| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
| Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vc | ||
|---|---|---|
Spitfire Mk.V Trop | ||
| Description | ||
| Role | Day fighter | |
| Crew | one, pilot | |
| First Flight | March 5, 1936 | |
| Entered Service | August, 1938 | |
| Manufacturer | Supermarine | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Length | 29 ft 11 in | 9.1 m |
| Wingspan | 36 ft 10 in | 11.2 m |
| Height | 11 ft 5 in | 3.9 m |
| Wing area | ft² | m² |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 5,000 lb | 2300 kg |
| Loaded | lb | kg |
| Maximum takeoff | 6,400 lb | 3100 kg |
| Powerplant | ||
| Engine | Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 | |
| Power | 1,470 hp | 1096 kW |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | 374 mph | 602 km/h |
| Combat range | 470 miles | 760 km |
| Ferry range | miles | km |
| Service ceiling | 35,000 ft | 11,300 m |
| Rate of climb | ft/min | m/min |
| Wing loading | lb/ft² | kg/m² |
| Power/Mass | hp/lb | kW/kg |
| Armament | ||
| Guns | 2 × 20mm cannon 4 × .303 inch (7.7 mm) machine guns | |
| Bombs | 1 × 500 lb (230 kg) bomb | |
The Supermarine Spitfire was a single seat fighter used by the RAF and many Allied countries in World War II.
The Spitfire's elliptical wings gave it a very distinctive look; their thin cross-section gave it speed; the brilliant design of Chief Designer R.J. Mitchell and his successors (he died in 1937) meant the Spitfire was loved by its pilots. It saw service during the whole of World War II, in all theatres of war, and in many different variants.
More than 20,300 of all variants were built, and Spitfires remained in service well into the 1950s.
The name Spitfire is the euphemistic translation of Cacafuego, a Spanish treasure galleonFor the fictional unit of money called a "galleon", see Money in Harry Potter. A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by the nations of Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally captured in 1579Events January 6 The Union of Atrecht united the southern Netherlands under the Duke of Parma, governor in the name of king Philip II of Spain. January 23 The Union of Utrecht united the northern Netherlands in a confederation called the United Provinces. by Sir Francis Drake. (The verbatim translation of Cacafuego would be Shitfire).
This first attempt at a fighter resulted in a open-cockpit monoplane with gull-wings and a large fixed spatted undercarriage. The Supermarine Type 224 did not live up to expectations; nor did any of the competing designs which were also deemed failures.
Mitchell immediately turned his attention to an improved design as a private venture, with the backing of Supermarine owners Vickers. The new design added gear retraction, an enclosed cockpit, oxygen gear, and the much more powerful Rolls Royce PV-12 engine.
By 1935 the Air Ministry had seen enough advancement in the industry to try the monoplane design again. They eventually rejected the new Supermarine design on the grounds that it did not carry the required eight-gun load, and didn't appear to have room to do so.
Once again Mitchell was able to solve the problem. It has been suggested that by looking at various Heinkel planes he settled on the use of an eliptical planform, which had much more chord to allow for the required eight-guns, while still having the low drag of the earlier, simpler wing design. Mitchell's aerodynamicist, Beverley Shenstone, however, has pointed out that Mitchell's wing was not directly copied fron the Heinkel He 70, as some have claimed; the Spitfire wing was much thinner and had a completely different section. In any event, the elliptical wing was enough to sell the Air Ministry on this new Type 300, which they funded as F.10/35.
The prototype first flew on March 5, 1936. Performance was such that the Air Ministry immediately placed an order for 310. At the time it was still being "shaken out" by Vickers test pilots, even before the aircraft had been handed to them for their own flight testing.
A feature of the final Spitfire design that has often been singled out by pilots is its "washout" feature, which was unusual at the time. The incidence of the wing is +2° at its root and -½° at its tip. This twist means that the wing tips will stall before the roots, giving a slight judder to warn the pilot. The pilot then has sufficient aileron control to recover the aircraft before it enters a full stall. Many pilots have benefitted from this feature in combat when doing tight turns close to the aircraft's limits.