WARBIRDTECH5 E R I E 5

VOLUME 32

GRIFFON-POWERED

o 0

By KEV DARLING

COPYRIGHT © 2001 KEV DARLING

Published bySpecialty Press Publishers and Wholesalers

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage

and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

Material contained in this book is intended for historical and entertainment value only,and is not to be construed as usable for aircraft or component restoration, maintenance, or use.

Printed in China

Front Cover: Seen on the ground, Spitfire FR.XIV MV293 reveals the location of the wing wallavays, the structure of whichwas strengthened to reduce damage to the upper surfaces. (Nick Challoner)Back Cover (Left Top): Turning toward the photographer at the beginning ofa simulated TacR flyby is Supermarine SpitfireMV268 wearing the personal markings of air ace "Johnny" Johnson. (Danny Jacquemin)Back Cover (Right Top): After the first 25 PR.19s were built, the rest were equipped with a pressure cabin tQ allowreconnaissance flights at a greater height. (Eric B Morgan Collection)Back Cover (Lower): Seen from a slightly different angle, this view reveals even more of the detail underneath the SpitfirePR.19 including some of the panel lines. Note that the radiator flaps are fully retracted when the aircraft is manoeuvring atspeed. (Dave Stewart)Title Page: This underside view ofMV293 reveals the location of the underwing radiator fairings, the undercarriage bays, andthe tail wheel doors. (Nick Challoner)

WARBIRDTECHi__

TABLE OF CONTENTSGRIFFON-POWERED SPITFIRES

PREFACE 4

INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

PAST AND FUTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPITFIRE MK.XII

SPITFIRES FOR THE MANY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 • 0 15THE SPITFIRE EXIV AND EXVIII

SPITFIRE IN THE BLUE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31THE SPITFIRE PR.19

liS S " 45UPER PITFIRE .

THE SPITFIRE E21, F.22, AND E24

COLOR SECTION COMBAT COLOURS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 65OF THE SPITFIRE AND SEAFIRE

II

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

ApPENDIX A

ApPENDIX B

SPITFIRES AT SEA 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 73THE GRIFFON SEAFIRES

FINAL FLING 93

THE SPITEFUL AND THE SEAFANG

SPITFIRE ALPHABET 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 102ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

SIGNIFICANT DATES 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 103KEY DATES IN THE HISTORY OF THE GRIFFON-POWERED SPITFIRE

GRIFFON-POWERED

~~]rWIIE~

PREFACEINTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Roaring through the murk past the camera is Spitfire FR.XIV, MV268, with itsradiator flaps fully deployed. The peculiar aspect of the light brings out some of theairframe panel lines. (Danny Jacquemin)

In the eyes of many people theGriffon-powered Spitfires andtheir derivatives were the epito­

me of grace. In contrast to the morerounded contours of the earlier Mer­lin Spitfires the greater angularity ofthe later types exuded a sense ofgreater power. Added to the struc­tural changes was the ability to carryan increased variety of weapons atfaster speeds and longer distances.

All, however, was not that success­ful as the last manifestation of thedesign would prove. The Spitefuland Seafang undertook their maidenflights just as the jet age was gettinginto full swing and for all their lami­nar flow wings and other refine­ments they could not compete onlevel terms as a succession of jetfighters entered service with theRoyal Air Force. With their demisecame the end of the Spitfire line,although the wing technology wasto reappear again on the jet-poweredSupermarine Attacker for the FleetAir Arm.

This slim volume attempts to tell thestory of the Griffon-powered aircraftfrom the first tentative steps of theMk.XII to full-blown production air­craft in the shape of the FR.18 andthe F.24. In order that the storyshould appear complete, the seago­ing versions of the Spitfire, the Grif­fon Seafires, are also included. With­in these covers are the in-depthdetails of the fighter versions plusthe photo reconnaissance variantsand their usage by the strangelynamed THUM (Temperature andHumidity) flight.Overseas use of the Griffon Spitfire

is also covered, thus images from asfar apart as Thailand to Egyptappear. The adventures of the latemarque Seafires of the Fleet Air Armin Korea are also covered where theyperformed their task admirably,sometimes against great odds.

The appearance of the jet fighter sawthe Spitfire being replaced by suchtypes as the Gloster Meteor and theDe Havilland Vampire. They were toremain in service with the RoyalAuxiliary Air Force until its suddendisbandment on 10 March 1957. Inthe service of the Fleet Air Arm theSeafire and other piston-powered air­craft lasted slightly longer until theytoo were replaced by jet aircraft,although in this instance they camefrom the same builder, Supermarine.

This then is the story of the secondgeneration of the Supermarine Spit­fire in words, pictures, and technicaldiagrams from a slightly differentperspective. For helping me create

this work I would like to thank thefollowing: Peter Russell Smith forallowing me access to his extensivephoto collection yet again; the doyenof Spitfire historians, Eric B Morganfor access to his collection of Spitfirematerial and for his inimitable assis­tance; and Chris Michell of AirframeAssemblies based on the Isle of Wightfor taking time out to photograph aseries of disassembled aircraft for me.Others worthy of mention includeDamien Burke, Nick Challoner,Danny Jacquemin, Dave,Stewart, andSander Wittenaar.

Yet again I make mention of DennisR Jenkins for his design layout andof Dave Arnold and all at SpecialtyPress for their assistance and long­distance support.

Kev DarlingVale of Glamorgan, Wales

February 2001

4 WARBIRDTECH

PAST AN FUTURETHE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPITFIRE MK.XII

To better understand the needfor the Griffon-powered

. Spitfire it is necessary toreview the development of the pre­vious Merlin-engined variants of theaircraft and their relationship incombat to their counterparts in theLuftwaffe, in particular the Messer­schmidt Me-109E and the Focke­Wolf FW-190.

In the mid-1930s the Royal Air Force(RAF) was primarily equipped withbiplanes in almost all the major com­bat and transport roles and con­strained by government-imposedfinancial restrictions. In contrast theGerman Luftwaffe was already oper-

ating monoplanes in the fighter,bomber, and transport roles and sub­jecting them to combat evaluation inthe Spanish Civil War. As this warprogressed each of the aircraft typesunder consideration was developedin light of experience gained, thusarmaments, engines, and aerody­namics came in for close scrutiny.Meanwhile, in total contrast, theRAF was using its biplanes for sucharduous tasks as policing Iraq andother countries in the Middle East.

