Supermarine Spitfire - Royal Air Force Wiki. The Supermarine Spitfire is a British World War II fighter aircraft, which saw worldwide service during the war and the years afterward. The Spitfire was first introduced in 1. November 1. 95. 4.
Supermarine Spitfire var et britiskprodusert enseters jagerfly som ble benyttet av Royal Air Force og mange andre allierte land under andre verdenskrig. Supermarine gained their experience infast and maneuverable aircraft with experience gained in winning the SchneiderTrophy Air Races. But the concept of the Spitfire. Supermarine Spitfire Mk XVI: Descri
Today several remain in operational condition, mainly with British enthusiast clubs such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. R. J. Mitchell saw this as an opportunity, and, learning from his previous designs, came up with a new design based on the Supermarine Type 2. Mitchell, eager to see this aircraft enter service, was dissappointed as the Air Ministry declined his design. Making several changes, such as an enclosed cockpit and sleeker wings, he submitted a design featuring the new Rolls- Royce Merlin engine. The owner of Supermarine, Vickers- Armstrongs, saw potential in his design, and helped Mitchell into the late design stage of the aircraft.
It wasn't long before the Air Ministry took notice, and on the 1st December 1. AM 3. 61. 14. 0/3.
Supermarine Spitfire er et ber. Le Supermarine Spitfire (en anglais cracheur de feu, mais aussi au sens figur
Mitchell . This was to become specification F1. Spitfire. Captain Joseph Summers, who piloted the aircraft, described it (along with several other test pilots) as a competent machine, but perhaps not as good as it could be.
Several fallacies included a fairly slow speed (just 3. Hurricane was capable of, and its controls were prone to exaggerating slight movements, making the aircraft unstable. K9. 78. 9 was the first aircraft delivered . By this stage, 3. Mk. 1 Spitfires had been produced, the first of many. These were soon rectified on future aircraft, and the pre existing examples were modified to suit. Upgrades like bullet resistant windscreens and thicker armour were also soon fitted in the aim of improving the aircrafts battle hardiness.
Originally, the guns consisted of 8 . Browning machine guns, but later the first Hispano cannons were fitted to L1. However, the Air Ministry were convinced to stay with the type, and approximately 2. Supermarine for the aircraft. On the 1. 6th October, British warships came under attack in the Firth of Forth, Scotland by 9 Junkers Ju- 8. KG 3. 0 squadron.
Soon English Spitfires managed to shoot down a Heinkel He- 1. Whitby. As 1. 93. Spitfire saw more and more combat experience over Britain, with only one example being sent to France before the German takeover. On the 2. 3rd May, Spitfires and Bf 1. Spitfires and four enemy aircraft being shot down.
In the evacuation of Dunkirk and the Battle of France a further 6. Spitfires were lost, highlighting to the RAF the need for revised formation tactics when fighting the Bf 1. Dozens of Spitfires, painted in pink for low altitudes, light blue for mid altitudes and deep blue for high altitudes took up this work, trawling the French coastline to pick out German positions. However, their work was to be disrupted by the Battle of Britain which started on the 1. July 1. 94. 0, and caused a rush in Spitfire production to keep up with demand to intercept German bomber aircraft.
Fighting alongside the Hurricane, the Spitfire soon overshadowed its more common cousin and became idolised as the saviour of Britain. In the early stages, issues with the Spitfires thinner wings meant that the guns were much less effective, making the Hurricane a much more suitable aircraft in this respect, however Spitfires were employed more extensively against fighter escorts where this was not so much of an issue, whilst the less agile Hurricanes dealt with the bombers. The early Spitfires, fitted with Merlin engines, were capable of 1. Spitfire pilots. Between 1st August and 3.
October, 2. 08 Spitfires were shot down in combat. This meant that in dives the 1. Spitfire to overshoot. The 1. 09 also carried 3. However, the Spitfire, unlike the 1. Spitfire could stay up for much longer.
This was costly, and few German aircraft were actually shot down in the process, however the RAF were now staking their claim to France once more. However, Mk. IIs were also soon phased out with the newly developed Mk. V, which performed better at high altitude in an aim to combat the new Bf 1. Germans had developed. The Germans were now unwilling to fight air battles in the west unless the conditions were balanced well in their favour, with the majority of German air forces being directed at the Russian front. Due to this, the need for the replacement Mk. VI was less urgent, and the Mk.
V stayed in production for a long time, producing the most examples of any one type of Spitfire. The RAF was now in urgent need of the Mk. VI, whose improved performance had a chance to counter the Fw- 1. A long standing issue with the Spitfire had been its tendency to cut out when a negative g dive took place, limiting its dogfighting capacity. However, at the end of the year, a new carburettor for the Merlin engine completely eradicated this problem, helping the Spitfire to compete with the Fw- 1. Whilst neither ship was sunk, several Fw- 1. Spitfires, giving the RAF a chance to gauge their opponents aircraft.
