Ever wanted to know how this famous warbird changed over the years?
R. J. Mitchell's Supermarine Spitfire was one of the most popular fighters of WW2. By 1945, it had morphed into a highly altered version of the plane that was drawn on Mitchel's drawing boards. It was upgraded with new engines, fitted with radically different wings, and was modified to take on an array of roles that diverged from its original brief. Here's a quick look at the history of the Spitfire and its development over the years it was in service.
Some basic info:
Purpose - Interceptor Fighter
First Flight - 1936
Retired from RAF service - 1955 (19 years)
Number built - 20,351
Known to still exist - 238
The First Spitfire
The very first prototype Spitfire was named K5054. This airplane was the Spitfire at its most primitive - but arguably at it's most pure. Before being refined into a pure fighter, it was this aircraft that first proved the Spitfire as the best plane to meet the Air Ministry specifications.
Indicative of its early stage of development, K5054 had a tail skid rather than a tail wheel.
However, this plane wasn't the first to be designed by Mitchell and his team, nor was it the first attempt at a spitfire to meet the requirements of the spec. The Spitfire wasn't the product of a moment of inspiration - it was the result of an enormous amount of work and refinement.
The Type 224 was Supermarine's first attempt to meet the Air Ministry's specification for a next-generation RAF fighter.
The first Spitfire flew in March 1936. It came just four months after the contemporary Hawker Hurricane. It was almost immediately recognized to be something special and, after some improvements such as fitting a new propeller and undercarriage indicators, the Air Ministry ordered 310 Spitfires on the 3rd June 1936.
Sadly, the original designer R. J. Mitchell, who had been struggling with cancer during the development of the early spitfire, died on the 11th June 1937 aged 42. Although he saw the recognition for his work, he never realized the decisive role the Spitfire play in the upcoming conflict.
Early Versions
The first production model Spitfires, armed with eight Browning machine guns in their wings and fitted with bullet-proof glass, were posted to a few squadrons early in 1938. 19 squadron based at RAF Duxford was the first to receive the cutting-edge modern fighter. Many pilots flew with the canopy open as they weren't used to closed cockpits.
The Battle of France and the Battle of Dunkirk were the two first major tests of the new Spitfire. Against the JU 87 dive bomber, it's armament and maneuverability showed its worth. Despite this, the RAF and Luftwaffe each lost close to 200 aircraft over the nine days of fighting around Dunkirk.
This Spitfire, N3200, was buried on a French beach for over 50 years before being recently recovered, restored and flown again.
The BF-109 was a worthy competitor and could outperform the Spitfire in a dive and in level speed. With both planes remaining in production through the entirety of the war, these initial tests sparked the start of the battle between each air force to out-develop the other with gradual improvements to both the Spitfire and the 109.
The MK 1 Spitfires used in the Battle of Britain were steadily refined with renowned Pilots making suggestions. This culminated in the introduction of the MK 5 Spitfire in March 1941. Most MK 5s had two cannons and four machine guns. They also had a more powerful Merlin 55 engine that could produce 1415hp.
This version of the Spitfire was rushed into service to meet the threat of the newly introduced Messerschmitt BF-109 F. However, another threat appeared in September 1941 when Polish pilots of 315 Squadron reported being attacked by an unknown radial engine fighter. This was the FW-190.
Taking on new roles
During 1941, new Spitfire variants were created to take on specific roles. Some were designed as low-level interceptors whereas others were modified for high-altitude reconnaissance. Some were even painted a light shade of pink to blend in with the atmosphere.
Some Spitfires were made to meet the role intercepting high flying enemy bombers. The MK 6 was designed with elongated wingtips and a pressurized cockpit to be more effective at this job.
Some low-level flying aircraft were built with clipped wings. MK 5s were modified in this way to give them a faster rate of roll at the cost of sacrificing some lift and turning effectiveness. This was found to be of use in the North Africa campaign which saw Spitfires modified into 'tropical' variants with air filter attachments.
The peak of these experiments with different variations on the same theme resulted in a new standard Spitfire - the MK 9. This airplane had a MK 5 airframe but was fitted with a Merlin 61 engine. This engine gave the aircraft a huge advantage over the older MK 5s. It could climb extremely well and came into its own over 20,000 ft. There it could maneuver much as it could at lower altitudes whilst flying at its maximum speed of 368mph.
Also during 1942, the first Supermarine Seafires were produced for the Navy. They were fitted with folding wings, catapult spools, and arrester hooks. Carrier-based Seafires were found to be effective in North Africa, Sicily, the Invasion of Italy and the Normandy Landings. There were also used in the Pacific fleet.
As well as the Seafire, some spitfires went a step forward to become actual seaplanes. Although they never got past the prototype stage, these experiments harked back to the origins of Supermarine in creating sleek seaplane racers before the war - perhaps this was their ultimate water-based aircraft. Notably, the rudder was increased in size to counterbalance the side area of the floats.
Going Griffon-Powered
Later into the war, the Spitfire was again upgraded with a new engine. This time, though, it was a step ahead of the Merlin that had powered it's earlier versions. The MK 12 Spitfire was the first to be equipped with this new powerful engine that produced a huge 1735hp. This engine added some length to the nose of the Spitfire. It also meant that two large bulges were added to the top of the cowling to cover the large cylinder banks.
The MK 16 was the next giant leap forward for the Spitfire. It had a 2035hp Griffon 65 which took the plane to 448mph at 26,000ft. The 16 was also one of the first of the Spitfires to remove the ridged back of the fuselage to increase rearward visibility for the pilot. Not all aircraft, however, were fitted with this feature.
These higher performance spitfires were especially good at combating the V-1 Flying Bomb that terrorized Londoners in 1944. Because of their explosive payload, pilots found other means of destroying the missiles other than simply shooting them down. It was discovered that Spitfires could fly alongside the bombs and cause them to crash simply due to the power of wing vortexes; all a pilot would have to do is place a wing above or below the enemy aircraft's wing.
Many of these later Spitfires were fitted with huge five-bladed propellers to soak up the energy of those massive engines.
As the Spitfire design was pushed to its limits in the later days of the war, developments of faster photo reconnaissance Spitfires resulted in the entire airframe of the airplane being changed. At this point, it was almost a completely different aircraft to Mitchell's original. The elyptical wing had been redesigned, the undercarriage shifted, and the stabilizers enlarged. The final version was the MK 24.
The Spitfire went through a radical evolution throughout its service during WW2. It was exported all over the world and modified for many different roles that we have only touched upon here. Its story is complex, but hopefully, this article has demonstrated the enormous changes that were made to the basic airframe originally conceived in 1935.
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Article by James Whomsley
Editor of FliteTest.com
Contact: james@flitetest.com
YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/projectairaviation
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I'd like to think that maybe one of those 238 might have had one of hers !
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