Although this period in world histo­ry appears as one of appeasement,there were those in Britain that hadseen the signs of impending war in

Europe. One of those visionarieswas R J Mitchell, the chief designerat Supermarine Aircraft. During theperiod 1925 to 1931 the companyhad designed and built a series ofracing seaplanes designated the 5.4,5.5, and 5.6 respectively. All hadexhibited two primary featureswhich were to fit the biggest enginepossible into the smallest, moststreamlined airframe possible.

With these aircraft the company anda dedicated RAF piloting team final­ly won the World Airspeed Recordand the Schneider Trophy with a topspeed of 407 mph. However, a smallproduction run of eight racing sea-

The main opponent for the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain and other air-to-air engagements was frequently theMesserschmidt Me-109. This is the preserved "E" version "Black 6." (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED~p~Tr~I~~ 5

planes does not make for a greatprofit margin. A financial lifelinefrom the Vickers Engineering Groupwas able to save the company andits expertise from an early demise.

At the same time the Air Ministryissued a specification for a newmonoplane fighter to replace thebiplane Gloster Gauntlet and othersimilar fighter aircraft. This resultedin the appearance of the crank­winged Type 224 as the Supermarine

contender. However, flight trialssoon revealed that the aircraft was apoor performer and the whole con­cept was revamped, although it didfeature some revolutionary ideassuch as inset wing radiators. Even­tually, after much design work andrefinement, the Supermarine Type300 prototype was rolled out and theSpitfire was born.

The first flight of K5054 translatedinto a production order for 310 Spit-

The appearance of the Spitfire Mk. V c

was a much needed upgrade to the Spit­

fire genre. This clipped wing Mk. V cfea­

tured an upgraded powerplant plus His­

pano cannons as standard.

(Dave Stewart)

fire Mk.Is which began to entersquadron service with the No. 19Sqdn on 4 August 1938. It enteredalongside examples of the HawkerHurricane which were on thestrength of other units. Althoughproduction was erratic, where fuse­lages were being built quicker thanthe more complex wings, deliveriesto frontline units were eventually toeven out to a consistent level. Inlight of the events taking place inEurope this was a good thing.

To buy time for a hasty rearmamentthe British Prime Minister, NevilleChamberlain, had gone to Munich tocreate "peace in our time." However,this period of grace ended on 3 Sep­tember 1939 when war was declared.The subsequent events surroundingthe British Expeditionary Force andthe later Battle of Britain are not fordiscussion here, but may be coveredin a later volume.

The basic Spitfire that entered RAFservice was an eight-gun Merlin­powered aircraft equal in mostrespects to its Luftwaffe counterpart,the Messerschmidt Me-109E. Modifi­cations to the basic Spitfire had seenthe upgraded Merlin II and III fittedto the aircraft as well as an enlargedpropeller boss covering the pitchchange mechanism which replaced

Following on from the earlierMesserschmidt was the FW-190. Radial

power, a neat airframe, and good

armament made the aircraft a real

handful for allied pilots. This is the rare

two-seat version of this aircraft.

(Big Bird Aviation Collection)

6 WARBIRDTECH----

,----10 It 5 In5----,

= •

*NOTE This dimension depends onfuel, ammunition carried andtyre and undercarriageextension.

31 ft 10 ins

10 ft 5 ins

r

This general arrangement diagram shows the version of the Spitfire XII that was based on the Spitfire Mk. Vc. Both the earlierpointed and cut off wingtips are shown although the latter were standard. The second batch of the type was based on theMk. VIII airframe and had retractable tail wheels. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

the earlier wooden fixed pitchassembly. Armament was alsoaltered in some airframes when20mm Hispano cannons replaced theearlier eight gun Browning .303armament. This resulted in themachine-gun equipped aircraftbecoming designated the Mk.IAwhilst the others became the Mk.IBs.

A further extension of the Spitfire'scapabilities appeared when a recon­naissance version was developed.Stripped of armament, mucharmour plate, and with all excessweight removed, these aircraft, ini­tially painted pink, carried out dar­ing high-speed runs across targets in

occupied Europe. They paved theway for a multi-function version ofthe fighter at a later date.

However, before such functionalitycould be achieved, the Spitfire woulddevelop through a variety of mar­ques to meet evolving challenges.The next version of the Spitfirewould be the Mk.II which wouldfeature as its primary change theupgraded Merlin XII powerplant.Deliveries to the RAF began inAugust 1940 just in time to take partin the Battle of Britain. In commonwith the earlier Mk.I the new versionhad two wing types which resultedin the Mk.IIA with machine guns

and the Mk.IIB with twin cannonsand four machine guns.

The appearance of the Spitfire V wasa defining moment in the develop­ment of the genre. The aircraft wasvirtually a standard airframe withthe major difference being thestrengthening of the engine bulk­head and bearers to take advantageof the more powerful Rolls Royce(R-R) Merlin 45. The first productionexamples were the eight gunMk.VA. However, manufacturechanged to the Mk.VB after some 94examples had been built. This ver­sion, as with all "B" designated air­craft, had an armament of two His-

