Vickers Supermarine Spitfire classic documentary

[Music] the spitfire is now legendary it first flew in 1936 but the story began 13 years earlier [Music] in 1923 the supermarine company of southampton prepared their sea lion 3 for the schneider trophy contest it was designed by the 28 year old chief designer rj mitchell the flying boat was powered by a napier lion engine of 550 horsepower the sea lion 3 was not new but a revised version of the aircraft which had won the race in naples the year before at 145 miles per hour in the 1923 event despite an uprated engine the supermarine flying boat was to be outclassed by the american navy's curtis cr3 this small seaplane was most carefully streamlined and its metal propeller was driven by an exceptionally light and powerful engine the 465 horsepower curtis d12 cast in aluminium had a very low frontal area and set new standards in aero engine design mitchell's answer was the s4 cantilever monoplane one of the most beautiful aircraft yet built and one which bore a distinct family likeness to its most famous descendant on a test flight in 1925 only br took the s4 up to 226 miles per hour more than enough to win the trophy back but the day before the race it crashed possibly due to wing flutter for the 1927 race supermarine built a smaller and tougher aircraft the s5 a more powerful line engine with smaller frontal area was fitted the fuselage and floats were largely metal with wooden low mounted wings wire braced to prevent a repetition of the earlier mishap the 1927 schneider race in venice was won by the s5 at a record 281 miles per hour the pilot was flight lieutenant webster the raf having begun to recognize the importance of the contest but the napier lion engine was at the end of its development so mitchell went to henry royce who promised him an engine of at least 1800 horsepower rolls-royce was then producing a v12 called the buzzid a rather unsuccessful 36 liter engine which only produced 825 horsepower the task facing aj rollage the engineer responsible was simply expressed he had to more than double the power output every moving part of the budget had to be revised and strengthened to withstand the enormously increased stresses the main bearings of the crankshaft for example had to bear a loading of nine tons within 11 months the first six hand-built our engines were being meticulously assembled to keep the weight as low as possible extensive use was made of a rolls-royce alloy named high dominium the exhaust valves were filled with sodium to help conduct the heat away from their heads and innovation for rolls-royce the 1800 horsepower could now be contained its source lay in the then new technology of supercharging the centrifugal blower compressed the mixture to a manifold pressure of 13 pounds per square inch above atmospheric and new anti-detonation fuels had to be researched petroleum chemists devised a brew of 78 benzol 22 aviation spirit and a trace of tetra airful lead which the supercharger fed to the engine at over three and a half gallons a minute my careful attention to the crankcase and valve covers the r engine had a remarkably low frontal area for a 36 liter v12 in may 1929 the engine was placed on the test bench the transformation from the 900 horsepower buzzard that rolls royce could not sell to the r engine that could win the schneider trophy was complete the test runs were staggering 1 900 horsepower from an engine which weighed only 1500 pounds no existing engine could compete as the engines were being tested in derby at southampton the new s6 was ready for the first of the special power plants to reduce drag the fuselage was as narrow as possible the maximum width being that of the supercharger it was a tight fit and rather than lose the advantage of such low frontal drag with conventional radiators mitchell had devised a novel cooling system most of the wing surfaces were used to dissipate the great heat of the engine and this meant putting the 160 gallon fuel tanks into the floats which also improved stability during the takeoff very large quantities of oil were used too the tank was in the fin where some heat could be lost and the oil circulated through radiators along the seaplane sides thus the problem of cooling the 1900 horsepower engine was solved with the minimum of drag the question posed was would it all work in practice the s6 was larger and heavier than the s5 but at cultural the team was confident it could meet the challenge of the scarlet painted italian mackies the s6 was by far the most efficient seaplane yet built it was also the most advanced being of stressed skin construction promptly at 2pm on the 7th of september the 1929 schneider trophy contest started flying officer waghorn's s6 won the race at an average speed of 328 miles per hour the italian mackies had engine trouble and two were forced to alight before the finish [Music] two years later the operated s6b became the first aircraft in the world to exceed 400 miles per hour in level flight it won the schneider trophy outright for britain in the early 30s more importance was attached to maneuverability than to sheer speed and the bristol bulldogs of 43 squadron based here at northolt and part of london's air defenses could do no more than 174 miles per hour the s6b touched down at 110 yet the bulldog was to remain a front line raf fighter until 1936 there were some immediate advances from the experience gained during the trophy races the