Supermarine Spitfire

The Spitfire certainly needs no introduction, being one of the most succesful fighters of World War II. It evolved through the initial Mark I version (900 hp, 2-bladed wooden prop) into the highly sophisticated 2000 hp+ Mark 24 with 5-bladed propellor. In its last versions, the rear fuselage was cut down to allow the pilot an uninterrupted view from beneath its teardrop canopy. The tail had been gradually enlarged to counteract the massive engine power, twice as much as originally envisaged. Yet, with all modifications introduced during the Spitfire's production period, the pleasant handling qualities and exceptionally good looks remained.

The final Spitfire variants, the air force Spiteful and navy Seafang were outclassed by the new generation of jet-powered fighters and saw only limited use. Thus ended the production of what surely ranks as one of the most beautiful fighter aircraft ever.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.II at the RAF Museum, Hendon

(pictures supplied by Stef De Wit)

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V G-AWII, AR501

This nicely maintained Spit is operated by the Shuttleworth Trust at Old Warden, England.

(bottom picture provided by Stef De Wit)

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX SM-32, Belgian Air Force (1950)

The Belgian Air Force started flying Spits immediately after the war and continued to use them as advanced trainers into the 1950's.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX, Israeli Air Force

After the war, the Spitfire saw service in several air forces, including that of the fledgling Israeli state.

Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk.IXb H-68, Dutch East Indies Air Force No.322 Sqn (1948)

What else is there to say on this Spit, except that it looks great even in these dull colors ?

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX OO-ARE

This particular aircraft was used for pylon racing back in the fifties. It was one of several of the type operated by the Belgian company Cogea Nouvelle, who used them on target-towing flights under contract to the Belgian Air Force.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVI glassfibre replica

This delightful truescale Spitfire adorns, side-by-side with a Hurricane the center of the parking area at the RAF Museum at Hendon.

(picture supplied by Stef De Wit)

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVI TG281, Belgian Air Force No.350 Sqn (1946)

The Spit Mk.16 was similar to the Mk.9 except for its Packard licence-built Merlin engine. The aircraft shown here was one of the borrowed RAF-Spitfires the Belgian Air Force used immediately post-war before their own (refurbished) Mk.9's could be delivered.

Do you own, operate or maintain a Spitfire ?

Copyzone Archiving Ltd has scanned all kinds of Spitfire construction drawings. In conjunction with the Lincolnshire Lancaster Association, over 2500 drawings can be purchased over the web. All drawings can be searched in an online database and can be delivered either in digital format or as paper copies. On top of that, cd-roms, containing all kinds of construction drawings, are available for individual Spitfire marks.

Are you a serious Spitfire modeller ?

Copyzone Archiving Ltd has several posters and drawing packages on offer, specifically aimed at the model builder.

Need more information ? Check the Spitfire restoration website.

(Note : the scanned drawings on offer by Spitfirerestoration are in high-quality TIF-format and are of much better quality than the reduced-size low-resolution JPG samples shown here)

Supermarine Seafire

The Seafire was the naval variant of the Spitfire. It too was developed in many different versions and the one shown is one of the latest marks to enter service. The original Spitfire's lines are somewhat spoiled by the massive contra-rotating props, the teardrop canopy and the large vertical tail surfaces.

Scale model + picture by Carmel J.Attard, Malta