GRIFFON-POWERED

~~~TFniE~7

Seen by many as the starting point for the Spitfire, the Supermarine S.6 exemplified the concept of a large engine fitted to aslender aerodynamic airframe. To celebrate the life of designer R JMitchell, this aircraft now resides in the Southampton HallofAviation. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

pano cannons and four .303 Brown­ing machine guns. Entry into servicebegan in February 1941 with almostall operational units fully equippedby the end of the year.

A further development of the Spitfireresulted in the MkIX which was des­perately needed to combat the Ger­man Focke-Wolf FW-190 that hadproven more than capable of outfly­ing the earlier Spitfires. The primarychanges were the installation of theMerlin 61 engine coupled to a four­bladed propeller, both of which gavethe airframe improved handling andspeed above 38,000 feet.

As with other versions of the Spit­fire, the Mk.IX was optimised for avariety of roles including low- andhigh-level interception plus, of

8

course, the inevitable reconnaissancerole. A further variation on thetheme was the MkXVI where themajor airframe changes were thereplacement of the high-back fuse­lage with a bubble canopy and cut­down rear fuselage for increased all­around vision and the installation ofAmerican-built Packard Merlinpowerplants.

The first major revision in the con­struction of the Spitfire came aboutwith the appearance of the MkVIII. Itfeatured a radically strengthened air­frame, retractable tail wheel, andleading edge fuel tanks in the wings.The powerplant was still the RollsRoyce Merlin coupled to a four-blad­ed propeller. It was reckoned bymany pilots to be the best-handlingversion of the Merlin-powered genre.

WARBIRDTECH

Development of the Griffon enginehad begun at Rolls Royce just priorto the outbreak of war as the design­ers of the previous 27-litre Merlinhad realised that the engine parame­ters of that engine could be pushedonly so far. By drawing on thedesign of the ,iR" class engines as fit­ted to the racing seaplanes and byextending the overall dimensionsmarginally, the engine was increasedin size to 36.7 litres and thus theGriffon was born.

As the new engine was only slightlylarger (in that the frontal area hadincreased from 7.5 square feet to 7.9square feet) it was obvious that theSpitfire would make a good recipi­ent. Following this thread the headof the design team at Supermarine,Joe Smith, submitted a design pro-

..--

Spitfire IIA, P7530, served with No. 266 Sqdn and No. 603 Sqdn beforetransferring to other duties. Compared with the Griffon-engined versions of thesame aircraft, the roundness of the fin and rudder, plus the slightly shortened noseassociated with the Merlin, can clearly be seen. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

I~

I

posal to the Air Ministry as Specifi­cation No. 466 in October 1939. Thisresulted in a pair of airframes beingordered as the Spitfire Mk.IV.

The first Spitfire Mk.IV, DP845,made its maiden flight from theSupermarine airfield at WorthyDown on 27 November 1941 pilotedby Chief Test Pilot Jeffrey Quill. Thepowerplant was a single stagesupercharged Griffon, RG 2SM, lIBdriving a four-bladed propeller.

Handling was described as superbespecially at low level where the extrapower would later be much appreci­ated, although great care was neededwith throttle operation during take­off. Only one small problem wouldmar the praise of these early enginesand that was one of reliability.

Flight testing also revealed anotherbugbear that would follow the Grif­fon-engined Spitfires throughouttheir development. This was theproblem of longitudinal stability towhich would be coupled the air­craft's behaviour during powerchanges which resulted in greatertrim changes. A series of armamentoptions was tried on this aircraft,these being a six cannon wing, four20mm cannons, and the standardtwo cannons and four machineguns. Not long after this the SpitfireType 366 was redesignated theMk.XX as the previous notation wasrequired for a reconnaissance ver­sion. This first of the Griffon Spit­fires was changed yet again, thistime to the Mk.XII.

Although the Merlin-powered ver­sions of the Spitfire were develop­ing nicely, the rest of Fighter Com­mand's future fighter policy was intotal chaos. Hopes had been pinnedon the Hawker Tornado poweredby the R-R Vulture engine. Howev-

er, this aircraft was in deep troubledue to compressibility problemscausing structural failures whilstthe engine had the embarrassinghabit of stopping at the most inop­portune moments.

Realising that the problems with theVulture could never be resolved in areasonable time scale, the develop­ment of the aircraft using this power­plant was stopped. Happily, bothtypes involved, the Avro Manchesterbomber and the Tornado, were toachieve greater fame later as the Mer­lin-powered Lancaster and the Napi­er Sabre-powered Typhoon groundattack fighter. To partially alleviatethe situation, Fighter Command andthe concerned Ministries decided topress on with developing the Spitfirepowered by a single-stage Griffonalthough this solution was recog­nised as not ideal from the outset.

The production version of the Spit­fire Mk.XII featured a two cannon,four machine gun "B" wing whilstthe retractable tail wheel was bor­rowed from the contemporaryMk.VIII. The wing was very similar

GRIFFON-POWERED

~PITFIIE~

to the Mk.V complete with semi-cir­cular oil cooler and a slightlyenlarged box-shaped radiator. This,however, did not completely reducethe engine overheating problem thatafflicted the Mk.XII throughout itsservice life.

Testing at low level revealed a fight­er that could outperform the HawkerTyphoon and a captured Fw-190. Therevelation of the new aircraft wascarried out in front of a selection ofdignitaries in the form of a race, notvery scientific, but entertaining nev­ertheless. Although the betting wason the German fighter to win, theresult was that the Spitfire came firstfollowed by the Typhoon and lastlyby the Focke-Wulf.

Production of the Spitfire Mk.XII asthe Type 366 was handled by Super­marine and consisted of the basicMk.V fuselage with modificationsplus strengthening of the enginebearers to take the Griffon power­plant. This was to change in the mainproduction batch to that of the Spit­fire MkVIII which was a far strongerand adaptable airframe. One change

9

The progenitor of theSpitfire PR.19 was themuch-used PR.XI,exemplified here by thepink-finished PL965.Although the Griffon­powered PR.19 was anadvance on the earlierMerlin-powered aircraft,its appearance did notspell the end for theearlier types as thePR.19 took over most ofthe high-altitude duties.(Dave Stewart)

from DP845 that featured in the pro­duction version was clipping of thewings which improved aileron rollrate at low level.

Testing of the aircraft was undertakenat the Aircraft and Armament Experi-

mental Establishment (A&AEE)Boscombe Down, using DP845 dur­ing the period September throughOctober 1942. Initially the aircraft wasflown with a narrow chord rudderreminiscent of that fitted to the earlierSpitfire Mk.IB. This empennage was

later replaced by that from an Mk.Vcomplete with the fixed tail wheelfrom that marque.

Following on from its time atBoscombe Down the Spitfire wastransferred to the Air Fighting

