Untitled Page

Nigel G Wilcox

Paragon Of Space Publication

Small Aircraft of - WWII

Maximum speed: 584 km/h (362.88 mph), Maiden flight: 05 Mar 1936, Length: 29.92 ft, Wingspan: 36.91 ft, Passengers: 1,
Engine types: Rolls-Royce Merlin · Rolls-Royce Griffon

Supermarine Spitfire

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, using several wing configurations, and it was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft. It was also the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. The Spitfire continues to be popular among enthusiasts; about 54 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world.

Role: Fighter / Photo-reconnaissance aircraft
National origin: United Kingdom
Manufacturer: Supermarine
Designer: R. J. Mitchell
First flight: 5 March 1936
Introduction: 4 August 1938
Retired: 1961 Irish Air Corps
Primary users: Royal Air Force
                      Royal Canadian Air Force
                      United States Army Air Forces
Produced: 1938-1948
Number built: 20,351
Unit cost: £12,604 (£774,905 in 2017) (Estonian order for 12 Spitfires in 1939)
Variants: Supermarine Seafire
              Supermarine Spiteful

General characteristics
Crew: one pilot
Length: 29 ft 11 in (9.12 m)
Wingspan: 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
Height: 11 ft 5 in (3.86 m)
Wing area: 242.1 ft2 (22.48 m2)
Airfoil: NACA 2213 (root)
NACA 2209.4 (tip)
Empty weight: 5,065 lb (2,297 kg)
Loaded weight: 6,622 lb (3,000 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 6,700 lb (3,039 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Merlin 45[nb 16] supercharged V12 engine, 1,470 hp (1,096 kW) at 9,250 ft (2,819 m)

Performance
Maximum speed: 370 mph (322 kn, 595 km/h)
Combat radius: 410 nmi (470 mi (756 km))
Ferry range: 991 nmi (1,135 mi (1,827 km))
Service ceiling: 36,500 ft (11,125 m)
Rate of climb: 2,600 ft/min (13.2 m/s)
Wing loading: 27.35 lb/ft2 (133.5 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.22 hp/lb (0.36 kW/kg)

Armament
Guns:
A wing
8 × .303 in Browning Mk II* machine guns (350 rounds per gun)
B wing
2 × 20 mm Hispano Mk II (60 rounds per gun)
4 × .303 in Browning Mk II* machine guns (350 rounds per gun)
C wing
4 × 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannon (120 rounds per gun)
C wing (Alt.)
2 × 20 mm Hispano Mk II (120 rounds per gun)
4 × .303 in Browning Mk II* machine guns (350 rounds per gun)
E wing
2 × 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannon (120 rounds per gun)
2 × .50 in M2 Browning machine guns (250 rounds per gun)

Operators
Spitfires Mk Vc (Trop) of 352 (Yugoslav) Squadron RAF (Balkan Air Force) before first mission on 18 August 1944, from Canne airfield, Italy
Spitfire T9 in 2005, civil registered as G-CCCA, painted in the markings of the Irish Air Corps
Argentina (two, ex-civilian, test only)
Australia
Belgium
Burma
Canada
Republic of China
Czechoslovakia
Denmark
Egypt
France
Free France
Greece
Hong Kong
British Raj
Union of India
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Kingdom of Italy
Italy (Italian Republic)
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Pakistan
Poland
Portugal
Rhodesia
South Africa
Soviet Union
Sweden
Syria
Thailand
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
Yugoslavia

Spitfire, also called Supermarine Spitfire, the most widely produced and strategically important British single-seat fighter of World War II. The Spitfire, renowned for winning victory laurels in the Battle of Britain (1940-41) along with the Hawker Hurricane, served in every theatre of the war and was produced in more variants than any other British aircraft.

The Spitfire was designed by Reginald Mitchell of Supermarine Ltd., in response to a 1934 Air Ministry specification calling for a high-performance fighter with an armament of eight wing-mounted 0.303-inch (7.7-mm) machine guns. The airplane was a direct descendant of a series of floatplanes designed by Mitchell to compete for the coveted Schneider Trophy in the 1920s. One of these racers, the S.6, set a world speed record of 357 miles (574 km) per hour in 1929. Designed around a 1,000-horsepower, 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled Rolls-Royce PV-12 engine (later dubbed the Merlin), the Spitfire first flew in March 1935. It had superb performance and flight characteristics, and deliveries to operational Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons commenced in the summer of 1938. A more radical design than the Hurricane, the Spitfire had a stressed-skin aluminum structure and a graceful elliptical wing with a thin airfoil that, in combination with the Merlin’s efficient two-stage supercharger, gave it exceptional performance at high altitudes.

The version of the Spitfire that fought in the Battle of Britain was powered by a Merlin engine of 1,030 horsepower. The plane had a wingspan of 36 feet 10 inches (11.2 metres), was 29 feet 11 inches (9.1 metres) long, and reached a maximum speed of 360 miles (580 km) per hour and a ceiling of 34,000 feet (10,400 metres). Faster than its formidable German opponent the Bf 109 at altitudes above 15,000 feet (4,600 metres) and just as maneuverable, Spitfires were sent by preference to engage German fighters while the slower Hurricanes went for the bombers. More Hurricanes than Spitfires served in the Battle of Britain, and they were credited with more “kills,” but it can be argued that the Spitfire’s superior high-altitude performance provided the margin of victory.

Meanwhile, Supermarine was developing more-capable versions of the Spitfire driven by progressively more-powerful Merlins. The eight 0.303-inch machine guns gave way to four 0.8-inch (20-mm) automatic cannons, and by war’s end the Spitfire had been produced in more than 20 fighter versions alone, powered by Merlins of up to 1,760 horsepower. Though outperformed by the German Fw 190 upon that aircraft’s introduction in 1941, the Spitfire restored parity the following year and eventually regained the advantage. It remained a first-line air-to-air fighter throughout the war. Spitfires were used in the defense of Malta, in North Africa and Italy, and, fitted with tail hooks and strengthened tail sections, as Seafires from Royal Navy aircraft carriers from June 1942. Spitfires helped to provide air superiority over the Sicily, Italy, and Normandy beachheads and served in the Far East from the spring of 1943. Fighter-bomber versions could carry a 250- or 500-pound (115- or 230-kg) bomb beneath the fuselage and a 250-pound bomb under each wing.

One of the Spitfire’s most important contributions to Allied victory was as a photo-reconnaissance aircraft from early 1941. Superior high-altitude performance rendered it all but immune from interception, and the fuel tanks that replaced wing-mounted machine guns and ammunition bays gave it sufficient range to probe western Germany from British bases.

In late 1943 Spitfires powered by Rolls-Royce Griffon engines developing as much as 2,050 horsepower began entering service. Capable of top speeds of 440 miles (710 km) per hour and ceilings of 40,000 feet (12,200 metres), these were used to shoot down V-1 “buzz bombs.” During World War II, Spitfires were exported in small numbers to Portugal, Turkey, and the Soviet Union, and they were flown by the U.S. Army Air Forces in Europe. When production ceased in 1947, 20,334 Spitfires of all versions had been produced, 2,053 of them Griffon-powered versions.

Fighter versions of the Spitfire were dropped from RAF service during the early 1950s, while photo-reconnaissance Spitfires continued in service until 1954.
Courtesy: John F. Guilmartin

A free template by Lucknowwebs.com for WYSIWYG WebBuilder 8

SCIENCE RESEARCH

S'sonic
Stealth
Menu

Space
Transport
Menu