air-cooled bristol jupiter radial powering the bulldog used a supercharger developed for the 1927 race and alloy heads were fitted it was clear too that higher octane fuels would soon be needed the bristol bulldog though it had a metal structure was a wire braced fabric covered by plane only 42 miles per hour faster than the se-5a that had fought over the trenches in 1918. this aircraft was one of a batch of 17 two seaters used to convert pilots to the type but by 1933 the squadrons had started to re-equip with the slim powerful liquid-cooled in-line engines which became almost standard for raf fighters these hawker demons designed by sydney cam were a two-seat fighter variant of the heart-like bomber which in the 1930 air exercises had shocked the air staff by outperforming the defending interceptors both types used the 550 horsepower rolls royce kestrel v12 which had a good deal in common with the r-type these are 15 squadrons hearts in 1935 now only the disappointing gospel lay between rolls royce and the best piston engine they ever built goshawk and kestrel were both tested in cam's 200 mile an hour fury only the kestrel worked well nevertheless supermarine designed the 224 fighter around the goshawk believing that the problems of the more powerful engine could be solved mitchell was now convinced that the future lay with monoplanes unfortunately in competition with five different biplanes supermarine's all-metal monoplane performed badly the wing and undercarriage fairings housed a complicated pressurized engine cooling system to avoid the drag of external radiators but it failed to cool the 600 horsepower goshawk and the project was abandoned for the last time the rugged reliability of the radial engine biplane won the day across the gladiator they were delight to fly hardly reflected the technical advances made with the s6 at the beginning of the decade although it impressed the public at air displays [Music] in germany a more convincing demonstration of technological advance was being carefully staged managed in march 1939 a heinkel 100 with specially prepared daimler-benz engine took off from iranian berg to attack the world speed record the small plane flashed around the course and lands after the attempt its 23 year old pilot hands dietary being certain he'd broken the record he had had over 463 miles per hour despite the record and celebrations the heinkel didn't go into production for political reasons but it represented all the lessons of a decade of progress to meet the growing challenge of the luftwaffe three new monoplane fighters were ordered for the raf the first but not quite the most famous was the hawker hurricane powered by the new rolls-royce pv12 the prototype first flew in 1935. the bolt and pole defiant was the second of the new fighters it was an updated two-seater with a power-operated four-gun turret in early 1940 it was highly successful being often mistaken for a hurricane but it had no forward armament and once german pilots realized this its loss rate would become unacceptable [Music] the third the spitfire was the fighter which was destined to epitomize the spirit of a nation at war it was first flown at eastleigh near southampton on the 6th of march 1936 the pilot being mutt summers at that time the aircraft was simply known as f-3734 no one can now say when the name spitfire was officially adopted a chief designer reginald mitchell was then desperately ill with cancer he would not live to see his aeroplane fight but the experience gained with the schneider seaplanes and the 224 together with the then new pb12 rolls-royce engine provided an exceptionally beautiful and efficient fighter which must surely even on those early test flights have convinced him that he'd created a great aircraft though it's doubtful if mitchell or indeed anyone else present could have foreseen just how great the spitfire was soon to mitchell died in 1937 and the chief draftsman joseph smith would see the spitfire into production a year's design work went into adapting the structure of the prototype into one that could be readily produced spitfire was the first british all-metal stressed skin aircraft we put into quantity production it was not when compared with the fabric-covered hurricane an easy airframe to construct the workforce available to supermarine was only 500 and in addition to the spitfire the firm was also building walrus and stranria flying boats spitfire in common with other wartime aircraft was largely hand built in mass production numbers the first contract was just 310 aircraft at 4500 pounds each the alloy skin was flush riveted to reduce drag and formed a light immensely strong rigid airframe capable of withstanding 10g final assembly of the early spitfires was at eastleigh it was very much a manual operation the major units being hand fitted relying on the accuracy of the jigs and a high standard of manufacture in 1938 the all-male labor force was composed of skilled craftsmen who served long apprenticeships a situation which the war would radically change the fighter was built around rolls-royce's pv12 which was now named the merlin the assembly is inspected the system's checked and as one spitfire is completed another starts on the line the first raf squadron to equip with spitfires number 19 received its aircraft in june 1938 and a new shape was seen on the english countryside during those last months of peace [Music] [Music] by the time war had broken