The Spitfire Mk.IX was seen as a temporary stopgap before the more definitive Mk. VIII became available in quantity. However,this was not the case as many versions of this versatile variant were produced. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

10 WARBIRDTECH:w

Development Unit (AFDU) whichput it through its paces as a combataircraft. The AFDU's report wasvery enthusiastic, especially con­cerning the Spitfire's performance atlow to medium altitudes where itoutperformed all the fighters on thethen-current inventory of the RAP.The report did, however, mentionthe longitudinal problem, statingthat in certain parts of the flightenvelope the rudder was ineffectiveand required constant trimming.

Retained as a test bed, DP845 alsoflew with another early version ofthe Griffon, the Mk.IV Trials werecarried out with a variety of pro­pellers including a five-bladed unitalthough this revealed an increase inthe drag coefficient which led to areduction in top speed. The morepowerful Griffon had a greater ten­dency to torque the Spitfire and thesmaller rudder was replaced by abroader chord item similar to thatfitted to the later Mk.IX. This helped

to compensate for the type's tenden­cy to swing on takeoff, although theaircraft was still very sensitive toengine throttle adjustments whichrequired constant trimming.

Even these changes were not enoughto ensure that the aircraft wasalways a stable gun platform. Toconfuse the pilots even more theengine rotated in the opposite direc­tion to that of the Merlin, thusinducing a severe swing to the right.To assist the pilots in coping withthis change to the operating proce­dure, the tyre pressures wereincreased as was the inflation pres­sure in the port undercarriage leg.

The engine itself exhibited manychanges from the earlier Merlin pow­erplant. One of the main differenceswas that of starting procedure. Forthe Merlin this required a 12-voltpower source and some fuel systempriming whilst the Griffon used theCoffman cartridge starter. This device

contained five shotgun-like car­tridges although a rough start fromone of these early engines couldsometimes result in a greater con­sumption than that contained withinthe breech especially if the pilot treat­ed it like a Merlin and primed thefuel system.

Another change encountered withthe Griffon was a reduction in thenumber of magnetos to one whichwere housed under a skin blisterabove the engine. The fuel systemalso underwent revision producingsome interesting behaviour in earlysquadron service as it exhibited atendency to cut out whether the air­craft was experiencing positive ornegative "G" forces. Eventually,after extensive test flights and exper­imentation, changes to the carbura­tion solved this problem.

To provide the Griffon with its extraboost, it was fitted with a two-speed,single-stage supercharger which

The Spitfire LF.16 was a development of the Mk.IX which featured a cut down rear fuselage, a bubble canopy, and a Packard­

built Merlin engine. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~W~TFll~~~11

Sqdn with flights based at variouslocations in West Wales where theaircraft patrolled the Irish Sea. Thislast stint lasted from December 1944until July 1945 when the squadrondisbanded.

This is a close up of the Mk. III bomb mount and SOO-lbs. bomb undergoing testingon MB878. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

aircraft for the later Mk.XIV follow­ing the lead of No. 91 Sqdn whichhad re-equipped in February.

The frontline service career of theMk.XII ended with the No. 595

The first production Spitfire Mk.XII,EN222, was rolled out in November1942. In contrast to earlier versionsthe fuselage was flush riveted thusreducing airframe drag. A total of100 production Spitfires of this mar­que were manufactured andequipped Nos. 41 and 91 Sqdns inFebruary and June 1943 respectively.Both units were much travelled intheir task, remaining at some placesfor only a period of months. In July1944 No. 41 Sqdn was based atLympne, Kent, when it traded in its

Spitfire F.XII, MB878, was one of the batch built using Mk. VIII fuselages. This aircraft never saw squadron service with theRoyal Air Force, it was retained for testing purposes instead. Here it is in flight trials with the centreline SOO-pound bomb andmount. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

took its drive from the front of theengine, the shaft for which ranthrough the oil sump. This ensuredthat the aircraft achieved its best per­formance at approximately 18,000feet even though the Mk.XII actuallyspent most of its operating life at.1,800 feet where its top speed of 325mph gave it a positive advantage.

12 WARBIRDTECHow

Not all airframes entered squadronservice, as a handful found them­selves involved in trials work. Onewas EN223 which spent some timeat AFDU, Duxford, for tactical tri­als whilst EN224 became involvedin trials aimed at reducing thetorque-induced swing of the air­craft on takeoff. Another two air­frames, EN226 and EN227, spentsome time being evaluated by theAdmiralty for possible Fleet AirArm (FAA) use. For this purposethey were fitted with an "A" framearrestor hook borrowed from aSeafire Mk.III, standard full-spanwingtips, and an auxiliary rear oiltank. Trials and evaluation flightswere carried out at Arbroath by theFAA Service Trials Unit wheremany practise deck landings tookplace. Although the Mk.XII was notaccepted for FAA use, in its stan­dard RAF form, it led to the devel­opment of the Seafire Xv.

Technical specifications of the Spit­fire Mk.XII were a span of 32 feet 7inches with an area of 231 squarefeet whilst the fuselage length was30 feet 9 inches. The powerplantsfitted to the aircraft included theGriffon III and the Griffon IValthough this featured in only 24aircraft. All had a Rotol four-bladedpropeller installed with a diameterof 10 feet 5 inches. Basic fuel con­tents were 85 gallons which gave anendurance of 35 minutes if the Spit­fire were flown at full bore. Thelater batch of aircraft, serialled inthe MB range, were capable of car­rying a 30-gallon overload tank.This in itself could cause someproblems during release. On at leasttwo occasions the teleflex releasechange-over cable successfullyreleased the tank, but shut off theprimary fuel system thus causingthe aircraft to crash due to fuel star­vation. Another minor problem that

frequently annoyed the pilots wasthe delay in the new fuel gaugingdelivering system contents whichcould be embarrassing.

A standard armament was installedin the wings of the .Mk.XII. Thiscomprised the Universal "B" wingsetup of two 20mm Hispano can­nons with 60 rounds per gun plusfour .303 Browning machine gunswith 350 rounds per gun. The air­craft was also cleared to carry thestandard 250-pound or 500-poundGeneral Purpose (GP) bomb on thecentreline for "hit and run" missionsover Europe, although these werenot extensive.

Performance was measured over arange of heights. At a height of 2,000feet a maximum of 355 mph waspossible increasing to 392 mph at24,000 feet. The service ceiling of theMk.XII was set at 37,350 feet and

The predecessor to the Spitfire Mk. XII was the Mk.IV that was powered by an Rolls Royce Griffon engine. This view showsDP845 carrying a mock-up installation of the six Hispano cannon installation. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~PftTFII~~13

