Supermarine Spitfire

Late Merlin and Griffon


Supermarine Spitfire- Late Merlin and Griffon engine variants.L.F Mk IXeMk XII Mk XIVeF. Mk 24^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}

Wingspan	32 ft 6 in (9.9 m)	32 ft 6 in (9.9 m)	36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)	36 ft 11 in (11.25 m)
Wing area	231 ft² (21.46 m²)	231 ft² (21.46 m²)	242.1 ft² (22.5 m²)	243.6 ft² (23.6 m²)
Length	31 ft 1 in (9.47 m)	31 ft 7 in (9.62 m)	32 ft 8 in (9.96 m)	32 ft 11 in (10.03 m)
Height	12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)	12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)	12 ft 9 in (3.89 m)	13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Empty weight	5,090 lb (2,309 kg)	5,564 lb (2,524 kg)	6,653 lb (3,034 kg)	6,160 lb (3,247 kg)
Loaded weight	7,400 lb (3,354 kg)	7,415 lb (3,363 kg)	8,574 lb (3,889 kg)	9,900 lb (4,490 kg)
Engine	Rolls-Royce Merlin 66: 150 Octane fuel, +25 lb/in² boost.	[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] III or IV	[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 65	Rolls-Royce Griffon 85
Power	1,720 hp (1,283 kW) at 11,000 ft (3,353 m)	1,735 hp (1,293 kW) at 1,000 ft (300 m)	2,050 hp (1,530 kW) at 9,800 ft (2,987 m)	2,120 hp (1,771 kW) at 12,250 ft (3,734 m)
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]	404 mph (650 km/h) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m)	397 mph (639 km/h) at 17,800 ft (5,425 m)	448 mph (717 km/h) at 25,900 ft (7,894 m)	454 mph (731 km/h) at 26,000 ft (7,802 m)
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]	4,745 ft/min (24.1 m/s) at 10,000 ft (3,048 m)	3,760 ft/min (19.1 m/s) at 2,600 ft (792 m)	4,580 ft/min (25.2 m/s) at sea level (0 m)	4,100 ft/min (21.0 m/s) at 17,000 ft (5,182 m)
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]	42,500 ft (12,954 m)	39,000 ft (11,887 m)	43,000 ft (13,560 m)	43,000 ft (13,560 m)
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]	30.6 lb/ft² (149 kg/m²)	32.0 lb/ft² (155 kg/m²)	35.0 lb/ft² (171 kg/m²)	40.6 lb/ft² (198 kg/m²)
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]	0.23 hp/lb (0.39 kW/kg)	0.23 hp/lb (0.39 kW/kg)	0.20 hp/lb (0.33 kW/kg)	0.23 hp/lb (0.39 kW/kg)
Combat range	434 mi (698 km) on internal fuel	493 mi (793 km) on internal fuel	460 mi (740 km) on internal fuel	390 mi (627 km) on internal fuel
Ferry range	980 mi (1,577 km)	791 mi (1,272 km)	855 mi (1,375 km)	965 mi (1,553 km) 90 gal drop tank
Armament	2 × 20 mm Hispano II cannon; 120 rpg 2 × 0.50 cal Browning M2 machine guns; 250 rpg Up to 2 × 250 lb (110 kg) bombs (wing racks), plus 1 × 500 lb (230 kg) bomb (centre-section rack).	2 × 20 mm Hispano II cannon; 120 rpg 4 × .303" Browning machine guns; 350 rpg Up to 2 × 250 lb (110 kg) bombs (wing racks), plus 1 × 500 lb (230 kg) bomb (centre-section rack).	2 × 20 mm Hispano II cannon; 120 rpg 2 × 0.50 cal Browning M2 machine guns; 250 rpg	4 × 20 mm Hispano V cannon; 175 rpg inboard, 150 rpg outboard Up to 2 × 250 lb (110 kg) bombs (wing racks), plus 1 × 500 lb (230 kg) bomb (centre-section rack).

