The Supermarine Spitfire Mk Ii

Once production of the Spitfire Mk.I was underway, an improved version was looked at based around the 1175hp Merlin XII. The Spitfire Mk.II, or Supermarine 329 as its constructor named it, was born. Great hopes were placed in this new version as an order for 1000 aircraft was placed on 12 April 1939, before the mark's first flight, for serials P7280 - P8799. This production run was launched at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, the new Supermarine production line. The first aircraft were delivered in June 1940 and the Spitfire Mk.II included all improvements and refine¬ments added to the Spitfire Mk.I. Deliveries continued up to July 1941. The Mk.II entered service, in the midst of the Battle of Britain, first with 66 Squadron and progressively, the Spitfire Mk.II became standard equipment across Fighter Command with no less than 56 squadrons known to have been equipped, fully or partially, with the mark. Peak usage was reached during the summer of 1941, but, from the autumn of that year, it began to be withdrawn from first line units in favour of the Mk.V. Among the squadrons equipped with the Spitfire Mk II, there were the squadrons manned by men coming from the occupied Europe, the Poles, Czechoslovaks, French, Belgians and Norwegians. The Poles made an intensive usage of their Spitfire Mk IIs and encountered considerable success during the summer of 1941. Illustrated with over 40 photographs and seven colour profiles.

The Spitfire is one of the most legendary fighter planes of the Second World War. More than 22,000 were made and it saw action on all fronts where the RAF was engaged. This aircraft was constantly updated throughout its career and there were no less than fourteen different versions and three generations of Spitfire which were put into service between 1938 and 1946.

The Hawker Hurricane was the first modern British fighter before the outbreak of World War II. Until 1941 the Hurricane was the most widely used combat aircraft from the Royal Air Force and the one that bore the brunt of the first clashes with aircraft of the Luftwaffe in the skies of France and Britain. Almost 3,000 aircraft of this type were delivered to the USSR, for the law Rentals & Loans, but the Soviet pilots were generally very critical of the fighter Hawker, considered inferior, not only to the German fighters, but also its. First fighter monoplane of the RAF, the first aircraft equipped with eight machine guns, was the plane means available in greater numbers to counter the waves of attack by the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. Available in twenty-six departments in the early summer of 1940, to August, there were thirty-two against nineteen Spitfire. Piloted by aces like Douglas Bader that made him a legend, the Hawker Hurricane Mk I, although less than the Bf 109-E, however, he proved to be a horse race, and especially at high altitudes could be more maneuverable and thus, to this, more suitable bomber hunter. "His majesty the Spitfire". This airplane is an air legend, a real brand, and his image is inextricably linked to the British victory in the Battle of Britain. It is one of the few, perhaps the only one, whose name evokes some images even in a profane things of historical aviation. Excellent defensive machine, heavily armed, very agile, climbing fast, but the lack of range and of sufficient load capacity has not helped in the war below. The Spitfire name was suggested by Sir Robert MacLean, director of Vickers-Armstrongs at the time, who called his daughter Ann "a little spitfire," a saying Elizabethan to indicate a person impetuous.

New revised edition, updated and expanded. His Majesty the Spitfire. This plane is a legend of the air, a real brand, and its image is inextricably linked to the British victory in the Battle of Britain. It is one of the few, perhaps the only one, whose name evokes some images even at a profane things aviation history. Excellent defensive machine, heavily armed, very agile, fast uphill. His victory against the archenemy Bf-109 was nevertheless a worthy final of his career war, at least considering the GM II: the early Bf-109E against Spit Mk I to the last Bf-109K against Spit Mk XIV, and thousands thousands of aerial combat have left a very wide literature and many memories from the pilots, often become aces such as Jonnie Johnson, or Adolph Galland, who in turn was shot down by a Spitfire belonging to 303 Sq. June 21 1941. The Spitfire is not a single plane with various changes and improvements, but a complete family of aircraft that he was a bit 'all roles and has adapted to not less than 10 years of technology evolution, from the first Spitfire with their 1,000 hp Merlin engines and propellers bipala, the last with the Griffon from over 2,000 hp and 5-bladed propellers metal or even two counter-blade propeller. Propellers and engines that alone weighed about the same as the Spitfire Mk I. Admired and envied even by enemies, the aircraft was able to earn the respect and esteem of every front, the adventure stories of his pilots also fascinated contenders helping to enrich the prestige of the RAF which was considered the Arma Aerea for excellence.

Le Spitfire est l'un des chasseurs les plus mythiques de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Construit à plus de 22000 exemplaires, il a combattu sur tous les fronts où la RAF a été engagée. Cet avion a été, tout au long de sa carrière, amélioré sans cesse, ne connaissant pas moins de quatorze versions différentes en trois générations de Spitfire qui ont été mises en service entre 1938 et 1946.

Paradoxically, the Mk.V, which ended up being the most numerous variant of the famous fighter built, was not even an intended development of the design. Indeed, it was only considered because of the abandonment of the Spitfire Mk.III. As the Luftwaffe was continually improving its formidable Messerschmitt Bf 109, the latest version of which, the Bf 109F, clearly outclassed the Spitfire Mk.II, the British had no other option but to rapidly find a successor to the latter. At this time, at the end of 1940, the British did not know what the Germans' were planning and expected them to carry on undertaking daylight raids upon the return of nicer weather. The RAF, therefore, wanted to be ready to counter the new German fighter developments. A solution was soon found by mounting a Merlin 45 (former Merlin III), a simplified version of the Merlin XX, on a slightly strengthened Spitfire Mk.I or Mk.II airframe. Several Spitfires were thus modified, with either a Merlin 45 or Merlin 46, during the first weeks of 1941. The resulting feedback was good and the Air Ministry requested that Supermarine modify, as early as possible, Spitfires already on the assembly lines so they could be put into service as rapidly as possible. This is how the Spitfire Mk.V came to be. In 1941, the Spitfire Mk V progressively became the backbone of the Fighter Command and among the squadrons that switched onto the Spitfire Mk V, there are the three Eagle Squadrons manned by American pilots, Nos. 71, 121 and 133 Squadrons. This is their story on the Spitfire V made of 44 pages, 30 photos and seven colour profiles.

The story of the Supermarine Spitfire has been told across many years and the debate about it is enduring, yet the Spitfire remains a true icon. For aviation enthusiasts, for historians, for modellers, the word Spitfire conjures many stories and affections. This book presents the Spitfire enthusiast with an up-to-date history of the Spitfire not just in its design and application in war, but also as a flying memorial and as an aero modellers vital focus.The text examines recently revealed forgotten aspects of the Spitfire story; by combining the elements of design, the story of a weapon of war and a revered scale model, this book frames an essential chapter in aviation history. Packed with original and contemporary images and information, and displaying unique Spitfire model collections, the narrative bridges an important gap and is a worthy addition to the FlightCraft series.