Supermarine Spitfire

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The Supermarine Spitfire was a single-seat fighter used by the RAF and many Allied countries in World War II.

Related Topics:
Fighter - RAF - World War II

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The Spitfire's elliptical wings gave it a very distinctive look; their thin cross-section gave it speed; the brilliant design of Chief Designer R.J. Mitchell and his successors (he died in 1937) meant the Spitfire was loved by its pilots. It saw service during the whole of World War II, in all theatres of war, and in many different variants.

Related Topics:
Elliptical - Wing - R.J. Mitchell - World War II

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More than 20,300 examples of all variants were built, including two-seat trainers, with some Spitfires remaining in service well into the 1950s.

Related Topics:
Trainers - 1950s

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The aircraft was dubbed Spitfire by Sir Robert MacLean, director of Vickers at the time, and on hearing this, Mitchell is reported to have said, "...sort of bloody silly name they would give it." The word dates from Elizabethan times and refers to a particularly fiery, ferocious type of person, usually a woman. The name had previously been used unofficially for Mitchell's earlier F.7/30 Type 224 design.

Related Topics:
Vickers - Elizabethan

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