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Professionally recreated, this is a real blueprint - made directly from a
vellum master - Measuring a generous 42"x 30".
History of the Supermarine Spitfire
The symbol of Britain's refusal to give up during that dark summer of 1940,
the Spitfire won the hearts of both pilots and public in World War II.
Regardless of the version, with either Rolls-Royce Merlin or Griffon power, all
Spitfire cockpits are virtually identical and wonderfully compact.
A front line fighter for eighteen months, the Spitfire
 ← Acknowledgements and Bibliography
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Continued from above... months, the Spitfire I earned one of the
most enduring reputations of any aircraft. Its sleek lines, graceful
appearance and impressive performance combined with its role in the battle of
Britain to make it a British icon. The Mk I Spitfire was in constant development
during its production run. Reginald J.
Mitchell developed a racing seaplane, the Supermarine S6B, which won the
Schneider Trophy on 13th September, 1931. During the contest the aircraft
reached 340 mph (547 km/h).
In 1934 the Air Ministry announced that it was looking for a new fighter plane.
Mitchell, whose company was now part of Vickers Aviation, decided to adapt his
Supermarine seaplane, in an attempt to meet the requirements of the Royal Air
Force. The new all-metal single-seat fighter plane, the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.
I, had several technical features of the earlier racing seaplane. It had the
same structure and aerodynamic lines. However, it had a new engine, the 1,030 hp
Rolls Royce Merlin and carried 8 machine-guns.
Undoubtedly the most famous British combat aircraft of World War II,
the Spitfire is as deeply ingrained in the collective psyche of most
Britons as the P-51 Mustang is in most Americans'. First flown on 5
March 1936, the Spitfire sprang from the design desk of R.J.
Mitchell, who had previously submitted an unsuccessful design for a
similar fighter, the Type 224. Once given the freedom to design an
aircraft outside of the strict Air Ministry specifications, his Type
300 emerged as a clear winner; so much so that a new Air Ministry
specification was written to match the new design.
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The Supermarine Spitfire was much more than just a
highly successful fighter aircraft. It was, and indeed to many people
still is, the symbol of victory against overwhelming odds and is
probably the only fighter to achieve a truly legendary status. Few other
fighters are more deserving of a place in aviation history. |
The first Spitfire prototype appeared on 5th March, 1936
and flew at 350 mph (563 km/h) and could ascend at approximately 2,500
ft (762 m) per minute. With its slender aerodynamic lines and
elliptical-plan wings, it was claimed at the time, to be the smallest
and cleanest aircraft that could be constructed around a man and an
engine.
The Royal Air Force was impressed with its performance and in June,
1936, it ordered 310 aircraft. The Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I went into
production in 1937 and was operational in June, 1938. Vickers Aviation
could not keep up with demand and most of Britain's manufacturers began
building Spitfires. By October, 1939, the Air Ministry had ordered over
4,000 of these airplanes.
Supermarine Spitfire Mk. II went into service in late 1940. These had a
1,150 hp Rolls Royce Merlin engine. Other versions appeared throughout
the Second World War. This included Spitfire Mk. IV that was a
photographic reconnaissance aircraft. The Spitfire Mk. VC was the first
model to be used as a fighter-bomber and carried 500 pounds (226 kg) of
bombs.
At the beginning of the Battle of Britain the RAF had 32 squadrons of
Hawker Hurricanes and 19 squadrons equipped with Spitfire. It was
decided to use the Hurricanes against the massive bomber formations of
the Luftwaffe whereas the Spitfires were employed against German
fighters.
Though more difficult to build and repair than the Hawker Hurricane,
which had entered service with the RAF in 1937, the Spitfire had a
significant edge in performance. Its large elliptical wing gave it the
ability to turn very tightly. This was the Spitfire’s one major asset
when it met the otherwise comparable German Messerschmitt Me109E in the
Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. However, for a time, the
ability of the 109’s direct-injection DB601 engine to keep running under
negative gravity – as when suddenly going into a dive – proved an
embarrassment to the early Merlin.
This Luftwaffe outnumbered the RAF by four to one. However, the British
had the advantage of being closer to their airfields. German fighters
could only stay over England for about half an hour before flying back
to their home bases. The RAF also had the benefits of an effective early
warning radar system and the intelligence information provided by Ultra.
