With the Mk IX, the Spit developed to meet the Fw190 on more even terms, I think Supermarine finally developed a mass-produced Spit that was completely superior to the '109. My opinion only. Earlier Spits could be outclimbed etc by the early '109s, the F in particular, which meant the Germans could dictate the fight somewhat as they did during Fighter Command's 1941 offensive. Looking at the stubby wings of the '109G - no wonder they were bloody hard to fly.
I know the later marks were faster, stronger and better armed but I still like the lines of the Mk I. The flush wings, without the cannon bulges etc. And I just think the bubble canopy was so wrong!!
Totally agree, Kyt. There's almost something innocent about the Mk I! The clipped wings on the Mk Vs make them look like sports coupes I reckon. Add bulges for the Griffon as well and, well, she's still a Spit and still better looking than anything that ever flew but... Keith, have you got a comparison three-view of a F Mk 24 (the last land-based Spit) or a Mk XVIII (the last variant to enter service before war's end)?
B o B Hi Andy, I'll have a look through a few books I have on the Spitfire. The very late Mks had no charisma so attracted less attention or interest. Cheers Keith.
Love comparing dimensions, weights etc of the Mk I and the 24, even the last Seafire. Signs of a good design being that adaptable!
A while back I posted this, which describes the most common Spitfire wings http://ww2chat.com/forums/war-air/106-spifire-whats-wing.html
And this is a good summary of the aircraft of the BoB: The Battle of Britain - Home Page However, it doesn't mention the aircraft of Bomber and Coastal Command. Both were active during the months of the BoB, attacking invasion ports, airfields and protecting the seaways. This list is bettter but still omits BC and CC Aircraft of the Battle of Britain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
But we mustn't forget the real star of the BoB - the lovely Hurricane http://ww2chat.com/forums/aircraft-photo-gallery/114-hawker-hurricane.html
They really should have given the Griffon-engined Spitfires a different name; they were very different aircraft. They did eventually give a new name to its final, post-war development: the Spiteful, and its naval equivalent the Seafang. Neither of these went into production, but in fact the extent to which they differed from the F.24 was arguably less than the "jump" between some Spitfire marks. By the middle of the war, it was the FW190 that really gave us problems. ACM Sholto Douglas described it as the best fighter in the world in mid-42, in a letter to Lord Beaverbrook. At medium and high altitudes, the Spitfire IX could just about hold its own; at low level only the Typhoon could cope with it. The Spitfire XII (the first Griffon variant) was the first Spitfire superior to the FW190 at all levels. At the risk of lowering the tone of all this: check out the name on the lower cowling of the Spitfire FRXIV in Keith's post above - people who queried this were told it was an ancient Scottish battlecry!
Do 332 Hi Andy, How about some nice drawings of Hitler's fastest piston driven fighter? Not a very well know plane, but it should be ! This is the Do 335 ver. Cheers Keith
Lucky for us it didn't enter service. Overcomplex of course; I wonder if there was anything it could do that a FW Ta152 or a ME262 jet couldn't do just as well. Probably the Luftwaffe wanted the 335 as a backup in case the ME262 and its jet engines proved unsuccessful. Nice of them to develop an ejection seat for the pilot to stop him being shredded by the rear propellor if he had to bale out. The first operational ejection seat was that fitted to the Saab J21A; again this had a pusher propeller behind the pilot.
[QUOTE= she's still a Spit and still better looking than anything that ever flew. Is the Spitfire the best looking plane that ever fleW? . My opinion is that it is in the top 4 for best looking planes.:happy: I think the Spit is a great looking plane but I like alot of planes. I know we all differ in opinions.:blah::crazy: Well here is some of my fav planes Me-109, Corsair, Hellcat.