maximum range was given as 493miles. Basic weights were 5,580pounds tare with a maximum over­load of 7,400 pounds. As well as thestandard armament, the SpitfireMk.XII had a combat cine guninstalled in the port wing. In totalcontrast to the first versions of theSpitfire it positively bristled withcommunications equipment as itfeatured the TR9D, TR1133, R3002,and A2171AB radio systems.

In service the Spitfire Mk.XII wasintended for low-level fightersweeps over occupied Europe whereit could perform most efficiently.However, the pilots of the Luftwaffewere markedly reluctant to engagein this kind of combat, preferring tostay at higher altitudes where theywere in combat with the SpitfireHF.IX. They were also allocated atask within the Air Defence of GreatBritain where their intended rolewas to shoot down the low-level hit-

and-run raiders dispatched by theLuftwaffe. Flying the FW-190, theLuftwaffe managed to evade thedefending forces, thus the twosquadrons were in desperate need ofimproved ground radar warning toenable them to intercept these ran­dom raiders. However, this was notalways available and successes werefew and far between.

It took the advent of the V.l flyingbomb attacks against targets insoutheast England for the Mk.XII tocome into its own. Its superiorspeed and handling allowed thefighter to intercept and shoot downa great number of these weaponsbefore they struck their targets.Some other trials were carried out inSeptember 1943 on the Mk.XII whenat least one was fitted with a centre­line pylon and a 500-pound bombso that the RAF could conduct itsown hit and run raids bver Europe.This idea would eventually result in

both squadrons together becominga wing at West Hampnett wherethey undertook strike fighter raidsover Normandy up to altitudes of15,000 feet.

The Spitfire Mk.XII was not an out­standing success overall, althoughit eventually found its niche in theair defence organisation. However,it did pave the way for the subse­quent versions that followed andproved that the Griffon engine wasa viable powerplant worthy of fur­ther development. Its tenure in theranks of the RAF was fairly short­lived as it was replaced in frontlinesquadrons during late 1944 byother versions of the Griffon Spit­fire before being declared totallyredundant for flying purposes inFebruary 1946. A handful did seesome extra service as groundinstructional airframes for trainingpurposes with the engineeringbranch of the RAF.

By September 1942, DP845 had been fully transformed into the prototype of the Spitfire F.XII. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

14 WARBIRDTECH

SPITFIRES F THE MANYTHE SPITFIRE F.XIV AND F.XVIII

Although the initial Griffon­powered version of theSpitfire had not been an

outstanding success it had provedquite convincingly that the conceptof a higher-powered development ofthe basic marque would be of posi­tive benefit. The original Griffon 61engine had been a single-stagesupercharged unit that had giventhe Spitfire Mk.XII excellent perfor­mance at low to medium level; yet,high level air combat was still theprovince of the Merlin-poweredSpitfire Mk.IX. Although both theengine and aircraft had been a hastymarriage; design work was already

in hand to develop the Griffon andto produce an airframe to match.

The first inklings of a Griffon with atwo-stage supercharger becameapparent in 1943 when engineers atRolls Royce began bench testing thefirst development version. As it hadshown such promise it was decidedby the Air Ministry that Superma­rine would provide six SpitfireMk.VIIIs for test and developmentpurposes, these being serialled JF316to JF321, with JF317 the first to fly.

During flight testing the aircraftexhibited a spectacular turn of speed

reaching 445 mph at 25/000 feet witha rate of climb that reached 5/000feet per minute. The final aircraftfrom this batch, fitted with a Griffon85 power unit, was dispatched toRotol at Staverton for developmentof the contra-rotating propeller des­tined for the envisaged "Super Spit­fire." This unit had two three-bladedpropellers with contra-rotatingshafts controlled by a single con­stant-speed unit.

Problems were experienced withthese early contra propeller units. Asdesigned, the Rotol pitch changemechanism controlled the front pro-

Spitfire Mk.XIV, RB140, was the first production aircraft. The first versions of this aircraft were based on the earlier Mk. VIIIairframe, therefore they were of the high-backed variety. Prominent in this view are the wing-mounted Hispano cannons.

(C P Russell Smith Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~P!TfIIE~ 15

The cannon and machine gun installations were very similar in the later versions ofthe Spitfire, being based on the universal "E" wing. (Big Bird AviationCollection)

0.5 INS MACHINE GUNINSIDE

20mm HISPANO CANNONOUTSIDE

FRONTSPAR

AMMUNITION TANK0.5 INS BROWNING

MACHINE GUNAMMUNITION TANK

20mm HISPANOCANNON

COCKINGUNITHOSE

landing with the flaps lowered atthe last moment.

The preceding five airframes wereall fitted with Griffon engines thatdrove five-bladed propeller units. Intheir new guise, whatever theirintended role, all were designated asSpitfire Mk.XIY. Unfortunately, thefitment of the Griffon engine pro­duced an overpowered aircraft thatwould have been unusable for front­line service. Therefore, furtherdevelopment was required. Changeswere needed to the throttle box, thefriction damper, and propeller con­trol. Before these modifications werecarried out, performance testing hadrevealed a top speed of 447 mph atan altitude of 25,600 feet dropping to389 mph at 16,000 feet.

peller with control of the rear pro­peller achieved by a transitionalbearing. On at least one occasionthis bearing failed accompanied by avery loud bang. The aircraft hadbeen travelling at a speed of 400mph. The resulting failure caused

the Spitfire's top speed to drop dra­matically to 130 mph. Fortunatelyfor the pilot, the airfield of MiddleWallop was close by. Even thoughthe throttle was fully advanced, theaircraft managed to maintain onlyenough forward airspeed to allow a

This first configuration of the typeflew with the earlier version fin andbroad chord pointed top rudder asinstalled on the greater majority ofthe production Mk.VIIIs. As theGriffon produced greater power andtherefore more torque, a fin of largerarea with a straightened leading

STRUCTUREOBSTRUCTING~RADIATOR

212019181716 1514131211109 8 7 i\54 3 2 1

16

~ 1 j V \\ II ~~RONTSPAR\ ~ \ tI /' / ATTACHMENTWINGTIP I L 0 ..... r-...... , POINT

NAVIGATION BROWNING rr ~LIGHT GUN BAYS AMMUNITION i

BOXESWING LEADING EDGE

HISPANO FUEL TANKCANNON

GUN BAYS

WARBIRDTECH

The wing structure of theSpitfire F.XIV andF.XVIII were very similarin construction althoughthe latter were. builtusing heavier gaugematerial in some areasthus giving greateroverall strength. (BigBird AviationCollection)

CLIPPED 32 FT 10 INS----------,

D

This general arrangement drawing ofa Spitfire I.XIV reveals that the firstversions of the type retained the high­backed fuselage first seen in theMerlin-powered versions. (Big BirdAviation Collection)

•

*NOTE this dimension issubject to fuel andammunition load.

•

o

......N

"T1-tOIl

ZrJ)

32 H81NS

GRIFFON-POWERED

