A genuine fighter-bomber, it was armed with 4 x 20 mm Hispano cannon, with a few aircraft (such as VN485, above), being fitted with the short-barrel Hispano Mk V* and could carry up to 2,000 lbs of bombs or zero-point launchers for 60lb or 120lb rocket projectiles. Two 33 gallon fuel tanks in the rear fuselage and the ability to carry a centre-line drop-tank meant this version had an 880 mile range. Powered by the 2,050 hp two-stage supercharged Rolls-Royce Griffon 61 engine, which pushed the fighter along at up to 454 mph, the F.24 had the late generation Spitfire fuselage, a Spiteful-style tail unit, and a new, thinner profile wing with new ailerons and geared trim tabs. It is the last of the Spitfire line, although the last Seafire F.47 left the South Marston factory in January, 1949. It is one of just 81 Spitfire F.24 that were made (54 new built, 27 converted from F.22s). The aircraft you can see above is on display at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford. The fairly fragile nature of the Spitfire’s undercarriage betrayed it when a navalised version was developed the undercarrige of the Seafire was notorious for collapsing during deck landings. Underwing drop tanks seem not to have been thought of, and extra fuel tanks in the rear fuselage were rejected at this stage of the war. 19 Squadron, who had been selected as the unit to introduce cannon-armed Spitfire into service, pleaded with the authorities to let them have their Browning-armed aircraft back! The early Spitfires only had a tactical radius of about 200 miles, and attempts to increase the fighter’s range included ungainly ‘slipper tanks’ under the centre fuselage, and even, in one version – the Mk II (LR) – a 30 gallon fixed tank fitted assymetrically under the port wing, with adverse results to its performance and manoeuverability. The instances of cannon jamming in combat were so bad that No. The first attempt to use 20 mm Hispano cannon in a Spitfire (the Mk Ib), was a disaster. There were undoubtedly some set-backs along the way. A process that was accelarated greatly in response to both enemy developments and the tactical and strategic needs of the various theaters of war. The main Supermarine Works was heavily bombed, and this forced the company to rush through dispersed construction, as well as the establishment of ‘shadow factories’ to produce the fighter.Īs with all weapons of war, the Spitfire was continuously improved and developed. Many fine airmen paid the ultimate price, as did thousands of civilians. Fortunately, just enough Spitfires were produced to join with their stablemate, the Hawker Hurricane, and turn the tide in the pivotal Battle of Britain, when they were opposed by the almost overwhelming might of the German Luftwaffe. The thin elliptical wing proved difficult to produce in quantity, and the Merlin engines suffered from cracked cylinder heads in the earliest models. There were tremendous problems to be solved when it came to delivering enough Spitfires to the waiting RAF squadrons. Those aircraft had wooden, fixed-pitch, two-bladed Watts propellers, driven by a first generation Rolls-Royce Merlin producing about 1,030 hp, which gave the Spitfire a maximum speed of around 355 mph. 19 Squadron, Royal Air Force, at RAF Duxford, near Cambridge, back in June, 1938. The aircraft you can see before you bears little resemblance to those Spitfire Mk I, built to Specification F.37/34, and delivered to No. His basic design for what became the Spitfire, fleshed out even as he was dying from cancer, proved capable of being upgraded and improved continuously, right through the Second World War and beyond. Reginald Mitchell wrought better than he knew.
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