Supermarine Spitfire

Spitfire Mk IX, with Douglas Bader markings

Spitfire Mk IX, with the markings of Wing Commander Douglas Bader

Role: single-seat fighter
Conception: Reginald J. Mitchell and Joseph Smith, for Supermarine Aviation Works Ltd
Production: Supermarine A. W. Ltd, Vickers-Armstrongs, Castle Bromwich, and Westland.
20,334 planes built.
First flight of prototype: K5054: March 5th, 1936

The battle of Britain turned this plane into a symbol of a whole country's struggle against the 3rd Reich; even if the Hawker Hurricane, less brilliant than the Spitfire but available in greater numbers, was responsible for shooting down more German planes than the Spitfire during this battle.

Development

In 1938, the first production Spitfires Mk I to be delivered were fitted with a 1030 hp Merlin II engine, a fixed pitch 2-blade propeller, and a flat canopy. Before the beginning of the war, the Spitfire Mk Ia was upgraded with a Merlin III engine allowing the use of a 3-bladed 2-pitch propeller, and a new curved molding canopy. Only a few of these, known as Spitfire Mk Ib, received the 'b' type wings armed with two 20mm cannons and four 7.7mm guns. 1,566 Mk I Spitfires were built.

Spitfire Mk I
Engine	Rolls-Royce Merlin III liquid-cooled V12	1,030 hp
Weight	empty: 2,182 kg (4,810 lb) - with full load: 2,624 kg (5,785 lb)
Armament	8x 7.7 mm (.303 cal) wing-mounted Browning machine guns
Performance	Max speed: 583 km/h (362 mph)	Ceiling: 9,723 m (31,900 ft)

The Spitfire Mk II was powered by a 1,175 hp Merlin XII engine. The first 750 had 'a' wing armament (8x 7.7 mm), the remaining 170 had 'b' wings (2x 20 mm + 4x 7.7 mm). All Spitfires involved in the battle of Britain were either Mk I or Mk II.

A Spitfire Mk II from No 65 Sqdn, seen here at Kirton-in-Lindsey in 1941.

The Spitfire Mk III was a single prototype serving as a test bed for evaluating technical evolutions for the Spitfire line: clipped wings, more armor, new versions of the Merlin engine...
The Spitfire Mk V was Supermarine's reaction to the Messerchmitt Bf 109F which appeared early in 1941, after the end of the Battle of Britain. The Mk V was powered by a 1,470 hp Merlin 45 engine. The early Mk Va (94 built) still had the 'a' guns-only wing, then production switched to the Mk Vb (3,923 built) with the 'b' type wing. There was also a Mk Vc (2,447 built), with a new 'c' universal wing that could contain either 8 guns, 2 cannons and 4 guns, or 4 cannons.
The Mk V is the most numerous of all Spitfire variants.
Click here to see my Spitfire Mk Vb Trop 1/48th scale model..

Spitfire Mk Vb
Engine	Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 liquid-cooled V12	1,470 hp
Weight	empty: 2,300 kg (5,065 lb) - with full load: 3,044 kg (6,710 lb)
Armament	2x 20 mm cannons and 4x 7.7 mm (.303 cal) Browning machine guns
Performance	Max speed: 594 km/h (369 mph)	Ceiling: 11,033 m (36,200 ft)

Spitfire HF Mk VI: featuring a 1,415 hp engine, a pressurized cockpit and increased span 'c' wings, this was a high altitude interceptor. 97 were built; delivery started in February 1941.
Spitfire Mk VII: also a high altitude interceptor with extended 'c' wings, the Mk VII production line introduced several design changes that would become standard on later Spitfires: rectangular underwing oil cooler, broader rudder, improved pressurized cockpit and new Merlin engines: 1,250 hp Merlin 71 for high-altitude, 1,565 hp Merlin 61 or 1,710 hp Merlin 64 for medium-altitude fighters. 140 were built.
Spitfire PR Mk X: a photographic reconnaissance version based on the Mk VII. 16 aircrafts built.
Spitfire Mk VIII: basically an unpressurized Mk VII. Late-production machines had standard 'c' wings instead of the pointed high-altitude wings.
Spitfire Mk IX. The introduction of the Focke Wulf FW 190 was a very bad surprise for the RAF, as it outclassed the Mk V. So Supermarine reacted quickly by mixing the successful Mk Vb airframe with the latest Rolls-Royce designs: 1,565 hp Merlin 61 for the F Mk IX, 1,475 hp Merlin 70 for the high-altitude HF Mk IX, and 1,580 hp Merlin 66 for the low-altitude LF Mk IX.
The 'b' and 'c' wings were used on the Mk IX, but also the new 'e' universal wing, that could be fitted with either four 20 mm cannons, or 2x 20 mm cannons plus 2x 12.7 mm (.50 cal) guns. A broader rudder, and a bubble canopy were used on the late-production Mk IX.

