Griffon Spitfire Aces: No. 81 (Aircraft of the Aces)

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The Mk XII's speed advantage at lower altitudes again became useful near the end of its front line service in summer 1944, when its pilots were credited with 82.5 V-1 Flying Bomb kills. The Mk XII variant was retired in September 1944. Late photo-reconnaissance Spitfires [ edit ] A preserved PR Mk XI Spitfire ( PL965) in PRU Blue (2008) Squadron F.R Mk IXs photographed German tanks in the Arnhem area just before Operation Market Garden, and during the battle, Northolt based F.R IXs flew missions in support of the paratroops. [157] :95 Mediterranean service [ edit ] Spitfire Vc(trop) of No. 417 Squadron RCAF in Tunisia in 1943.

Operating within the RAF were three "Eagle" squadrons: units manned by American pilots who had joined the RAF. First formed in 1940 and initially equipped with Hurricanes, these units converted to Spitfire Vbs in 1941. They were re-equipped with Spitfire IXs in early September 1942 and were disbanded in late-September 1942 as their aircrew and aircraft were transferred to the fledgling USAAF's Eighth Air Force to become the nucleus of the 4th Fighter Group. [70] The high-altitude bombers [ edit ] After intensive test flying, the most serious problems were solved by changing the gearing to the trim tabs and other subtle control modifications, such that the Mk 21 was cleared for instrument flying and low level flight during trials in March 1945. An AFDU report on LA215 issued that month noted that the Spitfire 21 was now much easier to fly,Spitfire PR IB, P9331. On 7 June 1940 was forced to land at Reims/Champagne aerodrome during an abortive mission to photograph the railway line at Maastricht-Liege. This was the first PR Spitfire captured. The two Spitfires were "Cottonised" by removing the radio, stripping out the armament and adding downward-facing F24 cameras with 5in (13cm) lenses to replace the inner-wing guns. All panel lines and the gun-ports were filled in with plaster of Paris and a special light "Camoutint Green" was applied to the aircraft and polished. Thus modified, the Spitfire was capable of reaching over 390 miles per hour (630km/h). [129]

While the fighter versions of the Spitfire stayed in Britain, the first PR missions were flown from bases in France by Cotton's unit which was renamed "No. 2 Camouflage Unit". The first RAF high-speed, high-altitude photo-reconnaissance mission of the war took place on 18 November 1939 when Flt. Lt. "Shorty" Longbottom took off from Seclin and attempted to photograph Aachen from 33,000ft (10,000m). [16]Air Ministry. Pilot's Notes for Spitfire XIV & XIX: Griffon 65 or 66 Engine. Air Publication 1565T & W. London, UK: Air Ministry, April 1946. The first Mk XIXs entered service in May 1944, and by the end of the war the type had virtually replaced the earlier Mk XI. A total of 225 were built with production ceasing in early 1946, but they were used in front line RAF service until April 1954. The second Mk XX, DP851, initially had a GriffonII engine and made its first flight in August 1942. In December, it was refitted with a Griffon 61 and re-designated as a Mk 21 initial prototype.

During and after D-Day, PR Spitfires of the 2nd TAF supported the Allied armies, including strategic sorties by No. 16 Squadron RAF from 30,000ft (9,100m) or more using the PR Mk XI. The unit's secondary role was to provide tactical reconnaissance using the F.R Mk IX in low altitude "dicer" missions. [156] :29 Jeffrey Quill, Supermarine's chief test pilot, was the first to fly the Mk IV/Mk XII prototype DP845, The Mk XIX was the last and most successful photographic reconnaissance variant of the Spitfire. It combined features of the Mk XI with the Griffon engine of the Mk XIV. After the first 25 (type 389s) were produced, later aircraft were also fitted with the pressurised cabin of the Mk X and the fuel capacity was increased to 256 gallons, three-and-a-half times that of the original Spitfire This version was the type 390. [38]

