Griffon Spitfire Aces: No. 81 (Aircraft of the Aces)

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Barbic, Vlasco. "The Spitfire and its Wing: Article and scale drawings." Scale Aviation Modeller Volume 2, Issue 3, March 1996. Bedford, UK: SAM Publications, DMZee Marketing. The Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Indian Air Force and the RAF also used Spitfires against Japanese forces in the Pacific theatre. The first Spitfires in the Far East were two photo-reconnaissance (PR IV) aircraft which operated from airfields in India from October 1942. Cooke, Peter. "The Early Griffon Spitfires part 1: Article and scale drawings" Scale Models Magazine Vol. 9, No 109, October 1978. Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK. Starting in early 1945 most Spitfire Mk XIVs also used clipped wing tips, mainly to reduce wrinkling of the wing's skin; again the LF prefix was not applied to these aircraft.

The Spitfire V units continued to take heavy casualties, often inflicting little damage in return, throughout 1941 and well into 1942. Once the Mk IX started arriving in sufficient numbers this trend started to even out, although the 190s in particular continued to be a serious threat. [61] Hans "Assi" Hahn claimed 53 of his 108 kills against Spitfires and Josef "Pips" Priller claimed 68 of his 101 victories against the type, making him the highest scoring "Spitfire killer" in the Luftwaffe. Most of these victories were against the Mark V. Another Italian fighter, the Reggiane Re.2005, although built in limited numbers, was occasionally encountered by Spitfires over Sicily. W.G.G. Duncan Smith considered: "The Re 2005 'Sagittario' was a potent aircraft. Having had a dog-fight with one of them, I am convinced we would have been hard pressed to cope in our Spitfires operationally, if the Italians or Germans had had a few squadrons equipped with these aircraft at the beginning of the Sicily campaign or in operations from Malta." [171] Italian Cobelligerent Air Force [ edit ] In the Mediterranean theatre, the Spitfire VC encountered the Macchi C.202 "Folgore", an aircraft which was a close match. It was widely considered superior to both the Hawker Hurricane and Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks it fought against, [ citation needed] at first on the Libyan front from November 1941, and the equal of the Mk V. It was claimed that it was able to outturn all three, [ citation needed] although the Spitfire had a superior rate of climb. In 1943 the C.202 was partly superseded by the Macchi C.205 "Veltro" which was an improved version of the "Folgore". The Veltro was much respected by Allied and Luftwaffe pilots alike. In action, the C.205s proved to be extremely effective. [168] One of the top-scoring British fighter pilots of the Second World War, Grp Capt W.G.G. Duncan Smith, DSO DFC, greatly respected the Macchi fighters, stating: "In encounters with Macchi 205s particularly we were up against aircraft that could turn and dog-fight with our Spitfires extremely well." [169]

The first Spitfire operation over Western Europe took place on 13 May 1940, during the Battle of the Netherlands. German airborne forces had been pinned down in the Battle of the Hague by the Dutch Army. RAF Fighter Command sent 66 Squadron Spitfires to escort Defiants from 264 Squadron to support the Dutch. They encountered Junkers Ju 87s from IV(St)./ Lehrgeschwader 1 (LG 1), and shot down four of them. They were soon intercepted by Bf 109s from 5 Staffel Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) that shot down five Defiants and one Spitfire for the loss of one Bf 109. [13] Five-bladed propeller and modified wing shape: F.21 LA198 of 1 Squadron (postwar with 602 Squadron), on display at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Spitfire Mk Vb, EN830, of No.131 Sqn force-landed on Jersey Island on 18 November 1942. It was flown to Messerschmitt factory where 24-volt electrical system and DB605A engine were installed. It was marked CJ+ZY. The aircraft flew comparison trials with a Bf 109G in 1943. Later, a DB601A engine was installed. [181] The first batch of aircraft to fly with the Griffon 60 series engines were six converted Mk VIIIs JF316 to JF321 which were called Mk VIIIG. The first one of these was flown by Jeffrey Quill on 20 January 1943,

inches manifold pressure at a modest 2,850 rpm was used for the record attempts. The engine was potentially capable of 3,900 horsepower. Steve Hinton related to me that each additional 50 rpm yielded another 5 inches of manifold pressure. Coolant temperature was held to 100 degrees C and oil was kept at 80 degrees C. Price, Alfred. The Spitfire Story. Enderby, Leicester, UK: Siverdale Books, 2002 (rev 2nd ed). ISBN 1-85605-702-X.