out in september 1939 nine raf fighter squadrons were flying spitfires and as they sped overhead small boys could look up and confidently say it's a spit in early 1940 to train its airmen the raf made a film of the spitfire's daily inspection routine which fortunately has survived a mark one taxis in the pilot's visibility from a spitfire on the ground is severely limited by the engine the airmen are required to guide the machine as it approaches the hangars and other parked aircraft [Music] when this aircraft was engaged in the battle of britain a few weeks later the refueling and rearming would be a good deal less measured and leisurely [Music] after topping up the 84 gallon fuel tanks spitfire is manhandled into a hangar in 1940 operational fighters would have been serviced on the airfield only going into the hangars for major work a number of skilled tradesmen are needed even for a daily inspection they're all raf servicemen and at this early stage of the war probably regulars who'd been trained on biplanes an airframe rigger tests the wheel brakes which are operated by compressed air at 200 pounds per square inch the fabric covered tail control surfaces the rudder and elevators which the rigger tests for full free and correct movement the ailerons too are checked it was not unknown for these vital controls to be connected in reverse after major overhaul the rigger is operating the elevator trim wheel this secondary flight control moves small trim tabs on the elevator which enable the pilot to adjust for hands-off flight compensating for nose or tail heaviness as the power changes the rudder bar is moved to the limit of its travel and the bias is checked the spitfire one's landing flaps like the brakes are operated by compressed air and can only be either fully down or up the wheels are normally retracted by hydraulic power from an engine driven pump but this lever releases an emergency supply of carbon dioxide to the undercarriage the radio on early spitfires was tuned mechanically by a cable linkage from this control box this spitfire is fitted with the tr-9hf radio which was standard throughout the battle of britain many tr9s were fitted with pip squeak an automatic timer which switched on the transmitter for 14 seconds in each minute to enable df stations to track individual aircraft hf radio was to remain in service until late in 1940 when a vhf set the tr 1143 was issued the next tradesman to appear is the instrument mechanic a pilot's life depended on his instruments the mechanic adjusts the zero of the spitfire's rate of climb indicator although calibrated to 4000 feet per minute spitfire one's best climb was 2500 feet per minute the altimeter is set to qfe the local barometric pressure to read zero on that airfield on that day the central standard blind flying panel common to all raf aircraft is mounted on anti-vibration springs the undercarriage warning horn is tested this blows automatically if aircraft attempt to land with wheels up the ethylene glycol coolant tank is checked as is the pilot's oxygen supply the total oxygen and rate of supply being constantly meted once oxygen became a standard fitting it didn't take long for aircrew to discover that a few deep breaths of it were an instant curve for a hangover the mechanic checks the time adjusts the clock and winds it the 5.8 gallon oil tank is topped up another airmen cleans and checks the undercarriage well when this film was shot just before the battle of britain the reflector site was still top secret the instrument mechanic tests the brightness control of the internal lamp on which the site depended three spare bulbs are carried in the cockpit the spitfire one had a control to enable the pilot to lower landing lights fitted under each wing these powerful lights could also be moved up and down by the pilot this refinement disappeared on later marks since spitfires proved unsuitable for night fighting the fitter ensures that the fuel filler cap is secure next the fuel gauges were the two internal tanks one contained 48 the other 37 imperial gallons the airman then checks and cleans the engine radiator intake in the cockpit an airframe rigger operates the shutter which controls the radiator temperature the form 700 is signed the daily inspection is complete this spitfire bears the code of number 609 west riding squadron 609 was to be heavily engaged in the battle of britain based at middle wallop and warmwell this unique film was shot in early june 1940 at number six maintenance unit rise norton spitfire is pushed past a parked miles master trainer and an early hurricane onto the large grass airfield the lightweight 5820 pounds of the spitfire one is evident from the easy way the five-man handling crew turned the aircraft into wind for an engine run-up the spitfire required 400 rounds of 303 inch ammunition for its eight browning guns belts are made up with either armor piercing incendiary or ball ammunition the last 25 rounds were usually tracer to warn the pilot he was running out each gun had a 300 round belt which was loaded into a box magazine as soon as the fight is landed after action as soon as the propellers stopped turning the ground crews were at work while the aircraft refueled beneath the wings the armors are removing the spent magazines from their stowage then they clean the barrels with the traditional four by two inch patch of flannelette leaving the guns clean bright and slightly oiled the oxygen