Battle of Britain, July - October 1940

Supermarine Spitfire Mk I

Product History

Designed by R.J. Mitchell, the Spitfire was based on his very fast, pre-war seaplane, the S6. It was powered by a 1,030-hp Rolls Royce Merlin engine and had a top speed of 365 mph. This was not as fast a the German equivalent fighter, the Messerschmitt 109 which had a top speed of 375 mph. The Spitfire, however, was more manoeuvrable with amazing acceleration and, because of its lower wing loading, was able to turn inside the Messerschmitt. The destructive capability of the Spitfire was 8 x .303 Browning machine guns mounted in the wings. These proved very effective against both the fighters and bombers of the German Luftwaffe.