Spitfire: A great analysis of the engineering that produced one of the best fighters of the WWII

@DefAviation ES 10·24·2022 · 19:07 0

When it comes to talking about World War II fighters, there is one that occupies a very prominent and even epic place: the Supermarine Spitfire.

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This famous and elegant fighter aircraft made its first flight on March 6, 1936. Over 20,000 Spitfires were built during World War II, and like other fighters of that time, it was continuously improved to try to get the best tool for your pilots. Undoubtedly, one of its most glorious moments, together with the most numerous Hawker Hurricane, was the Battle of Britain (1940), when British pilots and those of other nationalities defended the island of Great Britain against the incessant German air raids. That historic episode was what led to turning the Spitfire into something more than an airplane in the hearts of many Britons: today it is a symbol of their heroic resistance against Nazism.

But if the value of the pilots of these fighters was decisive in their victory over Germany, the design of the plane was no less important. The Spitfire incorporated notable advances for its time, which gave it technological superiority over its great rival, the German Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighter. The brilliant engineering that resulted in the Spitfire is covered in an excellent video recently posted by Real Engineering:

You can see here some screenshots of the video, as a preview. One of the most striking things about this report is its great visual quality, with images at the level of the best documentaries that can be seen on these topics.

One of the topics that the video deals with in depth is what refers to one of the most distinctive technical characteristics of the Spitfire: its elliptical wings. The report explains the reason for being in this way and the advantages it offered to the British fighter, as well as some peculiarities of its design.

The video also addresses the way this plane was built, the weapons it carried and the reason for the place where it was placed.

Likewise, the report compares the Spitfire and the Bf-109, showing the advantages of each one, with great rigor and remarkable technical precision.