supermarine spitfire maiden flight

[wikieditspam]

Didn't like the name? Well I think Spitfire definitely grew with age, and those cool looking jets of exploding exhaust blue fireballs definitely made the plane live up to it's name.

[davelj1941]

Anyone who puts down RJM, is anti British.........and anti free world.

[turnipnut]

Nobody has ever bent metal into a more appealing shape than R.J. Mitchell. Nobody has ever come close, not even Aston Martin.

[TheKamikazeMAR]

He came,see and turn the battle in advantage of England!VVVictory!

[markee91]

brilliant aircraft but never forget which aircraft saved our bacon HAWKER HURRICANE

[MrJPP23]

The Hurricane took down the bombers but only cos the Spitfire took on the Bf109. Neither won the Battle of Britain on their own but it couldn't have been won without both. There weren't as many Spitfires as Hurricanes (400 to about 1400) but the Hurricane couldn't compete with the Bf109 for speed and manoeuvrability.

[HaveACigar186]

eus478, even if the spitfire wing came from the He-70, the spitfire adapted it and used it a hell of a lot better than the he70 did.

[eus478]

@HaveACigar186 No surprise, the He70 was no fighter and the whole concept obsolete in 1940.

[hwoods01]

wow, @ 0:05.. look at all the white ppl.. I see racism was alive and well in England..

[phippsa3]

@hwoods01

You stupid prick.

[gaminggeek9]

it is actually called the submarine spitfire not supermarine!

[joetoorivers]

@gaminggeek9 you should know this about Spitfires and Supermarine. The Spitfire was built by Supermarine which was a subsiduary of Vickers

[repsollenny]

whoa the quality of the video of the maiden flight of the spitfire is better then the footage of the F-16's maiden flight!

[PETEEAT]

the quality that stands out with the spit is its breath of abilities

most fighters specialize in one aspect in a dogfight german and american were good in the vertical, italian, russian and japenese fighters were good in the horzontal plane the spit could do both, contary to popular myth the spit could dive and accelerate at high speed and climb very well from the mk8 onwards thats why its the best interceptor of ww2

[LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH]

The Mk XI Spitfire holds the world record for attaiining the highest speed in a dive for a piston engined aircraft. It hit Mach 0.93. AWESOME. The P-51 could do no better than Mach 0.78. FW190 hit Mach 0.75. P-47 hit Mach 0.71. Nothing to touch the Spitfire!

[maceek1]

@LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH

Comparing a P-51 and a Spitfire are apples and oranges. The Spitfire is a short-range interceptor, whereas the P-51 is a long-range fighter. Who cares who can dive faster? If you can only make it half-way to your target, what's the use?? lol!

[LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH]

@maceek1 Exactly my very point to another YT poster who was attempting to argue that the P-51 was a superior fighter. Both aircraft have entirely different roles. The P-51 could not match a Spitfire in a turn, nor roll any faster. In close combat it is inferior, what it excelled at was in it's role as an escort fighter, without doubt the finest escort fighter in WW2. The Spitfire, with the exception of the photo recon variants, could not fly to Berlin & back.

[eus478]

One more matter no-one likes to hear: the Spitfire wings were inspired by the Heinkel 70 from 1932.

[atrumira]

eus478,

You've set your sights on trolling a British themed video, no offense but maybe it would be a good idea if you got over being German

As for where Mitchell got his inspiration for the Spitfire's elliptical wing design, since the dawn of flight (after designers were able to move beyond the Wright Bros patents) designers the world over shared info, who did what 1st is a matter of opinion since the 1st to produce a specific design feature was not necessarily the originator of this idea.

[spineyExtra]

RJM definitely did not chose it for ease of manufacture, & was noted for aesthetics...interesting

[eus478]

that´s o.k. by me ; )

[spineyExtra]

RJM always claimed 'swallows'

The incidence of the spits wing is +2° at its root and -½° at its tip.

[kolbpilot]

@eus478 I too, thought that RJ Mitchell was inspired by Heinkels wing, seeing it in person while in Germany before hostilities. And I read also that Mitchell was very much involved in how the Spitfire should look, constantly looking for ways to make it look the way it did.

[eus478]

@kolbpilot Something more not everyone likes to hear.

[tomnm1]

this plane won ww2

[spineyExtra]

nah, didn't even win the battle of Britain (hurricane) - but is nevertheless iconic & beautiful

[NearAbbeyRoad]

@tomnm1

The Spitfitre never won WW2. WW2 was won on the ground and on the waves.

[atrumira]

The Spitfire was much more than just a superb fighter-plane, it gave the British people hope, it encouraged riveters to rivet more, miners to mine more coal, soldiers & sailors to fight harder.

And from the other perspective it demoralized Luftwaffe pilots who, after having an easy time in Poland, France, Belgium, Norway, etc. they got the shock of their lives during the Battle of Britain - no longer were they invincible

Thanks Reg, we all owe you.

[eus478]

That´s what the movies tell you. In an other YT-documentary a german pilot told the only fear of a german fighter was to run out of gas.