bottles too are changed by the armorers fresh 300 round ammunition magazines are brought to the aircraft using a length of webbing the belts are fed through the gun breaches this simple device enabled the armorers to re-arm a spitfire in less than 10 minutes instead of the original 20 since they no longer had to remove the eight access panels on the upper surfaces of the wings the guns are cocked and the access panels replaced using the patent fastening as any ex-armor or ricker will recall not all panels went back as easily as this one the spitfire is now armed and ready to fight august the 13th 1940 was to the germans the start of ardha angrifa eagle attack the british recognized the same date as the start of the battle of britain [Music] the order to the three attacking german air fleets was simple destroyed the raf as the ju-88s took off to attack portsmouth harbor raf air fuels and the radar stations the luftwaffe high command confidently expected the battle to end in a total german victory within two weeks in the outside [Music] there was ample reason for the luftwaffe's confidence they'd already defeated the polish and french air forces they now had no fewer than 3 500 aircraft ranged against the raf's 1065 fighters but the german order of battle included the obsolescent dornier 17s which had performed well enough in spain and against moderate fighter opposition over poland and france now their defensive armament was to prove woefully inadequate also prominent were large numbers of messy schmidt 110 twin-engined destroyer fighters whose task was to entice the british fighters into battle and shoot them down the 110 though heavily armed with forward firing cannon was slow cumbersome and poorly armed against stern attack the me109e was the main opponent of the spitfires and hurricanes this one is flown by the luftwaffe ace adolf galland then the ceo of the fighter wing jg 26 the 109e was faster than the hurricane the equal of the spitfire with its fuel-injected engine and cannon armament it was a deadly fighter the mass formations of german bombers attacked each and every day during that hot long summer of 1940. [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] my [Music] day after day throughout the summer of 1940 the fighters that survived the battles returned to their small grass airfields in southern england by the end of october it was clear that the raf had by the narrowest of margins contained the greatest air force the world had yet seen fewer than a thousand young raf pilots had fought the battle 451 of them were dead 915 of their aircraft lost the germans who'd fought bravely too against mounting losses had according to the luftwaffe's own post-war figures lost 1733 aircraft mainly bombers to the fighter pilots of the raf the invasion of britain the reason for the battle was postponed indefinitely the public responded to the victory by contributing to spitfire funds children collected fruit to sell and the pennies shillings and pounds mounted the price of a spitfire had been fixed at 5 000 pounds actually they then cost nearly twice that figure but in the first two months of 1941 alone 10 million pounds have been donated by the war's end some 900 spitfires have been presented on the 26th of september supermarine factories at woolston and ditching were bombed though the buildings were destroyed the vital machine tools were still intact immediately production was dispersed into the surrounding area into sheds carriages and laundries some turning out small components others complete aircraft so successful was the dispersal that probably fewer than 90 spitfires were lost as a result of the bombing mass production by semi-skilled workers was previously unknown in the aircraft industry but now men from the motor industry and women some of whom had never worked in factories before were drafted into the vast new aeroplane works which morris motors built at castle rummage [Music] the new labor force concentrated on making basic components while vickers management transferred skilled super marine men to tackle the operations which could not be adapted to motor industry methods and to train the new workers castle romance built all the 920 mark twos and over 5000 mark nines eventually producing nearly 12 000 spitfires of all marks between january 1940 and the end of the war mostly with locally recruited and trained labour [Music] at the end of the line the armament is fitted until 1941 almost every spitfire had been armed with four 303 browning machine guns in each wing this arrangement of the eight guns became known as the a-wing removable flush fitting panels in the upper surfaces gave access to the breaches and the 300 round boxes of ammunition for each gun were fitted from below although the aircraft carried two thousand four hundred rounds the weight of shot from a typical burst was only eight pounds which proved inadequate so the two inboard 303s were replaced by a 20 millimeter hispano cannon under a bulged fairing which was detachable like the gun panels spitfires with the b-wing gun arrangement carried 600 rounds of 303 ammunition in the outer bays and 120 rounds for the cannon most mark fives were fitted with the universal or c-type wing the designation referred only to the gun arrangements the wing itself might be normal occasionally extended or clipped the armament in each wing was either four 303 browning machine guns or two brownings in a 20 millimeter hispano cannon