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The Supermarine Spitfire
History== The Supermarine Spitfire was a interceptor aircraft that was extensively used during the WW2 by the RAF as well as other Allied forces. First designed as a short-range interceptor by the chief designer of Supermarine Aviation works, R.J Mitchell. Mitchell continued to refine the design but in 1937, 1 year after a prototypes launch in March, 1936 he died passing on the design to his colleague Joseph Smith.
Its introduction in the military came on the 4th of August, 1938. For the Spitfire, its day of fame came during the Battle of Britain, because from the publics point of view, they saw the Spitfire as the fighter of the RAF even though the Hawker Hurricane shouldered most of the heavy fighting against the enemy Luftwaffe forces.
Spitfires in formation.
Role[]
Although the Spitfire was originally designed as a short-range interceptor, it had versitiliy to be used for many other roles such as:
- Short-Range Interceptor - Used for for the interception and destruction of enemy bombers and planes.
- Photo-Recon- Used to collect image/signal intelligence
- Fighter-Bomber- Used for small-scale bombings and strikes but maintaing fighter capabilities
- Trainer- Used for newer pilots in training.