Spitfire Mk IXe
Engine	Rolls-Royce Merlin 61 liquid-cooled V12	1,565 hp
Weight	empty: 2,545 kg (5,610 lb) - with normal load: 3,400 kg (7,500 lb)
Armament	2x 20 mm cannons and 2x 12.7 mm (.50 cal) Browning machine guns
Performance	Max speed: 655 km/h (408 mph)	Ceiling: 13,106 m (43,000 ft)

Spitfire PR Mk XI: based on the Mk IX airframe and Merlin 65 then Merlin 70 engines, the PR Mk XI is the standard photo recon Spitfire from 1943 to 1945.
Spitfire Mk XVI: similar to a late-production Mk IX, but powered with an American Packard Merlin. Most had clipped wings for better low altitude performance. The production total was 1,053.
The Spitfire Mk XII saw the introduction of the Rolls-Royce Griffon engine (1,735 hp Griffon III). Made to counter Jabo (Jagdbomber=fighter/bomber) attacks, it was a low altitude interceptor with clipped wings. 100 planes were built.
Spitfire Mk XIV: the first Griffon-equiped Spitfire to enter large scale production (957 planes) had a five-blade propeller, and was operational in 1944. Early production planes had 'c' wings, the rest having 'e' wings. The FR Mk XIV had a bubble canopy, cut-down rear fuselage and larger rudder.

Spitfire Mk XIVe
Engine	Rolls-Royce Griffon 65 liquid-cooled V12	2,050 hp
Weight	empty: 3,040 kg (6,702 lb) - with full load: 4,663 kg (10,280 lb)
Armament	2x 20 mm cannons and 2x 12.7 mm (.50 cal) Browning machine guns
Performance	Max speed: 708 km/h (440 mph)	Ceiling: 13,106 m (43,000 ft)

Spitfire Mk XVIII: Powered first by the Griffon 65, then by the 2,375 hp Griffon 67, the Mk XVIII was a standardization of the evolutions appeared on the late-production Mk XIV. It had a bubble canopy, strenghtened full-span 'e' wings, and a better range. 300 of this last wartime fighter version of the Spitfire were built.
Spitfire Mk XIX: the last WW2 photo recon Spitfire, based on the Mk XIV. 225 were built.
The Spitfire Mk 21 introduced an heavily modified structure and totally new wings. Only 122 were built, as the war was over before it could reach operational service.
Spitfire Mk 22: fitted with either a Griffon 61 and five-bladed propeller, or a Griffon 85 and six-blade contraprop installation, the Mk 22 could carry 680 kg (1,500 lb) of bombs. 278 planes built.
Spitfire Mk 24: similar to the Mk 22, but able to carry rockets. Only 54 planes of this last Spitfire version were built.

Stof's notes about this plane in iMOL's WarBirds

The opinions expressed below are only my own, and nothing more...

The classical british fighter... Easy to fly, it is a very efficient dogfighter if you are a good shot, because the ammo load is quite poor.

Strong points:

Visibility is quite good, and the engine accelerates strongly.
Very good manoeuvrability.

Weak points:

The Spitfire carries very little ammo, you've got to be careful not to waste it. This is true for all versions, but is even worse on the cannon-equiped marks.
The 7.7 mm guns of the Spitfire Mk I are quite useless against a bomber or tough-skinned opponent.

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