Seafire


Supermarine SeafireSeafire Mk IIcSeafire L. Mk IIISeafire F. Mk XVSeafire F. Mk 47Wingspan Wing area Length Height (Over propeller, tail down) Empty weight Loaded weight Engine Power [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]Combat range Ferry range Armament

36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)	32 ft 2 in (9.8 m)/ 13 ft 4 in (4.0 m) (wings folded)	36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)/ 13 ft 4 in (4.0 m) (wings folded)	36 ft 11 in (11.25 m)/ 19 ft 1 in (5.82 m) (wings folded)
242.1 ft² (22.5 m²)	231 ft² (21.5 m²)	242.1 ft² (22.5 m²)	243.6 ft² (23.6 m²)
29 ft 11 in (9.12 m)	29 ft 11 in (9.12 m)	31 ft 10 in (9.62 m)/ 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)(late production larger fin and rudder)	34 ft 4 in (10.46 m)
11 ft 5 in (3.48 m)	11 ft 5 in (3.48 m)	12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)	12 ft 9 in (3.88 m)
5,300 lb (2,404 kg)	5,450 lb (2,472 kg)	6,300 lb (2,857 kg)	8,680 lb (3,937 kg)
7,145 lb (3,240 kg)	7,220 lb (3,275 kg)	7,995 lb (3,626 kg)	10,700 lb (4,853 kg) loaded, clean; 12,530 lb (5,683 kg) with 50 gal drop tank and two 500 lb (230 kg) bombs
Rolls-Royce Merlin 46	Rolls-Royce Merlin 55M	Rolls-Royce Griffon VI	Rolls-Royce Griffon 88
1,415 hp (1,155 kW) at 14,000 ft (4,267 m)	1,585 hp (1,226 kW) at 2,750 ft (838 m)	1,850 hp (1,379 kW) at 2,000 ft (609 m)	2,350 hp (1,752 kW) at 1,250 ft (380 m)
342 mph (297 knots), (550 km/h) at 20,700 ft (6,309 m)	359 mph (312 knots), (578 km/h) at 5,100 ft (1,514 m)	392 mph (341 knots), (631 km/h) at 12,800 ft (3,901 m)	452 mph (393 knots), (727 km/h) at 20,500 ft (6,250 m)
2,380 ft/min (12.0 m/s) at 16,000 ft (4,876 m)	3,460 ft/min (17.5 m/s) at 4,000 ft (1,219 m)	4,600 ft/min (23.4 m/s) at 4,000 ft (1,219 m)	4,800 ft/min (24.4m/s) at sea level (0 m)
37,600 ft (11,460 m)	32,000 ft (9,753 m)	37,000 ft (11,277 m)	43,100 ft (13,135 m)
29.5 lb/ft² (133 kg/m²)	30.3 lb/ft² (137 kg/m²)	33.0 lb/ft² (161 kg/m²)	43.9 lb/ft² (205 kg/m²) or 51.4 lb/ft² (240 kg/m²)
0.20 hp/lb (0.33 kW/kg)	0.22 hp/lb (0.36 kW/kg)	0.23 hp/lb (0.39 kW/kg)	0.22 hp/lb (0.36 kW/kg) 0.18 hp/lb (0.30 kW/kg)
434 mi (698 km) on internal fuel	510 mi (821 km) on internal fuel	376 mi (605 km) on internal fuel	405 mi (652 km) on internal fuel
750 mi (1,207 km) with 60 gal drop tank	770 mi (1,239 km) with 60 gal drop tank	903 mi (1,453 km) with 90 gal drop tank	1,475 mi (2,374 km) with 90 gal drop tank
2 × 20 mm Hispano II cannon; 120 rpg 4 × .303" Browning machine guns; 350 rpg 2 × 250 lb (110 kg) with 1 × 500 lb (230 kg) bomb	2 × 20 mm Hispano II: late Seafire IIIs Hispano V cannon; 120 rpg 4 × .303" Browning machine guns; 350 rpg 2 × 250 lb (110 kg) with 1 × 500 lb (230 kg) bomb	2 × 20 mm Hispano II cannon; 120 rpg 4 × .303" Browning machine guns; 350 rpg 2 × 250 lb (110 kg) with 1 × 500 lb (230 kg) bomb	4 × 20 mm Hispano V cannon; 175 rpg inboard, 150 rpg outboard up to 8 × "60 lb" [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] rockets on zero-length launchers up to 3 × 500 lb (230 kg) bombs

Retours à la page principale consacrée au Spitfire sur Wikipedia en anglais :

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As its designer, R.J.Mitchell will forever be known for his most famous creation. However, thedevelopment of the Spitfire did not cease with his premature death in 1937.