The Focke Wulf Fw-190, which appeared in July 1941, was superior to the
Spitfire being used by the RAF at the time but this changed with the
production of the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XIV . Powered by a
Rolls-Royce Griffon 65, 12-cylinder, 2,050 hp engine, it could reach a
speed of 448 mph (721 km/h) and could reach a ceiling of 44,500 ft
(13,560 m) and had a range of 460 miles (740 km). It had two 20 mm
cannons; four machine-guns; 1,000 lb (454 kg) of bombs.
Following the Battle of Britain in 1940, the Royal Air Force (RAF) had
planned to replace its Spitfire Mk. I and II fighters with the Mk. III,
which had been under development for two years. The Mk. III included
significant improvements such as an improved wing design, a retractable
tail wheel, and a new Rolls-Royce Merlin XX engine.
Before the RAF could put the Mk. III into production, however, the
Germans introduced the improved Messerschmitt Bf 109F. Since this new
German fighter greatly outperformed the current Spitfires at high
altitude, the RAF could not wait for the factories to be retooled for
the Mk. III, and they hurriedly developed an interim aircraft, the
Spitfire Mk. V (the Mk. IV designation had already been assigned to
another version). |
Douglas Bader first flew a Supermarine Spitfire in February,
1940. He wrote about it in his book, Fight for the Sky.
The Spitfire looked good and was good. But my first reaction was
that it was bad for handling on the ground; its long straight nose,
uptilted when the tail wheel was on the ground; its long straight
nose, uptilted when the tail wheel was on the ground, made taxing
difficult since it was not easy to see ahead. It was necessary to to
swing from side to side to look in front. The view at take-off was
restricted in the same way until you were travelling fast enough to
lift the tail; only then could you see over the nose.
Once accustomed to these minor inconveniences, they were no longer
apparent, and once in the air, you felt in the first few minutes
that here was the aeroplane par excellence. The controls were light,
positive and synchronized; in fact, the aeroplane of one's dreams.
It was stable; it flew hands and feet off; yet you could move it
quickly and effortlessly into any attitude. You brought it in to
land at 75 mph and touched down at 60-65 mph. Its maximum speed was
367 mph. You thus had a wide speed range which has not been equalled
before or since.
It had eight machine guns of .303 calibre each, mounted four in each
wing. The guns were spaced one close to the fuselage, two mid-wing,
one further out. The eight guns were normally synchronized to 250
yards. In other words the four in each wing were sighted so that the
bullets from all eight converged at that distance, in front of the
Spitfire. Experienced fighter pilots used to close the pattern to
200 yards. The successful pilots succeeded because they did not open
fire until they were close to the target...
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Essentially, the Spitfire Mk. V consisted of a modified Mk. II airframe
with a new Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 engine (a Merlin XX modified to ease
production and improve high altitude performance). Initially, the wing
remained unchanged, but three different types emerged depending on the
armament. With the suffix letter indicating the type of wing, the Mk. Va
had eight Browning .303 machine guns, and the Mk. Vb had two Hispano 20
mm cannon and four machine guns. The Spitfire Mk. Vc introduced the
"universal" wing which enabled this variant to be fitted with various
combinations of armament, including four 20 mm. cannon and four .303
machine guns. The Spitfire was constantly improved during the Second
World War. The Supermarine Spitfire F.22 that was used in 1945 could fly
at more than 450 mph (724 km/h) and could ascend at twice the speed of
the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I. |
Summary:
Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft; an
uncompromised, fast and maneuverable fighter. The remarkable thin
elliptical wing made the Spitfire capable of very high speeds. It served
as first-line fighter throughout WWII in increasingly fast and powerful
versions, first with the Merlin, later with the Griffon engine. The
Spitfire was continuously changed to meet all kinds of treats and
demands, as low- and high altitude fighter, tropicalized, navalized, or
equipped as unarmed photo-reconnaissance aircraft. Probably the most
famous military aircraft ever. 20351 built. The RAF retired its last
Spitfires -- PR Mk. 19 aircraft -- in 1954. |
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