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Spitfire
Mark I
| Theprototype Mk I Spitfire
first flew in March 1936, and the first production Mk Is reached 19 Squadron
RAF at Duxford in August 1938. These early aircraft were each powered by
a Rolls-Royce Merlin II rated at 1,060 hp (791 kW) driving a two- bladed,
fixed-pitch wooden propeller. Armament was eight 0.303-inch (7.7 mm) Browning
machine-guns. By the outbreak of war in September 1939 306 production Mk
Is had been delivered.
As production was stepped
up various improvements to the basic Mk I were introduced, the most important
of these being the introduction of a three-blade variable-pitch constant-speed
propeller. Meanwhile it was becoming increasingly clear that the standard
armament of rifle-calibre machine-guns was inadequate, being unable to
penetrate the armour of Axis aircraft.
The Hispano 20mm cannon was tested, and during the Battle of Britain in the summer and autumn of 1940 a small number of Spitfires each armed with two of the cannon and four of the 0.303 Browning machine-guns were introduced, the first of them once again to 19 Squadron. The cannon-armed aircraft were known as Mk IBs, while Spitfires with the standard armament now became known as Mk IAs. The early Hispano cannon were severely prone to jamming, but combat experience with the cannon-equipped Spitfires was enough to convince the Air Ministry that future production fighters should be cannon-armed. The Spitfire Mk I was superseded
by the Spitfire Mk II with its more powerful Merlin 12 engine and
improved performance. The first Mk IIs were delivered to 611 Squadron in
August 1940.
In all 1,567 Mk I Spitfires
were built, all of which were powered by Merlin II or III engines. The
overwhelming majority were Mk IIAs with the original standard armament
of eight 0.303" machine-guns. |
Spitfire
- Index
Late
SpitfiresSpitfires
in the PacificSpitfire
Images
The
Battle of Britain - Malan versus Moelders
The
Spitfire - Origins and Development
Spitfire
VB vs Focke-Wulf 190Spitfire
IX vs Focke-Wulf 190A
Spitfire
XIV vs Focke-Wulf 190A
Spitfire
XIV vs Messerschmitt 109G
The
Spitfire's partner and rival - the Hawker Hurricane
Specification/Data
(Mk 1 Spitfire)
Origin:
Supermarine Aviation Works (Vickers) Limited
Type:
Single-seat fighter
Dimensions:
Length 29' 11 (9.12 m), span 36' 10"(11.23 m), height 11' 5"
(3.48 m)
Weight:
Empty 4,810 lb (3,040 kg), loaded 5,784 lb (2,624 kg)
Engine:
One 1,030 hp (768-kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin II inline, liquid-cooled
Performance:
Maximum speed 355-362 mph (580 km/hour),
initial climb 2,530 feet (770 metres) per minute
Range:
395 miles (637 kilometres)
Armament:
8
fixed forward-firing 0.303 inch (7.7
mm) Browning machine-guns (four in each wing)
E-mail
odyssey@dircon.co.uk
