The British Supermarine Spitfire was one of the most outstanding fighter aircraft of the Second World War. war memorial uk
The British Supermarine Spitfire was one of the most outstanding fighter aircraft of the Second World War. The basic airframe proved to be extremely adaptable, capable of taking far more powerful engines and far greater loads than its original role as a short-range interceptor had allowed for. This would lead to 24 marks of Spitfire, and many sub-variants within the marks, being produced throughout the Second World War and beyond, in continuing efforts to fulfill Royal Air Force requirements and successfully combat ever-improving enemy aircraft. It is notable that throughout the entire development process, which took place over twelve years, from 1935 through to 1948, there were no outstanding failures of the basic design: this is a real testament to the original genius of Reginald J. Mitchell, his successor Joseph Smith, and the design teams they led. The Griffon engine that produces the distinctive 'Griffon Growl' that you can hear, was the second engine type (the first being the renowned Rolls-Royce Merlin) to be installed on the Spitfire aircraft family. The Merlin had provided more and more power, but eventually a bigger engine was needed, and development of the Griffon was restarted. The first experimental Griffon, which was a close relative of the 'R' engine used in the Schneider Cup air races of 1929 and 1930, had in fact run in about in 1933. The Griffon had the same V-12 configuration as the Merlin, but it had 36 litres capacity, instead of 27 litres in the Merlin. The engine also turned over the other way, which gave new pilots a bit of a surprise on take off, as their aircraft swung the opposite way! The first Griffon-engined Spitfire, the Mk XII, came into service with No 41 Squadron in February 1943. The Merlin and the Griffon are in the best Rolls-Royce tradition of producing innovative combat engines for the armed forces, which endures today with such engines as the Pegasus for the Harrier and the EJ200 for the Eurofighter Typhoon.
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Photo credit: © Steve Welsh / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
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