[Saxe333]

just goes to show that germans are full of shit too.

[atrumira]

eus478: "In an other YT-documentary a german pilot told the only fear of a german fighter was to run out of gas"

A german talking about a german pilot who said the only fear a german fighter had was to run out of gas...

This sort of bullshit was often promoted during the war (esp by 1 J Goebbels) however it's not so easy to do so now:

Britain repelled approx 4000 Nazi aircraft w/ 1900 aircraft.

German pilots killed = 2500 (LOL & they all didn't run out of gas)

British pilots killed = 544

[eus478]

The german fighter pilot was talking of himself with a reflection of 50 years including his war captivity in this early stage of war. What he tried to figure out : in a dogfight is so much to do that there is no time for any fear, especially when you can dive and climb faster , so you can start or end for your own terms. He refers to the day, when a complete wing of Bf 109 landed in the channel and 19 of 21 pilots died, because they stayed 5 minutes to long by the bombers.

[eus478]

544 is just half of the truth, twice as much were shot down, but survived. Bombercommand was also fighting and had higher losses then fightercommand. The complete number of lost fighters from July to October´40 including accidents are 631 Hurricanes, 610 Bf 109s, 403 Spitfires and 235 Bf 110s. If you find better numbers, please let me know.

[darkassian111]

if it weren't for that plane i would be speakin german language

[muffigw]

Same story here. +1

[12345roo9]

Damn right!

[aviateam]

Not sure that commentary is fully accurate; during the takeoff and landing the pilot looks like Jeffrey Quill and the event seems to be the Vickers press day on 18th June 1936. The reporters and film crews were not there for the first flight but were brought to Eastleigh by special train on 18th June 1936.

[WHwarsInc]

Best plane ever made!

[LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH]

Fantastic footage! RJ Mitchell, genius & saviour of Britain- RESPECT!

[atrumira]

LiverpoolScottish: RJ Mitchell, genius & saviour of Britain- RESPECT!"

5 star comment

Take 1 hand, cut off 2 fingers & count the remaining # of digits representing those for whom I hold the greatest respect for - Reginald J Mitchell being 1 of them

Remove his contribution from the equation & I shudder to think what the outcome of the Battle of Britain might have been. Yes the Hurricane shot down more planes but the Spit had the more difficult job of dealing w/ the brunt of the German fighters

[LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH]

Dont forget Joe smith though! He was also a genius because he was responsible for evolving the Spit from Mk1 onwards to the glorious Mk IX & awesome Mk XIV. The real genius of RJ's design was the flexibility to allow great increases in power, armament etc yet still retain it's essentially superb flight & handling characteristics. No other WW2 aircraft held onto it's potency to the same degree as the Spit did. The Me 109 failed to keep up, the FW 190 did not enter the fray until 41/42.

[kolbpilot]

@LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH I agree. As much as I like both fighters, the Spitfire evolved better than the 109. Fantastic history between the two. Both came on the scene at the same time, fought against each other all through the war.

[NearAbbeyRoad]

@kolbpilot

The Spit was a front line allied fighter. It was adapted to be still a front fighter in 1945, despite MASSIVE allied progress in aircraft in introducing new advanced models. . The Me109 was kept going because the Germans had no money to develop new planes. By 1945 the me109 was hopelessly outdated, whereas the Spit was not.

[kolbpilot]

@NearAbbeyRoad Somewhat agree. But the last model 109s, G14s or K4s, were still a machine to be reckoned with, out classed or not. Granted, it needed a talented pilot to exploit her strengths.

[NearAbbeyRoad]

@kolbpilot

The me109 was hopelessly outdated in 1945. It was outdated in 1939, never mind 1945. It was the peer of the Hurricane, not the Spitfire. The Brits stopped playing about with the Hurricane early in WW2.

[NearAbbeyRoad]

@kolbpilot

You emphasis the skills of the pilot in getting the me109 to perform. That applies to any plane. In plane vs. plane the 109 by 1945 was way past its sell-by date.

[kolbpilot]

@NearAbbeyRoad The 109 was a quircky, enigmatic machine. Quite a few flaws, but loved by many a pilot who flew it. Yes, it was obsolete at the end, but it was still there, trying its best. Germanys' lousy low octane fuel didn't help matters either, while the Spitfire enjoyed burning Texacos' finest. Germany had the talent but bad management did 'em in.

[NearAbbeyRoad]

@kolbpilot

Germany had experienced pilots. Germany's management was bad from the start engaging in a war they just could not win.

[NearAbbeyRoad]

@kolbpilot

Read what Adam Tooze says about the 109G. It was OK in a straight line. Its agility was removed.Spit and Mustang pilots would drive it into the ground knowing it could not pull out.

[mikester1290]

@atrumira

HAHAHAHAAA!!!!! Weeellccome to Huricane! (old game reference, couldnt stop myself)

[SmiertSpionem]

Wonderful footage!

[adamfruitcake]

Great footage, thanks for that. I used to draw spitfires all day when i was a kid, what a beautiful plane. And the sound is something else when you hear one :)