Spitfire: A legend

The Spitfire was designed as an interceptor in response to new fast fighters being developed by Germany’s Air Force, the Luftwaffe. In 1934, the fastest RAF aeroplane had a top speed of only around 220mph, and the Air Ministry knew they’d need to muster at least 300 mph in order to match the new German aircraft.

The Spitfire’s creator, R J Mitchell, originally designed racing seaplanes for the aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. His aeroplanes had a reputation for speed, agility and winning races long before he drew up plans for the world’s most famous fighter.

Revolutionary

Mitchell combined revolutionary techniques in airframe construction with a powerful V12 Rolls Royce engine, later called the Merlin. The prototype at this stage, was simply called the F37/34, and first flew at Eastleigh airfield, near Southampton, on 5th March 1936.

As demand for fighters surged, the Spitfire legend almost failed to take off at all. Its new design made it difficult to build and it was mid 1938 before the first were delivered to No 19 Squadron at Duxford. By the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939, nine squadrons were equipped with 306 Mk 1 Spitfires.

A delight to fly

Initially some RAF pilots, found the Spitfire hard to get used to. Their old fighters had open cockpits and they found the closed canopy claustrophobic. The new aeroplane had a long nose and narrow undercarriage, making taxiing and landing in cross-winds difficult. But in the air it surpassed all expectations. After his first ever flight, Spitfire test pilot Mutt Summers is said to have told engineers that he didn’t want anything touched. Many since then have claimed he believed the aircraft was perfect, but it’s more likely that he was asking them not to change any settings at that time.

Whatever the case, he was impressed and present day pilots like Squadron Leader Al Pinner, Commanding Officer of the BBMF still share his enthusiasm.

“The Spitfire is an absolute delight to fly. If something looks good, it probably is good and there’s nothing quite like sitting in the cockpit, looking over and seeing those elliptical wings with their roundels.”

Typhoon: The ultimate fighter

The Typhoon is more than just a fighter. It was designed as a multipurpose weapons system, capable of switching roles during a single sortie. The initial batch of two-seat aircraft currently with the RAF are Typhoon T1s, while the single-seater is called the Typhoon F1.

As an agile, single seat aircraft, it is in its element during high altitude supersonic air combat, but is also capable of operating at much lower levels in an air-to-ground capacity. The new jet is one of the most technologically advanced military aircraft in use anywhere in the world and will replace the Tornado F3 and Jaguar fighter-bombers. Built by a four-nation consortium made up of companies from the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, the Typhoon’s state-of-the art design means that it will be the RAF's major front-line aircraft for many years to come.

Hi tech

The Typhoon’s high tech construction combines glass-reinforced plastic, aluminium lithium, titanium and aluminium casting with carbon fire composites – a tough, flexible and lightweight material. It uses stealth technology to make it harder to detect by radar and its design is intentionally aerodynamically unstable, which means that it is more agile, particularly at supersonic speeds.

The pilot controls the aircraft through a computerised, digital fly-by-wire system rather than a traditional mechanical and hydraulic system. The aircraft also responds to use voice command as well as stick and throttle controls.

“It’s quite like the voice dial function on lots of mobile phones and it means I can speak to the aeroplane and change things like radar, targeting and radio frequency without pressing buttons,” explains Typhoon pilot Sqn Ldr Paul Godfrey.

Its computer systems are designed to keep the aircraft stable in the air at tremendous speeds, allowing the pilot to concentrate on weapons or navigation while flying in situations where split seconds count.

“You notice the extra power, but it’s a very easy aircraft to fly,” says Sqn Ldr Godfrey.

And the winner is…

Despite being an incredible 959 mph slower, the Spitfire is still in many minds a more beautiful machine. Sqn Ldr Godfrey would gladly trade his new jet for a few hours if it meant climbing into a Spitfire.

“There’s something special about them. It would be fantastic to get a chance to fly one,” he says.

Although Sqn Ldr Pinner flew Harriers and CF18 Hornets before joining the BBMF, the Spitfire also holds a special place in his heart. He now makes sure its fans can see them at their best – in the air with the BBMF making over 700 individual aircraft appearances during a year.

“I’m a curator of living, breathing, flying machines and it’s vital they remain airborne. Who’d get to see them if they were tucked away in a museum?” he asks.

Play Typhoon Quest

Check out our exclusive Typhoon Quest game and see if you’ve got what it takes to complete a thrilling mission. Don’t forget, if you’re an Altitude member you can play to win an Altimeter watch.

Links

See the Spitfire and other historic aircraft in action at www.deltaweb.co.uk/bbmf

Information on the Typhoon, including another online game, is available at www.eurofighter.com

Find out about more RAF hardware at www.raf.mod.uk/equipment/

Supermarine Spitfire Mark 1 vs Eurofighter Typhoon