which was now belt fed with 120 rounds alternatively the newfound reliability of the hispano allowed the c-wing to be armed if required with two 20-millimeter cannon by removing all the machine guns the c-type universal wing was fitted to a number of later marks the mach 5 which the factories were turning out in large numbers by the beginning of 1941 was the first major revision of the original design basically it was a mark one strengthened to withstand the greater power of the rolls-royce merlin 45 it was faster than the mark 1 and could fly to 38 000 feet by the end of the year almost all the day fighter squadrons were equipped with mark fives the squadron armors now had a new gun and ammunition to deal with the cannon the heavier ammunition is loaded into 60 round drum magazines one per gun each shell is checked and carefully inserted a damaged or incorrectly loaded round could jam the cannon the magazines for the b wings 303 brownings but now of a later type containing 350 rounds per gallon after a sortie the re-arming of the cannon armed spitfire fives unlike the mark ones required the armors to work above and below the wings first the access panels over the 303 brownings are removed and the breach is examined this one is in the forward position which indicates that this gun has run out of ammunition the second armorer removes the underwing panels for access to the magazine the blister covering the cannon breach is removed this armor has his screwdriver on a lanyard it being all too easy with frozen fingers to drop it losing vital time working as a team the armor is next pull the browning bridge blocks to the rear position in order to clear the ammunition belts a special tool is used in this official film in practice armors often use their forage caps the cannon cocking valve is opened so that the empty magazine may be removed another magazine has changed that of the g42 16 millimeter cine gun camera which automatically filmed when the guns were fired after combat the film was studied to check claimed kills the larger bore of the cannon needed eight sections of the famous four by two flannelette on the pull through breaches and ammunition feeds are all cleaned and lightly oiled a loaded cannon magazine is carefully fitted and secured the drag producing bulges were to remain on all cannon armed spitfires a legacy of the original design which had not foreseen such heavy armament the 303s have been rearmed and the panels are replaced armors are also responsible for the very recognition cartridges in the coded colors of the day finally self-adhesive fabric patches are stuck over the gun ports to prevent mud entering on take-off from grass airfields and to keep the guns from freezing at altitude the cannon too require protective measures to keep them out of trouble the bulletproof windscreen and the reflector site are polished and checked a fighter pilot had to be a first-class shot but first he had to judge the range of the enemy the reflector gun site was designed to help him do so for when an aircraft the size of an me109 filled the ring it was 100 yards away when it appeared equal to half the diameter it was 200 yards away knowing the sizes of the other german types the pilot could quickly judge their ranges he estimated the span of the target and turned a knurled wheel to that setting he then adjusted a second knob to the estimated range this varied the gap between the two lines in the site and when the target filled the gap it was at the optimum range although the bullets left the guns at over twice the speed of sound this velocity rapidly dropped off and because the guns vibrated a little as they fired the bullets spread out into a cone-shaped pattern the eight-gun spitfire would fire about 480 rounds in a typical three-second burst but at 400 yards the density of hits would be no more than seven or eight per square foot as well as slowing down and spreading out with range bullets dropped due to gravity over five feet at 400 yards so the armor has carefully adjusted the guns and the reflector site so that they harmonized and the cones of fire would converge usually about 250 yards ahead careful pilots check their work an enemy fighter flying at 300 miles an hour traveled 36 yards in the quarter of a second it took for the three or three bullets to reach it in a beam attack the pilot would have to aim 36 yards in front of the target to hit him but more usually the angle between the two aircraft was much less than 90 degrees and the ability to make the instinctive judgment of this angle and this target speed was one of the main factors separating the aces from the others henders practice with charts like this familiarized inexperienced pilots with the appearance of german aircraft at different angles and from all likely attacking positions the spitfire pilot maneuvered his aircraft so the targets 20 degrees off just touched the ring and were pointing towards the dot on which the guns were directed targets 10 degrees off were placed halfway between the ring and dot at five degrees off they should be even nearer the dot center the mesh schmidt in this diagram is correctly positioned in the ring but this shot will miss by 1942 the much improved gyro gun sight was introduced it retained the familiar ring and dot as a standby but had a second ring of six diamond shaped dots projected on the screen beside it the diameter of this ring was controllable by the pilot who twisted the throttle