Mitchell only lived long enough to see the prototype Spitfire fly.

Subsequently a team led by his chief draughtsman, Joe Smith, developed more powerful and capable variants to keep the Spitfire current as a front-line aircraft.

As one historian noted: "If Mitchell was born to design the Spitfire, Joe Smith was born to defend and develop it."

There were 24 marks of Spitfire and many sub-variants.

These covered the Spitfire in development from the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] engines, the high-speed photo-reconnaissance variants and the different wing configurations.

More Spitfire Mk Vs were built than any other type, with 6,487 built, followed by the 5,656 Mk IXs.

Different wings, featuring a variety of weapons, were fitted to most marks;
the A wing used eight .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns, the B wing had four .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns and two 20 mm (.79 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], and the C or Universal Wing could mount either four 20 mm (.79 in) cannon or two 20 mm (.79 in) and four .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns.

As the war progressed, the C wing became more common.

Another armament variation was the E wing which housed two 20 mm (.79 in) cannon and two .50 in (12.7 mm) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Supermarine developed a two-seat [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] known as the T Mk VIII to be used for [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], but none were ordered, and only one example was ever constructed (identified as N32/G-AIDN by Supermarine).

In the absence of an official two-seater variant, a number of airframes were crudely converted in the field.

These included a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Mk VB in North Africa, where a second seat was fitted instead of the upper fuel tank in front of the cockpit, although it was not a dual-control aircraft and is thought to have been used as the squadron
"run-about."

The only unofficial two-seat conversions that were fitted with dual-controls were a small number of Russian lend/lease Mk IX aircraft.

These were referred to as Mk IX UTI and differed from the Supermarine proposals by using an inline "greenhouse" style
double canopy rather than the raised "bubble" type of the T Mk VIII.

In the postwar era, the idea was revived by Supermarine and a number of two-seat Spitfires were built by converting old Mk IX airframes with a second "raised" cockpit featuring a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Ten of these TR9 variants were then sold to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] along with six to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], three to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and one for the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Currently a handful of the trainers are known to exist, including both the T Mk VIII, a T Mk IX based in the U.S., and the "Grace Spitfire" ML407, a veteran flown operationally by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in 1944.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}

Seafire


Main article: [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

The Supermarine Seafire was a naval version of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] specially adapted for operation from [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. The name Seafire was arrived at by collapsing the longer name Sea Spitfire.

Origins of the Seafire

The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] first showed an interest in the idea of a carrier-borne Spitfire in May 1938 when during a meeting with Richard Fairey of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] the proposal was made that his company could design and build such an
aircraft.

The idea met with a negative response and the matter was dropped.

As a result the FAA was forced into having to order [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] both of which proved to be woefully inadequate.
^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}

The matter of a seaborne Spitfire was raised again in November 1939 when the Air Ministry allowed a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
Ermen to fly a Spitfire I.

After his first flight in R6718 Ermen learned that Joseph Smith, Chief Designer at Supermarine had been instructed to fit an "A-frame" arrestor hook on a Spitfire and that this had flown on 16 October; a drawing of this aircraft had been shown to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] on 27 October.

After further discussions Supermarine submitted a drawing of a Spitfire with folding wings and an arrestor hook.

In this case the wings were designed with a fold just outboard of the undercarriage bays; the outer wings would swivel and fold backwards, parallel with the fuselage.

On 29 February 1940 the Admiralty asked the Air Ministry to sanction the production of 50 folding wing Spitfires, with the first deliveries to start in July.

However, for various reasons [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] who was [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] stepped in and cancelled the order, writing to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] :

I regard it as of very great importance that the production of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] should be kept going.

It would take over 18 months before the first Seafires were built.