~~~TWllIE~17

edge was fitted complete with a rud­der that was even broader than thatcarried before.

Initial flight tests of the new marquerevealed an aircraft of greater per­formance than previous versions ofthe Spitfire. However, the RAF andFighter Command in particularrequired further test flights to definethe parameters of the Mk.Xry.Therefore aircraft JF317 was dis­patched to A&AEE for evaluation inconjunction with the AFDU at Wit­tering by the end of July 1943. Com­parison flights were carried outagainst a Spitfire Mk.VIII poweredby a Merlin 63.

The flight test report was to revealthat the Mk.XIV was slightly heavieron control feel, especially about thepitch axis. Spin handling had to beinduced and instead of a normal sta­ble nose down attitude the aircraftwas subject to some oscillationalthough recovery was fairly quickupon release of the controls. Overallthe new version was fairly normal inperformance and behaviour, albeitthe controls were heavier up to analtitude of 25,000 feet. Once past thatpoint the Mk.XIV easily outstrippedits Merlin-powered rival. In its final

18

Both the Spitfire F.XIV and F.XVIIIwere fitted with afive-blade propellerunit. This view under the spinnerreveals the complex gearing required tochange the pitch angle of the blades.(Chris Michell)

To load the propeller unit onto the engine drive shaft requires the use ofa block andtackle. Once installed, a main locking nut is torque-loaded onto the shaft using avery large spanner. To counteract the turn of the spanner, persons are required toapply an opposite force. (Chris Michell)

WARBIRDTECH

Seen from a slightly different angle the operating horns for the rudder show upquite clearly near the base of this newly-manufactured unit. (Chris Michell)

Under the skin of the broad chord rudder fitted to the main run of Griffon Spitfires.This example awaits skinning and balancing before fitment. (Chris Michell)

to the engine oil feed system werealso required. This resulted in theoil tank being relocated behind thefireproof bulkhead away from theengine. Not only did this mean thatthe powerplant was easily inter­changeable, it also kept the lubri­cant away from the engine thusreducing the fire risk. A conse-

Further design proposals includedadaptations for the fighter-bomberrole plus modifications to carryexternal long-range tanks. Changes

tated strengthened wing spars andparts of the fuselage allied toimproved wheels and tyres andundercarriage legs.

A further development of the basicfighter was to produce the FR.XIV.It featured increased fuel capacityin the rear fuselage which helpedcompensate for the type's initialshortage of range plus oblique andvertical cameras just aft of the cock­pit. The increased weight necessi-

Comparison flight testing betweenan Mk.XIV and a Spitfire Mk.IX wascarried out by the AFDU which con­cluded that the Griffon-powered air­craft was a far better all-around per­former than the earlier marque.Overall speed was increased by25-35 mph whilst there was a corre­sponding increase in the climb-to­height ratio. Manoeuvrability wasalso better at all heights and speedsalthough all pilots were warned thatcare should be taken during taxiingand takeoff.

report, the A&AEE recommendedthe type for quantity production.This was eventually translated on aone-for-one basis in place of theMerlin-powered Mk. VIIIs alreadyon order.

Described by Supermarine as theType 369, the Spitfire Mk.XIV wasauthorised for production althoughsome changes in handling wererequired before full RAF acceptance.Much of the airframe was derivedfrom the Mk.VIII with strengtheningat critical points to compensate forthe increased engine power. The firstproduction aircraft, RB140, wasrolled out in September 1943 com­plete with an installed Griffon 65engine and a five-bladed Rotol pro­peller. Fixed armament was a pair ofO.50-inch Browning machine gunsmatched to a pair of 20mm Hispanocannons in an "E" type wing. By thistime the .303-inch bullet had beenretired in favour of the more univer­sally accepted half inch round.

GRIFFON-POWERED

~r~TWlil~~ 19

18 19

1 RR Grifton 65 engine2 Coolant header tank3 Engine mounting beam4Alr intake5 Wing fuel tank60.5 in Browning1 20mm Hispano cannon80.5 Browning ammo tank

9 20mm Ammunition tank 15 Accumulator10 Oxygen economiser 16 Oxygen cylinder11 Air cylinders 11 Whip aerial12 GP Radio 18 Top fuel tank131FF Radio 19 Bottom fuel tank14 Ballast mounting 20 Oil tank

20

This cutaway of a Spitfire F.XIV reveals the location of the primary components within the airframe. (Eric B MorganCollection)

quence of this modification was thereduced size of the top fuel tankwhich meant that its capacitydecreased by 10-11 gallons. Howev­er, this smaller top fuel tank was notself sealing unlike the remainder ofthose installed in the airframe.

Fuel system control required the useof a five-way selector cock whichreplaced the plunger valve used onearlier marques of the Spitfire.Another innovation introduced withthe Mk.XIV was a fuel low-levelwarning light which, on illumina­tion, indicated that a total of 30 min­utes powered flying time was left.As the engine fitted to this genera­tion of the Griffon Spitfires was thelargest fitted so far, an increase inunderwing radiator size wasrequired. Not only were the coversslightly longer, they also exhibited agreater depth. The primary radiatorwas that under the port wing whilst

20

that under the starboard wing wasconcerned with keeping the lubrica­tion system cooled.

The increase in engine power alsobrought about changes in mainte­nance procedures. Up to this pointchocks on the main wheels had beenmore than sufficient to restrain theaircraft. The Griffon engine, with itsgreatly increased power output,changed all that. Proper reinforcedtie-down points were built into theairframe whilst the chocks wereredesigned to be bigger and were alsocapable of being connected by the useof tie bars. All were finally connectedto a ground tie-down ring to whichwas lashed a strap around the rearfuselage to replace the earlier restraintof three men sitting on the tail. Priorto modification action, early groundruns quite frequently resulted in dis­tortion of the fin leading edge after aperiod of running at full throttle.

WARBIRDTECH

Tests were also carried out to clearthe marque for use with zero lengthrockets which were successful. As thewar progressed, the RAF also pro­posed that an arrestor hook be fittedas well as Rocket Assisted Take OffGear (RATOG) for operation fromunimproved airfields in Europe.

Extensive test flights with aircraftfitted with standard wingtipsrevealed that the high-stress loadsimposed by manoeuvring causedextensive wrinkling of the skin onthe wings. Although Supermarineinsisted that the deformation wasnot serious, the RAF decided that allproduction aircraft would be flownwith clipped wings thus reducingwing stress.

