| Specifications | |
| Build | 11.2 m |
| Length | 9.12 m |
| Height | 3.8 m |
| Weight |
2267 kg (empty) 2911 kg (full) |
| Engine | Rolls Royce Merlin 45 |
| Maximum speed | 594 Km / h |
| Altitude Achieved | 11,125 m |
| Range | 1000 Km |
| Armament | 8 Browning machine guns of 7.7 mm |
The Supermarine Spitfire was one of the most important fighters of the entire Second World War, having been the first to be produced in the UK with all metal cover.
It was designed by Reginald Mitchell, who worked at Supermarine Ltd. and followed a directive from the British Air Ministry in 1934 which stated the intention of having a high performance fighter plane with eight machine guns. The Spitfire descended from a series of planes drawn by Mitchell used to participate in Schneider trophy in (19)20's.
With a Rolls Royce engine of 12 cylinders, the Spitfire first flew in 1935 despite of not having been integrated as fully operable in the RAF fighter until 1938. Made of an aluminum frame, its new elliptical wing design and its powerful engine allowed better maneuverability at high altitudes.
The Spitfire was sent to fight the Germans and the slowerHurricane fighters sent to fight against the bombers. During the Battle of Britain participated more Hurricane than Spitfire, however, a better performance at high altitudes allowed the Spitfire to achieve the final victory.
In 1942 a model similar to the name Seafire was manufactured, which could be carried on aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy. In 1943, the Spitfire was responsible for the diversion of German V-1 missile in flight, making them fall into the sea. In 1947, the Spitfire squadrons were removed from the RAF, however, the ones carring out reconnaissance missions continued in service until 1954. Until 1947 about 40 models of Spitfire had been made.