From Mk1 to Mk24

On reflection the general scheme became clear. The Spitfire was to be a sort of datum pacemaker – 'Mr Average Contemporary Fighter' – and its job would be to come in last, the real excitement of the proceedings being by how much it would be beaten by the Fw 190 and the Typhoon, and which of these two bright stars would beat the other and by how much. Outside on the tarmac at Worthy Down stood the inoffensive-looking but highly potent DP485... In the Mediterranean theatre, the Spitfire VC encountered the Macchi C.202 "Folgore", an aircraft which was a close match. It was widely considered superior to both the Hawker Hurricane and Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks it fought against, [ citation needed] at first on the Libyan front from November 1941, and the equal of the Mk V. It was claimed that it was able to outturn all three, [ citation needed] although the Spitfire had a superior rate of climb. In 1943 the C.202 was partly superseded by the Macchi C.205 "Veltro" which was an improved version of the "Folgore". The Veltro was much respected by Allied and Luftwaffe pilots alike. In action, the C.205s proved to be extremely effective. [168] One of the top-scoring British fighter pilots of the Second World War, Grp Capt W.G.G. Duncan Smith, DSO DFC, greatly respected the Macchi fighters, stating: "In encounters with Macchi 205s particularly we were up against aircraft that could turn and dog-fight with our Spitfires extremely well." [169] The AFDU were quite right to criticise the handling of the Mark 21... Where they went terribly wrong was to recommend that all further development of the Spitfire family should cease. They were quite unqualified to make such a judgement and later events would prove them totally wrong. [42] Spitfire XIV of 350 (Belgian) Squadron of the Spitfire XIV wing based at Lympne, Kent 1944. This aircraft is carrying a 30 gal "slipper" drop tank under the centre-section. The mark numbers XV and XVII (15 and 17) were reserved for the naval version, the Seafire, to reconcile the Spitfire numbering scheme with that of the Seafire.

Rate of climb: 5,040ft/min (25.6m/s) in MS supercharger gear at 2,100 ft. 3,550 ft/min in FS supercharger gear at 22,100 ft. [54]During this period 67 Spitfires were lost over France, most of them in the attempt to prevent the Luftwaffe from bombing the evacuation beaches at Dunkirk. While the Spitfires of Fighter Command continued to be based in Britain, at the insistence of Air Vice Marshal Hugh Dowding, from late 1939 there were early photo-reconnaissance Spitfires of "No 2 Camouflage Unit" operating from Seclin in France, gathering photo-intelligence of German defences and cities. [16] [nb 1] Throughout the Second World War, photo-reconnaissance Spitfires kept up a constant flow of photographic intelligence, in a role far removed from that of short-range interceptor fighter. Spitfire PR IA, P9331, of No.212 Sqn, force-landed near Reims on 7 June 1940. It was repaired and flown to Rechlin, marked 2+ I. Spitfire Mk Vb, EN830, of No.131 Sqn force-landed on Jersey Island on 18 November 1942. It was flown to Messerschmitt factory where 24-volt electrical system and DB605A engine were installed. It was marked CJ+ZY. The aircraft flew comparison trials with a Bf 109G in 1943. Later, a DB601A engine was installed. [181] As the Spitfire gained more power and was able to fly at greater speeds the risk of aileron reversal was increasing so the Supermarine design team set about redesigning the wings to counter this possibility. The original wing design had a theoretical aileron-reversal speed of 580mph (930km/h), which was somewhat lower than that of some contemporary fighters. [8] The new wing of the Spitfire F Mk 21 and its successors was designed to help alleviate this problem; the wing's stiffness was increased by 47 percent and a new design of aileron using piano hinges and geared trim tabs meant the theoretical aileron-reversal speed was increased to 825mph (1,328km/h). [8] [9] [10] This wing entered service on the Spitfire XXI. The standard armament was now four 20mm Hispano IIs or the shorter, lighter Hispano V cannons, each with 150 rounds per gun.