As the Mk.XIV design progressed,results of combat reports were madeavailable to the team at Superma­rine. One of the prime requirements

i__

filii

was improved all-around visibilitywhich was solved by reducing theheight of the rear fuselage andreplacing the sliding canopy with abubble hood canopy. This new pro­duction version was then designatedFMk.XIVe although the mounts forreconnaissance cameras were incor­porated from the outset.

Further test flights revealed that theclear hood was experiencing prob­lems on release. Specifically, that onjettison the departing canopy wasstriking the rear fuselage quite sav­agely before badly damaging the fin.Another problem that continued toplague operational aircraft was thewrinkling of the upper wing surfacewhich was concentrated in the area

of the wing bay upper access panel.Curing this fault was finally resolvedby strengthening the end of thespanwise stringers under the upperskin. Thereafter, except for airframeoverstress, the upper wing wrinklingproblem virtually disappeared.

In order to extend the capabilities ofthe Spitfire, an FR.XIVe was dis­patched in 1946 to Royal CanadianAir Force (RCAF) Station NamaoCanada. It underwent winterisationtrials under the aegis of the Ministryof Supply (MoS) WinterisationExperimental Establishment. Thisaircraft, TZ138, was later sent to FortChurchill for a series of tests.

During one of a series of flights the

aircraft was required to land for refu­elling at a small rudimentary stripnamed "Le Pas." Upon completion,the aircraft began to taxi out for take­off when the surface of the snow gaveway and the propeller tips were dam­aged. Once the propeller had beenreplaced, the problem of removingthe Spitfire to a more substantial air­field remained. To combat this, a setof Tiger Moth skis were temporarilyattached. On rotate the skis droppedclear, allowing the undercarriage toretract normally. Although not recom­mended for normal use by single­engined fighters, they were clearedfor emergency disposable use. Oncethe aircraft finished its service life itwas sold to a series of civilian ownersand now resides at Van Nuys.

As this version of the Spitfire was developed it underwent some radical changes. This particular airframe has a cut down rearfuselage with a bubble canopy. This aircraft is being used to trial test an under-fuselage fuel tank. (C P Russell SmithCollection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~rnTfnEE~ 21

The problem of longitudinal stabilityresulted in one aircraft, RM784,being allocated for developmentflight trials. Airborne handling witha fabric-covered rudder revealed agood degree of stability. However,installation of the normal metal rud­der plus connected trim tab pro­duced exactly the opposite althoughdisconnecting and locking off thetab showed some improvements.

After many hours of extensive flighttesting at Boscombe Down, theAFDU at Wittering, and flying at theCentral Fighter Establishment atTangmere, the Spitfire Mk.XIV andits various subvariants were clearedfor operational service. Basic techni­cal data for the type included a spanof 36 feet 10 inches with a gross areaof 242 square feet. Wing loading wasset at 35 pounds per square feet.Fuselage length was 32 feet 8 inches.

Powerplants installed throughoutthe life of the aircraft included theGriffon 61 rated at 1,785 hp and theGriffon 85 rated at 2,055 hp both ofwhich were started using a Coffmancartridge starter.

22

The fuel system contained a basicload of 109 gallons with overloadoptions of 30, 45, 50, 90, and 170 gal­lons in eXternal tanks. Publishedperformance figures for the SpitfireMk.XIV revealed a top speed of 439mph at 24,500 feet with a maximumdiving speed of 470 mph. Weaponsinstalled in the first batches of air­craft included the "B" wing with apair of cannons plus four machineguns. The later versions had the "E"wing which featured two cannonswith the machine gun complementreduced to two. Range for the basicfighter version was set at 460 miles.The FR version had its range andendurance increased to 610 milesdue to the extra fuel tanks in therear fuselage.

Deliveries to the RAF began withNo. 610 Sqdn (City of Chester) basedat Exeter during the period Janu­ary-February 1944. The followingmonth saw deliveries increasingthus allowing No. 91 Sqdn andNo. 322 (Dutch) Sqdn as part ofNo. 85 Group to re-equip. All threeunits were fully au fait with the Spit­fire by June of that year when the

WARBIRDTECHi__

Possibly the most important structuralcomponent in the Spitfire is Frame 5which not only acts as the engine mountand firewall, but also as the front sparmount. The one on the left requiresrestoration whilst that on the right is anewly-built example. (Chris Michell)

German forces began the bombard­ment of London using long-rangeV.l Flying Bombs. This wing wasalso charged with intercepting andshooting down any high altitudereconnaissance aircraft dispatchedby the Luftwaffe.

By increasing the engine fuel boost,the Spitfire XIVs operating along­side the units equipped with theMk.XII were able to intercept anddestroy these lethal weapons. By theend of September 1944 this bom­bardment had ended. As the inva­sion of Europe post-D-Day contin­ued, further units began to convertto the marque. These included Nos.130, 350 (Belgian), and 402 (Canadi­an) Sqdns, which as part of the No.83 Group moved to France in sup­port of operations there. Nos. 41and 610 Sqdns eventually moved toEurope as part of No. 83 Groupwhere they were to encounter theMe-262 jet fighter.

Running parallel with the fighterdeliveries were those of the fighterreconnaissance version completewith a single F.24 oblique camerathat could be directed to port orstarboard as required. The firstunits in the 2nd Tactical Air Force(No.2 TAF) to receive the new air­craft were the Nos. 2 and the 430Sqdns in November 1944. The firstunit came from the No. 35 Wingwhilst the latter had been part ofthe No. 39 Wing.

First operational sorties by bothSquadrons were undertaken not

long after re-equipping althoughthey soon experienced trouble withintercepting Messerschmidt Me-262fighters attempting to stop the Tac Rmissions taking place. From thispoint onward the Spitfire Mk.XIVremained the primary air superiorityfighter with No.2 TAF until the endof hostilities and for a short timeafterward. No. 2nd TAF was one ofthose units allocated to the newlycreated British Armed Forces Over­seas (BAFO) with which it remaineduntil April 1947.

Deliveries to other theatres began inJune 1945 with No. 11 Sqdn based inIndia. Although by the time thesquadron had become fully opera­tional, hostilities had ended. The

type began to leave RAF service in1946, finally disappearing in 1950.