Development


In late 1941 and early 1942, the Admiralty assessed the Spitfire for possible conversion. In late 1941 48 Spitfire
Mk. Vb were converted by Air Training Service Ltd. at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] to become "hooked Spitfires".

This was the Seafire Mk. Ib and would be the first of several Seafire variants to reach the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

This version of the Seafire was mainly used to allow the Royal Navy to gain experience in operating the Spitfire on [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The main structural change was made to the lower rear fuselage which incorporated an A-frame style arrestor hook and strengthened lower [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

It was soon discovered that the fuselage, especially around hatches, was too weak for sustained carrier operations.

In an attempt to alleviate this condition, reinforcing strips were riveted around hatch openings and along the main fuselage longerons.

A further 118 Seafire Mk. Ib's incorporating the fuselage reinforcements were modified from Spitfire Vbs by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and Air Training Service.

These aircraft were equipped with Naval [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] radio equipment and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] as well as a Type 72 homing beacon.

In these and all subsequent Seafires the instruments were re-calibrated to read [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] rather than [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The fixed armament was the same as that of the Spitfire Vb; two 20 mm (.79 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] with 60 rpg fed
from a "drum" magazine, and four [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (7.7 mm) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] with 350 rpg.

Provision was also made to carry a 30 gal (136 l) "slipper" fuel tank under the fuselage.

One front line unit, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] operated this version on board [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] from October 1942 through to September 1944.


The second semi-navalised variant of the Seafire, and the first to be built as such, was the Seafire F. Mk IIc which was based on the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The Vc had several major refinements over the Spitfire Vb.

Apart from the modifications included in the main batch of Seafire Ibs this version incorporated [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], and a single slinging lug on either side of the fuselage, just behind the engine bulkhead.

Three basic subtypes were produced, the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and F.R Mk IIc (fighter reconnaissance), poweredby a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] powered by a low altitude Merlin 32 specifically manufactured for naval use

This version of the Merlin used a "cropped" [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] impellor to provide greater power at low altitudes than the standard engines; delivering 1,585 hp (1,182 kW) at 2,750 ft (838 m).

Both engine models drove a four bladed 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) diameter [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] propeller.

Because this version used the "C" wing the Hispano cannon were now fed from a 120-round belt magazine,
otherwise the armament was the same as that of the Ib; the F.R also carried two F.24 aerial cameras.

After trials of Rocket Assisted Take Off Gear or [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] apparatus (small rocket engines which could be attached to the fuselage or wings of aircraft to help shorten the take-off run) in February 1943, this equipment became a standard fitting available for all Seafires.

The IIc was the first of the Seafires to be deployed operationally in large numbers, with Supermarine building 262 and 110 being built by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], who also built 30 Seafire Mk III (Hybrid) (Mk IIIs without folding wings).

Although developed for [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] use, this version still lacked the folding wings needed to allow them to be used on board some Royal Navy carriers, some of which had small aircraft elevators unable to accommodate the full wingspan of the Seafires.

The Seafire F. Mk. III was the first true carrier adaptation of the Spitfire design. It was developed from the Seafire Mk. IIC, but incorporated manually folding wings allowing more of these aircraft to be spotted on deck or in the hangers below.

Supermarine devised a system of two straight chordwise folds; a break was introduced immediately outboard of the wheel-wells from which the wing hinged upwards and slightly angled towards the fuselage.

A second hinge at each wingtip join allowed the tips to fold down (when the wings were folded the wingtips were folded outwards).

This version used the more powerful Merlin 55 (F. Mk. III and F.R. Mk III) or Merlin 55M (L.Mk. III), driving the same four-bladed propeller unit used by the IIC series; the Merlin 55M was another version of the Merlin modified to give maximum performance at low altitude.

Other modifications that were made on the Spitfire made their way to the Seafire as well including a slim Aero-Vee air filter and six-stack ejector type exhausts. In addition the shorter barreled, lightweight Hispano Mk V cannon were introduced during production as were overload fuel tank fittings in the wings

This Mark was built in larger numbers than any other Seafire variant; of the 1,220 manufactured Westland built 870 and Cunliffe Owen 350.

In 1947 12 Mk IIIs were stripped of their naval equipment by Supermarine and delivered to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].