Spitfire (wo2 vliegtuig)

I’m going to do my presentation about the Spitfire. The most famous airplane of the WW2. Because of its high speed and manoeuvrability it defeated the German air force who had 4 times more airplanes then the RAF. The designer was Reginald Mitchell who had become famous for his design of a racing seaplane, the Supermarine S6B, which won the Schneider Trophy on 13th September, 1931. During the contest the aircraft reached 340 mph. The Schneider Trophy was a race only for seaplanes. Which was held every year in the Mediterranean Sea along the Italian coast. In 1934 the Air Ministry announced that it was looking for a new fighter plane. The requirements were that the new fighter was to be usable day and night and capable of carrying full oxygen, wireless equipment, four machine guns and 2000 rounds of ammunition. Performance minimums were: speed of at least 195 mph, it should be able to fly at least at an altitude of 28,000 feet, and a rate of climb enabling the aircraft to reach 15,000 feet in not more than eight and a half minutes. Mitchell decided to adapt his Supermarine seaplane, in an attempt to meet the requirements of the Royal Air Force. The new all-metal single-seater fighter plane, the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I, had several technical features of the earlier racing seaplane. It had the same structure and aerodynamic lines. However, it had a new engine, the 1,030 hp Rolls Royce Merlin II and carried 8 machine-guns. The first Spitfire prototype appeared on 5th March, 1936 and flew at 350 mph and had a rate of climb of approximately 2,500 ft per minute so it could easily make the 1500 ft in under 8 and a half minutes. With its slender aerodynamic lines and elliptical-plan wings, it was claimed at the time, to be the smallest and cleanest aircraft that could be constructed around a man and an engine. The Royal Air Force was impressed with its performance and in June, 1936, it ordered 310 aircraft. The Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I went into production in 1937 and was operational in June, 1938. Vickers Aviation, the company where Mitchell worked could not keep up with the demand and therefore most of Britain's manufacturers began building Spitfires. By October, 1939, the Air Ministry had ordered over 4,000 of these aeroplanes. The Supermarine Spitfire Mk. II went into service in late 1940. These had a 1,150 hp Rolls Royce Merlin engine. Other versions appeared throughout the Second World War. This included Spitfire Mk. IV that was a photographic reconnaissance aircraft. The Spitfire Mk. V was the first model to be used as a fighter-bomber and carried 500 pounds of bombs. At the beginning of the Battle of Britain the RAF had 32 squadrons of Hawker Hurricanes and 19 squadrons equipped with Spitfire. It was decided to use the Hurricanes against the massive bomber formations of the Luftwaffe whereas the Spitfires were employed against German fighters. The Focke Wulf Fw 190, which appeared in July 1941, was superior to the Spitfire being used by the RAF at the time but this changed with the production of the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XIV. Powered by a Rolls-Royce, 12-cylinder, 2,050 hp engine, it could reach a speed of 448 mph and had a range of 460 miles. It had two 20 mm cannons; four machine-guns; 1,000 pounds of bombs. The Spitfire was constantly improved during the Second World War. The Supermarine Spitfire F.22 that was used in 1945 could fly at more than 450 mph (724 km/h) and could ascend at twice the speed of the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. I
Spitfires continued to be produced after the war and by October 1947, 20,334 had been manufactured. The last operational flight of a Spitfire, the Spitfire PR-19, took place on 1st April, 1954. Sadly, Reginald Mitchell never saw his brainchild go into production. He had been suffering from cancer for several years and died in June of 1937 at age 42.