The
Spitfire - Development
| Supermarine'schief designer
R.J. Mitchell had in the early thirties designed a monoplane fighter -
to Air Ministry Specification F.7/30 - which failed to win orders (in 1935
losing to the Gloster Gladiator biplane designed by H.P. Folland and his
team). Mitchell then started designing a new aircraft, the Type 300.
This was to be powered by Rolls-Royce's PV.12 engine.
The design of the Type 300
benefitted greatly from Mitchell's achievements in developing the S.6B
seaplane racer which had won the Schneider Trophy. The Type 300 was
of an all-metal design (apart from control surfaces) with a distinctive
elliptical wing planform and an armament of eight Browning 0.303" machine
guns. However, it was the advent of the PV.12 engine
(soon to be named as 'the Merlin') which was to become the main influence on the Spitfire's development. |
| Thegreat advances in monoplane
fighter design in Germany made it clear to the RAF that it needed a new
home-defence interceptor. Impressed with Mitchell's Type 300, the Air Ministry
drew up a specification (F.37/34) around the Type 300 design, and in 1936
ordered 310 production examples of the new fighter. A prototype first flew
in March 1936, and the first production Spitfire Mark Is reached No. 19
Squadron RAF at Duxford in August 1938. These early aircraft were fitted
with a Merlin II engine rated at 1,060 hp (791 kW) driving a two-bladed
fixed-pitch wooden propeller.
By the outbreak of war 1,960
Spitfires had been ordered, of which 306 Mk Is had been delivered. By the
time of the German invasion of France in May 1940 19 RAF squadrons were
operating the Spitfire. Almost a third of the strength of these squadrons
was lost covering the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force from
Dunkirk.
As Spitfire production was
stepped up improvements to the basic Mark I were introduced, the most important
of these being a three-bladed variable-pitch propeller. |
| TheSpitfire Mk II was first
delivered - to 611 Squadron - in August 1940. It introduced the Merlin
12 engine, which gave an extra 110 hp (82 kW), and was therefore faster
than the Mk I.
Early in 1941 RAF Fighter
Command went onto the offensive, Spitfires taking part in sweeps over France
intended to draw Luftwaffe fighters into action. At this stage 92 Squadron
received the first Mk V Spitfires. Its Merlin 45 engine developed 1,515
hp (1130 kW) at11,000 feet (3353 metres) and gave a greatly improved performance. |
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Spitfire
VB vs Focke-Wulf 190ASpitfire
IX vs Focke-Wulf 190A
Spitfire XIV vs Focke-Wulf 190A
Spitfire XIV vs Messerschmitt 109G
Spitfires
in the PacificSpitfire
profile drawings
Aerial Duel - Malan against Moelders
The
Spitfire's partner - Hawker Hurricane
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)
Index
Spitfire
VB vs Focke-Wulf 190Spitfire
IX vs Focke-Wulf 190A
Spitfires
in the PacificSpitfire
profile drawings
Battle of Britain duel - Malan against Moelders
The
Spitfire's partner - Hawker Hurricane
E-mail
odyssey@dircon.co.uk
Acknowledgments
The
profile drawings are reproduced, with thanks, from
