Vickers Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-single fighter aircraft that was used by the Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. It was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft and was the only British fighter in continuous production throughout the war.

The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R.J. Mitchell. The army required a new and modern fighter capable of flying at faster speeds, since speed was seen as essential to carrying out the mission of home defense against enemy bombers. After several designs, Mitchell's team came up with the Supermarine Spitfire.

However, there were some issues with the Spitfire.The rudder was over-sensitive and the top speed was just 330 mph, barely faster than the current airplane, the Hawker Hurricane. So the designers added a new and better-shaped wooden propeller  and a thin cross-section elliptical wing that allowed it a higher top speed than Hurricane, reaching over 348 mph. Flight Lieutenant Humphrey Edwardes-Jones then took over the prototype and requested that the Spitfire be equipped with an undercarriage position indicator. A week later, on 3 June 1936, the Air Ministry placed an order for 310 Spitfires.

During the Battle of Britain (July–October 1940), the Spitfire was perceived by the public as the RAF fighter,  and it saw action in the European, Mediterranean, Pacific, and South-East Asian theaters. The Spitfire served in several roles, including interceptor, photo-reconnaissance, fighter-bomber, carrier-based fighter, and trainer. The Spitfire was an incredible aeronautical advance that, together with radar and the Hurricane, would win the Battle of Britain in 1940, and the gratitude of the free world. It was loved by its pilots and feared by its opponents for its speed and maneuverability.