The Mk. VI soon came into operation, phasing out the Mk. Vs and helping to bridge the gap between the Mk. V and the Fw- 1. 90, being specialised in high altitude operations.
However, the Mk. IX turned out to be a great success, and 5. The RAF leaped on this opportunity, and after extensive testing found it to be far superior to the Mk. V Spitfire in all but tight turns. Awaiting the Mk. IX, many Mk. Vs still in service subsequently had their wings 'clipped' by 4ft 4 inches, which improved their maneuverability substantially. The supercharger was also updated to compete with that in the Fw- 1. Soon more and more Mk.
IXs were put into service, countering the Luftwaffe's new strategy of mounting hit and run attacks on RAF formations. The seaborne invasion of Dieppe also gave RAF crews valuable lessons in landing operations, as 8.
Spitfires. More and more aircraft arrived, and by August all air support on Malta was Spitfire- based. Mk. Vs at Gibraltar were modified further, being lightened and having extra fuel tanks fitted to make the 1. Gibraltar to Malta, and October saw the first of many of these flights, resupplying the Malta air defence force.
In operations over Sicily, Malta's Spitfires were fitted with 2. Many of these aircraft were also modified, with the standard guns being replaced with two 0. These aircraft were then used, among other roles, to shoot down reconaissance aircraft at around 5. However, the Fw- 1.
North Africa by November, so to counter these the RAF supplied Spitfires to supplement No. Squadron. In aid of the United States bombing efforts over Germany, Spitfires were provided as escort aircraft at the beginning and end of the missions, helping to protect the vulnerable bombers from enemy Me 1. Fw- 1. 90s. Early 1. Griffon- engined Spitfire - for years now the Merlin engine had been the mainstay of the aircraft but advances in technology called for a more powerful, better performing engine and the Griffon provided this.
Just 1. 00 Mk. XII were built, but their Griffon engine proved effective against German Fw- 1. The idea was that the Spitfire would provide cover and defend itself until a larger Walrus rescue aircraft could land on the water and pick up the stranded air crew. Portugal and Turkey also recieved Mk.
Vs, and the US continued to operate many of the aircraft. Japan's entry into the war in 1. Spitfires to make them into seaplane fighters.
Four of these were sent to Egypt but the German occupation of Dodecanese halted their possible success. In North Africa, as the campaign entered its closing stages, Spitfires were used to inflict damage on the Luftwaffe's transport fleet with great success. Spitfires here engaged and destroyed enemy Me 1. Ju- 5. 2s. Landings on Italy were also helped by Spitfire support, most notably in the fighter bomber role. In addition, No. 6. Squadron, No. 6. 15 Squadron and No. Squadron were all based in Darwin, Australia with Spitfire Mk.
Vs to counter Japanese air raids in or around the surrounding area. These planes had a good success rate against Japanese bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. Considered superior to the Me 1. Fw- 1. 90, the Mk. XIV enjoyed astounding success in the year to come. D- Day was another oppurtunity for the Mk. XIV and previous marks to perform in battle - 5.
Spitfire fighters took part in the event. Several more were used for aerial reconnaissance and general spotting duties, and everything from the now ageing Mk. V to the Mk. XIV was used. The retreating German army, who now occupied the Falaise gap, were bombarded with Hawker Typhoon and Spitfire squadrons who fired bombs, rockets and bullets at the soldiers and artillery. In total, 1. 1 squadrons were called up, consisting of mainly Spitfires, but also Tempest Vs who were fast enough to catch the V- 1s in level flight, whereas the Spitfires relied on intercepting them.
Mk. XIIs and XIVs were lightened and polished to improve their speed, and soon made great bounds in destroying incoming V- 1s. Spitfires of No. 4. Squadron were credited with killing the first Me 2. At the end of the year, on the 2. December, Spitfires escorted medium bombers in an effort to qualm the German offensive through the Ardennes.
No. 3. 02 Squadron, No. Squadron and No. 3. Squadron suffered heavy aircraft losses, losing about 2.
Spitfires, most of whom were lost from forced landings, but several were lost in combat. Canadian squadrons also suffered losses, including the loss of six pilots in combat.
Mk. 21s were now entering service, with No. Squadron recieving several in January, however the end of the war would mean only 1. These aircraft claimed several early kills, including a midget submarine which they strafed as it surfaced.
Many Spitfires were now employed in escort roles to Lancaster and Halifax bombers in daylight raids on German towns, cities, and military sites. Other Spitfires were employed in the dive bomber role with up to 5. These aircraft were mostly Mk. VIIIs, and several Seafires aboard HMS Indefatigable performed successful attacks on Japanese forces.