After the Normandy landings, some Spitfires (Griffon and Merlin engine marks) were retained in Britain to counter the V-1 flying bomb offensive in mid-1944 as part of the ADGB. [94] Supplies of a new aviation fuel, which was called "150 Grade", arrived from America in March 1944 and sufficient quantities were available to be used by ADGB fighters as the V-1 offensive started. The new fuel enabled the Rolls-Royce Merlin and Griffon engines to operate at higher boost pressures, especially at lower altitudes, for the duration of the anti-V-1 campaign. [95] This operation saw the successful combat debut of the Spitfire Mk IX and the lessons learned from "Jubilee" would contribute to the formation of the 2nd Tactical Air Force (2 TAF). 2 TAF would combine RAF fighter, fighter/bomber and light and medium bomber squadrons into a powerful army support organisation which would help lead to the successful outcome of D-Day. Experience from the Desert Air Force in particular, had shown that the most successful and adaptable instrument of close support for the ground forces was the fighter-bomber. In accordance with this, many of the Spitfire squadrons incorporated into 2 TAF would later take on the fighter-bomber role as their primary mission. [69] Merlin development might have stagnated after 1940, any further power increases needed a more efficient means of transferring the heat away from the engine. Rolls Royce responded with a mixture of water and Ethylene Glycol which was put under pressure. This mixture also reduced the fire risk associated with using pure Ethylene Glycol. This system was first used in the Merlin XII used in the Spitfire Mk II. The rapid introduction of this system was only made possible by everything Rolls Royce had learnt about pressurised cooling when developing the Goshawk and early Merlin condenser systems.

The first Mk XIXs entered service in May 1944, and by the end of the war the type had virtually replaced the earlier Mk XI. A total of 225 were built with production ceasing in early 1946, but they were used in front line RAF service until April 1954. There is evidence that the Luftwaffe used captured Spitfires to test and for operational training duties. Supermarine Spitfire in many versions were present in the Luftwaffe, making the largest fleet of captured aircraft in Germany. All Spitfires were recovered, if possible, after crash landing and dismantled for spare parts for the few flyable aircraft or sent to air depots (many almost intact). Its use in combat is not recorded. [179] Spitfire LF 1XC, MK698, of No.412 Sqn force-landed near Wachtendonk (Krefeld) on 5 December 1944. It joined Zirkus Rosarius.

The majority of Spitfires from the Mk VIII used C, D and E wing types. Unless otherwise noted, all Griffon-engined Spitfire variants used the strengthened Dunlop AH10019 "four spoke" pattern mainwheels. With the increasing use of hard-surfaced runways in the post-war years, many Spitfires were either manufactured or re-fitted with, larger mainwheels which were of a "three spoke" pattern. These were used on modified undercarriage legs which had reduced "toe-in" for the axles, which reduced tyre scrub. Spitfires were first used as nightfighters during the summer of 1940: the most successful night interceptions took place on the night of 18/19 June 1940 when Flt. Lt. "Sailor" Malan of 74 Squadron shot down two Heinkel He 111s of Kampfgeschwader 4, [18] while Flg. Off.s John Petre and George Ball of 19 Squadron each shot down one He 111 of KG 4. [19] A week later, on the night of 26/27 June, Pilot Officers R. Smith and R. Marples of 616 Squadron shot down another He 111 of KG 4; Flt. Lt. H. MacDonald of 603 Squadron shot down an He 111 of KG 26 and another He 111 of KG 26 was shot down, possibly with the help of A.A guns by Flg. Off.s A. Johnstone of 602 Squadron and J. Haig of 603 Squadron. [20]

In the Greek Civil War, Spitfires played a major role, being flown by the RAF and SAAF during October–December 1944, and by the Hellenic Air Force that received 242 Supermarine aircraft from 1946 to the end of the war in August 1949. [194]Here, the Mk Vcs were also used as tactical fighter-bombers, being equipped with a maximum load of 500lb of bombs. Mark Vbs equipped the 4th, 31st and 52nd Fighter Groups of the USAAF in the summer of 1942, and the latter two groups continued flying them until succeeded by Mk VIIIs in mid-1943. By this time, Spitfire Mk Vcs with stronger wings and extra ammunition began to carry four 20mm cannon. Many Mk Vs also had the new, smaller and much more efficient "Aboukir" filter instead of the ram air effect nullifying Vokes filter. The new filter was named as such due to its creation in Aboukir, Egypt by RAF mechanics. One problem which did arise in service was localised skin wrinkling on the wings and fuselage at load attachment points; although Supermarine advised that the Mk XIVs had not been seriously weakened, nor were they on the point of failure, the RAF issued instructions in early 1945 that all F and FR Mk XIVs were to be refitted with clipped wings. [33] Special thanks to: Steve Hinton and Randy Scoville for their assistance on the Red Baron piece From The Web Mark XX was given to the original Mk IV Griffon engine prototype DP845 to avoid confusion with the retitled Spitfire PR Mk IVs.