The Supermarine Spitfire is one of the most iconic aircraft of all time. Between 1937 and 1947 over 20,000 of them were built and in those 10 years, Spitfires changed dramatically from the Mk 1 to the Mk 24.
The name that R J Mitchell, the designer of the Spitfire, wanted for his aircraft was either the Shrew or Scarab. It was Supermarine's Chairman, Robert McLean, who chose the name Spitfire, after his daughter's nickname.
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. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griffon-engined Mk 24 using several wing configurations and guns.
It is rumoured that his daughter inspired the name. “She's a little spitfire” he is meant to have said. Others have suggested that the name Spitfire itself added to its potency as a weapon and that without such an evocative name we could have lost the war.
The Spitfire is the most famous of all British combat aircraft, and played a vital role in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Did you know? There are over 50 airworthy Spitfires still flying today.
How The Spitfire Became An Aviation Masterpiece | The Birth Of A Legend | Timeline
What plane was better than the Spitfire?
The Bf 109 was arguably the best fighter in the world in 1940. It was faster than the Spitfire at high altitude, could dive more rapidly and carried a more effective armament of two cannon and two machine guns.
The Spitfire is the most famous British fighter aircraft in history. It won immortal fame during the summer months of 1940 by helping to defeat the German air attacks during the Battle of Britain.
After flying high over Britain in the Spitfire, Broch heaped praise on his former adversary's formidable fighter plane: “The Spitfire was greatly respected. With these machines you have a feeling of being free, and being able to do what you want.”
The Spitfire IX and P-51 have similar climbing abilities at 3200 feet per minute, the P-51 is faster at 440 to the Spits 404 mph, and the Spit is far lighter by 2 full tons (much of that in fuel) and far more maneuverable as a result.
The first two letters were the code of the squadron the aircraft was with, for example, "XT" was 603 Squadron in 1941. The remaining letter was the individual code of that aircraft within the squadron.
Was the Messerschmitt Me 262 the fastest plane in WW2? Nowhere near the fastest. The Me163 Komet had a top speed about 100 mph faster than the Me262, at 659 mph vs 559 mph.
Spitfires with two seats are exceedingly uncommon - only a very small number of the 20,000 single-seat Spitfires that were produced are still in flight today.
Around 240 are known to exist. Of these, around 60 are airworthy. 70-odd are used for static display and around 110 across the world are either held in storage or are being actively restored. Unsurprisingly, it's the United Kingdom that has the largest number of airworthy Spitfires remaining (30 out of the 60).
A German bomber airman, shot down over Malta, said the 'most terrifying thing' that he experienced in combat 'was the sight of 12 Spitfires all firing cannon and machine guns and coming head-on at our formation. All the front gunners had frozen stiff with fear'.
The Germans held the Spitfire and Hurricane in high regard during World War II. They respected the speed, maneuverability, and firepower of these British fighter planes. The Spitfire, in particular, was known for its iconic design and played a crucial role in the Battle of Britain.
In the days before the Spitfire and its all-metal rival, the German Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Hurricane became a new benchmark for fighter plane design. Hawker had ambitious export plans for the aircraft, assuming other countries' air forces would be as impressed as the RAF.
While there isn't a definitive 'score' for the Spitfire, the available statistical evidence points to the Spitfire shooting down more planes than its rivals.
In most cases, the Spitfire had better performance as an all-purpose fighter. The all-important climb rate for a P51D sat at 3200ft per minute whilst the Spitfire could climb at an impressive 3650ft per minute. The maximum speed of a P51D was 437mph whilst the Spitfire was slightly faster at 448mph.
Their design, dubbed Mustang by the British, had a low-drag laminar-flow wing and an efficient low-drag engine cooling system that gave it exceptional speed and range.
The RAF proved to be a better combat force than the Luftwaffe in almost every respect. The decisive factors were British capability and determination, but German mistakes, before and during the battle, contributed significantly to the outcome.
What was the fatal flaw of the Spitfire fighter plane?
The Spitfire's original engine couldn't handle barrel rolls. The throttle valve would get flooded with fuel as the plane turned upside-down. German pilots quickly caught on to this particular flaw because black smoke would puff out of the Spitfire whenever it flipped over.
In 1951, Britain introduced the English Electric Canberra. Designed to operate at high level, it would go onto become the RAF's longest serving machine. It was an incredibly efficient aircraft, but by the late 1950s everything changed.
The United States Air Force (USAF) maintains its top position in the world with an outstanding margin. As of 2021, the USAF possesses a massive fleet of 5,217 active aircraft, Making it the largest, most technologically advanced, and most powerful air force globally.
Voyager, together with the C-17, C-130J and the A400M transport aircraft, will provide the RAF with a truly world class fleet of aircraft, underpinning the global reach that is vital to our operations. Voyager has a colossal 60-metre wingspan and is nearly 60 metres long.