grip until this pattern just circled the span of the target the site automatically computed the range and deflection of the enemy even in a tight turn by mid-1941 having secured air superiority at home aria fighter command was able to go on to the offensive brenham knight bombers were briefed to attack targets in northern europe the object being to draw the german fighters into battle with the spitfire escorts the spitfire had been designed as a short-range interceptor fighter carrying all its fuel internally as it became necessary for them to operate further and further from their bases 30 gallon slipper tanks were fitted which were jettisoned when the enemy was sighted as the formation approached the enemy coast german radar would scramble the me-109s to oppose the new spitfires a new message the 109f it was armed with a single 20 millimeter mauser cannon firing through the air screw spinner and twin mg-17 machine guns synchronized to fire through the propeller up as soon as enemy fighters were sighted the bomber escorts turned to attack while other spitfires died on the german fighters [Music] the 109f and the spitfire 5 were well matched however sheer weight of numbers enabled the spitfires to shoot down a number of 109s but about to make its entrance was one of the great fighters of the second world war the fuckwolf 190 powered by a 14-cylinder bmw radial engine of 1440 horsepower the fw 190 had a maximum speed of 408 miles per hour spitfire 5 was outclassed mark 5s were modified by removing the wingtips to reduce drag and by fitting a smaller impeller which reduced the power demands of the blower the result was the faster lf5 which could equal the 190 but only at low altitude at rolls royce it was appreciated that the low-flying spitfire was only an interim measure but as before roles had developed an engine which was to provide a more lasting solution a new supercharger had been fitted to give bombers a better high altitude performance if the longer engine could be fitted into the spitfire it would transform the fighter a preserved mark 9 shows how it was done the nose of the mark 5 was lengthened and the engine fitted tightly under the cowling to absorb the greater power a four-bladed propeller was fitted beneath the oil tank the air intake which was increased in area but the main recognition feature was the addition of a second radiator under the port wing this was the main engine cooler and it now had automatic shutters the other radiator was connected to a heat exchanger on top of the engine which cooled the highly compressed petrol air mixture air was forced into the twin choke carburetors by the forward speed of the aircraft the two impellers boosted the mixture pressure the intercooler halved its temperature and a powerful charge reached the cylinders the 1700 horsepower 61 was 70 percent more powerful than the original merlin giving the nine a top speed of over 400 miles per hour yet it was still unmistakably mitchell spitfire the mach 9 spitfire was the first to be fitted with a new gun arrangement known as the e-wing in the outer bay was fitted a 20-millimeter hispano and beside it was a new heavier caliber 0.5 inch browning machine gun both were belt fed and a total of about 740 rounds was carried in may 1942 the raf captured an airworthy fw 190a experts minutely examined the german aircraft it was then extensively flown against a spitfire 9 in mock combat the conclusion being that the two fighters were evenly matched an opinion that was to be borne out in actual combat by the end of 1943 joe smith knew that with the 60 series the merlin was at the end of its development a new rolls-royce engine the 37-meter 2000 horsepower griffon was fitted to the spitfire 12s and 14s just in time to counter the menace of the v1 flying bomb the mach 5s now outclassed in northern europe were still in front line service overseas to ferry aircraft to distant commands drop tanks of either 90 or 170 gallon capacity were fitted 367 spitfires were flown from carriers 800 miles to the besieged island of malta in north africa sicily and italy as the allied armies advanced spitfire 5 fitted with tropical air filters flew constant salties to support the armies on the ground although the large air filter reduced their performance slightly without them engines would have been worn out in a matter of hours the spitfire 5 was the first mark to be capable of carrying bombs up to 500 pounds thus armed spitfire successfully attacked transports and pinpoint targets at very low level a role never envisaged by rj mitchell when one considers that many of these aircraft were converted mark ones the excellence of the original design and construction is apparent [Music] in 1943 the wheel turned full circle as three spitfire fives converted into seaplanes for a test flown in egypt recalling the schneider trophy twelve years earlier there was another nautical role for the spitfire six squadrons of mark twos were used for air sea rescue dropping dinghies to downed aircrew who were picked up by a super marine walrus the walrus known to the service as the shank that was a distant cousin of the spitfire being a descendant of mitchell's sea lion spitfires have been used for photo reconnaissance from mach 1's to the widely used pr11 this 11 serving with a canadian unit is loaded with its oblique f24 camera set 13 degrees downwards the pr 11 had a range of 1 340 miles which required the oil tank to be enlarged to 13 