved: 25 March 2008
  47. ^ Stoke-on-Trent's own SpitfireRetrieved:27 March 2008
  48. ^ Brigid McMenamin, Sweet Dreams and Flying Machines, Forbes, December 9, 2002. Retrieved: 14 May 2008
  49. ^ List of Spitfire I and II aircraft used by Polish Air Force squadrons (PDF file)
  50. ^ Green and Swanborough 2001
  51. ^ Jane 1946, p. Events 1199 - Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France which leads to his death on April 6. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1264 - Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured in France making Simon de Montfort the 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common 139–141.

Bibliography

External links

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