Did you know:
- Designer Reginald J. Mitchell began work on the new fighter according to RAF specifications as early as 1931.
- After many modifications, perhaps the most famous fighter of World War II was produced, although the most numerous aircraft in the RAF arsenal was still the Hawker Hurricane.
- The very first Spitfire was commissioned on August 4, 1938, for the 19th Fighter Squadron of the RAF.
- Subsequent aircraft were delivered to the squadrons at a rate of one per week.
- During the first operational takeoff with the 19th Squadron, the pilot had to swear not to forget to lower the undercarriage during landing—a procedure that pilots of older aircraft were not accustomed to.
- The Spitfires were the first to feature flush-riveted construction to maintain a low wing profile, among many other technologies that were advanced at the time.
- German aircraft were also very good, but they were missing one essential element: the extraordinarily reliable and high-performance legendary Rolls-Royce engine.
- The aircraft with serial number N3200 first took to the air on April 19, 1940, with pilot Ldr Geoffrey Stephenson.
- Barely five weeks later, G. Stephenson was sent to defend British forces during the Dunkirk evacuation. During an aerial engagement, he managed to shoot down a German Junkers 87.
- Before returning to base, the aircraft was hit in the radiator and had to make an emergency landing on Sangatte beach, which was under German control. The pilot was captured, and the aircraft became a spectacle for German soldiers.
- The aircraft slowly sank into the coastal sands until it was completely buried without a trace. This episode of World War II was gradually forgotten.
- Eventually, in 1986, the aircraft was rediscovered by enthusiasts from a local museum, excavated, and put on display.
- In 2007, the restoration company Marc One Partners took on the Spitfire, carrying out a complete overhaul over five years to restore the aircraft to airworthy condition and its 1940 appearance.
- Today, you can view the fighters at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.
Technical Specifications:
- Dimensions: wingspan 11.23 m, length 9.54 m, height 3.84 m
- Empty weight 2630 kg, maximum takeoff weight 3450 kg
- Powerplant: liquid-cooled 12-cylinder Rolls-Royce Merlin 66 with 1,271 kW
- Three-bladed propeller with a diameter of 3.29 m
- Maximum speed 662 km/h
- Rate of climb 23.9 m/s
- Fuel tank capacity 386 l
- Service ceiling 12,400 m
- Range 698 km, maximum 1580 km with an additional tank
- Armament: 8× Browning MG machine guns, caliber 7.7 mm
- Crew: 1
From the recollections of Field Marshal Harold R. L. Alexander:
"That fellow in the Spitfire who flew over our heads must have been a bit mad, or he didn’t understand what fear was, but his courage saved dozens of lives. I learned that his name was Geoffrey D. Stephenson only much later after the war, when he became the Queen’s personal pilot."
Assembly Instructions