gallons this one of the great pr shots of the war revealed the existence of the german radar at bruneval this photograph of the murder dam after the famous raid was taken from a pr 11 of 542 squadron vertical cameras shot through two ports beneath the fuselage the cameras were offset to provide overlap coverage the griffon engine 19 was the final pr spitfire the spitfire proved remarkably adaptable there was one role however in which it was to prove flawed as a naval carrier-borne fighter in june 1941 the seafire 2 a naval version of the spitfire 5 entered service with the fleet era seafire's participated in operation torch the allied invasion of north africa and also supported the landings at salerno in september of 1943 would however be fair to say that when compared with the excellent american fleet fighters the sea fire was at a disadvantage [Music] it was a land plane derivative and its frail narrow track undercarriage and poor visibility on the approach rendered it distinctly tricky to operate from carriers in late 1944 operating from captured airfields griffin injured spitfire 14s take off these aircraft were among the last spitfires to operate in the european war the development of the spitfire over 13 years of continuous production was matched by rolls-royce's achievement with the merlin and griffin engines the story is reflected in the changing outline of the aircraft the merlin 3 only gave 890 horsepower at takeoff an improved supercharger gave the merlin 45 nearly 350 horsepower more which the tropical filter slightly reduced the two-stage supercharger doubled the power at altitude and gave the mach 9 just over 400 miles per hour the griffon engine was nine meters larger but frontal area only increased six percent adding a two-stage supercharger lengthened the nose of the griffon engine 14 and pr-19 over 2000 horsepower propelled the mark 22 to 450 miles per hour the fin and rudder of the spitfire changed too to contain the increased torque and to maintain stability the area of the tail plane remained unaltered until the very heavy mark 22 from first to last the wartime spitfires appeared unmistakably spitfires there were eventually no less than 32 distinctly different spitfires and nine marks of seafire not to speak of innumerable field modifications and adaptations propelled by many different versions of the two principal engines the merlin and the griffin yet the fundamental soundness of mitchell's design particularly the design of a thin strong wing which remained the same in outline in basic construction until the marks 21 and 22 of 1944 stamps every variant with his particular engineering genius of the eighteen thousand two hundred and ninety eight merlin engine spitfires produced very few now remain airworthy this is one of them its hours are carefully husbanded and only a very select band of pilots allowed the privilege of flying it before takeoff the pilot checks the aircraft visually the creep marks are in line no cuts on the tires the four-bladed propeller has no nicks or fluid leaks the condition of the elevators is carefully examined any distortion will make the spitfire very difficult to control the rudder must have full unrestricted movement trim tab neutral and hinge play satisfactory radio hatch is secure the aircraft appears to be airworthy the pilot climbs into the cockpit it is narrow and pilots really require the assistance of a fitter to sort out the standard raf harness the seats adjusted to give maximum visibility and clearance for the hood should it have to be jettisoned the parachute harness is snapped into the quick release box as in wartime fighters the pilot sits on the parachute pack which forms an exceedingly unyielding cushion flying gloves are don to give a secure grip on the controls the gloves are thin enough to operate small switches thick enough to give some protection from a cockpit fire indicator switch on undercarriage selector down fuel 37 gallons in the lower tank pilot store shut and latched hood open for takeoff and locked final check full free and correct movement rudder buyers wound to fully right for takeoff to counter the spitfire swing due to torque elevated trim with half fuel is set one division nose down ground accumulator is plugged in ready for engine starting air pressure sufficient brakes on parking catch locked on fuel on starter and booster coil buttons uncovered magneto switches off throttle set half an inch open beta constant speed control fully forward idle cut off checked fully the wobble pumps operated to pressurize the fuel lines until the fuel pressure warning light is out the kai gas primer is unscrewed on a cold day up to seven strokes are needed the two ignition switches are switched on contact [Music] magnetos both checked live oil pressure rising fuel pressure warning light off run up engine slowly stick hard back or the aircraft could nose over engine run up to zero boost exercising propeller constant speed unit check for magneto drop engine run-up satisfactory pressures and temperatures okay call tower for takeoff clearance [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so so [Music] so [Music] so so nearly 50 years after the first flight a small number of preserved spitfires perpetuate the legend of this the most famous of fighters [Music] so you

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Id: h7AaKQeF8i8

Length: 59min 26sec (3566 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 20 2020