Overall, 957 aircraft were producedthrough to the end of 1945. As thedevelopment of the Spitfire contin­ued, the Mk.XIV was superseded bylater versions. Therefore many ofthese aircraft were available forresale. In Europe, Belgium pur­chased 132 aircraft, although someof these were lost in a series of mys­terious crashes for which no obviousreason was ever found, whilst a fur­ther 70 were handed over to theRoyal Indian Air Force. Farther eastthe Royal Thai Air Force purchased30 FR.XIVs for operational use, theseincluded the zero-length rocketlaunch fixtures.

The next version of the Griffon Spit­fire to leave the drawing board wasthe Mk.XVIII. Yet again the aircraftwas based on the fuselage of the ear­lier Mk. VIII although it wouldrequire extensive modification tocope with the increased power of theproposed version. To improve theairborne handling of the new air­craft, a redefinition of the wing'saerodynamic form was proposed.

Another change to the wing was themethod of spar construction, as asolid spar was used instead of theearlier method of laminating squaretubular booms together. This madefor a stronger assembly overall.Since there was an increase in fuelcapacity the opportunity was taken

Frame 5 is seen from the cockpit side where the numberof fitment mountings is few. Note the quality of theworkmanship. (Chris Michell)

The front face of Frame 5 reveals the mounting pointsfor the Griffon engine plus ancillary components.(Chris Michell)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~r~TF~I~~ 23

All in-service use by the RAF waslocated overseas, none being operat­ed by units in the UK. In Singapore,No. 60 Sqdn at Seletar received theMk,XVIII in 1947. Further units inthe Far East, Nos. 11, 28, and 81Sqdns, also received the new Spit­fire. Whilst in the Middle East,No.32 Sqdn and No. 208 Sqdnreceived a mix of fighter bomberand fighter reconnaissance versions.The outbreak of hostilities in Malayasaw Nos. 28 and 60 Sqdns carry outanti-terrorist attacks against commu­nist insurgents.

Further action became the lot ofNo. 32 and 208 Sqdns during 1947when clashes occurred between theArabs and the Jews as the State of

wing-mounted bombs and rockets.As with the earlier MkXIV, this ver­sion was also trialled with anarrestor hook and RATOG gear foroperating from unprepared airfields.The trials were successful, but theinstallation was not continued pastthe handful converted.

Supermarine also attempted toextend the type's usage postwar byproposing a two-seat trainer versionwhich was not pursued. Anothernovel use for the MkXVIII was as atarget tug. Complete with winchand the required controls, aircraftSM970 was tested at Farnboroughand Lasham. To ensure that thewinch cable would not becomeentangled with the retractable tailwheel, a guard was fitted. This par­ticular experiment was not contin­ued any further since the RAFdecided to purchase conversions ofthe Tempest TT.5 for the role.Although the MkXVIII was intend­ed to replace the earlier MkXIV thecessation of hostilities resulted in themass cancellation of outstandingproduction contracts.

Deliveries to the RAF began withSM844 on 28 May 1945 when No. 28Sqdn based in Hong Kong receivedits operational complement. A totalof 300 airframes were produced.They consisted of 201 fighter recon­naissance versions plus 99 purefighter bombers. This latter versionwas built without reconnaissance fit­ments and featured mountings for

all-up weight had increased again,the undercarriage legs and wingmounts were yet again strengthenedto cope with the increased load.

The first test flight of the Spitfirerevealed a longitudinal stabilityproblem plus unacceptable propellervibration. The latter was cured byreplacing the propeller unit whilstthe former was reduced by installinga broader chord rudder and splittrim tab. Further flight trials werecarried out at A&AEE and theAFDU where tactical developmentwas the requirement.

ELEVATOR TRIM CONTROLAND INDICATOR

AILERON .~. \ WruRNBUCKLES ~/.-{..\ "0

. CONTROLCOLUMN

The MkXVIII was seen as a devel­opment of the preceding Mk,XIV,therefore it was deemed that no spe­cial prototypes would be required.The first production aircraft, SM843,was dispatched to the trials airfieldat High Post during June 1945. Thisairframe had two F24 cameras in therear fuselage plus a fuel tam<. As the

to increase the strength of the mainundercarriage units. Although therewas some increase in weight withthis new variant, the handling andtop speed remained much the same.The version of engine installed inthe MkXVIII was the same as that ofthe earlier marque, the Griffon 65.

Designated by Supermarine as theType 394, the new version had abubble canopy from the outset plusinstallation fixtures for F24 or F52cameras, some of which were pro­tected by canvas curtains thatallowed camera bay heating to beinstalled for high altitude work

The Spitfire F.XIV and the Spitfire F.XVIII had a very similar flying control systeminstalled. In common with many cable-operated aircraft the start of the runs for therudder and elevators were rods which assisted in the adjustment/setting up process.(NATO AM)

24 WARBIRDTECH;-- ow

Israel was established. During thisperiod the aircraft of both squadronswere suffering a series of unservice­abilities due to propeller blade rootshrinkage as the wood used in theirmanufacture contracted in the heat.

In the early hours of 22 May 1948the peace of both squadrons wasshattered by the dropping of twobombs on the airfield at RamatDavid. Two of No. 32 Sqdn's air­craft were destroyed in the ensuingblaze. Prior to departing, the attack­ing aircraft, by now identified asSpitfires, flew the length of the air­field strafing as they went. A fur­ther attack took place later that dayalthough this time aircraft of No.208 Sqdn were waiting to intercept.The three attackers, all from theRoyal Egyptian Air Force (REAF),were destroyed in the combat thatfollowed.

Technical details for the F.XVIII are aspan of 36 feet 10 inches with a sur­face area of 242 square feet. As theAll Up Weight (AUW) hadincreased, the wing loading had pro­portionally risen to 36.6 pounds persquare foot. Fuselage length was 32feet 8 inches as before. Powerplantsinstalled in this variant included theGriffon 65 rated at 2,035 hp whilstlater airframes were equipped with

POWERPLA/'IT LOWER MAlN?LAHE FRONT SPARATTACHMENT POINT ATTACHMENT POINTS

the Griffon 67 rated at 2,375 hp. Bothwere started on the ground using aCoffman cartridge starter. Fuel con­tents within the airframe were 175gallons plus overload tanks capableof carrying 30, 45, 50, and 90 gallonsrespectively.

Maximum speed was 437 mph at24,500 feet. Armament was installedin a standard "E" wing and consisted

This external diagram reveals the layout of the fuselage skin plating. Much was 22SWG in thickness although some areas were 20 SWG in thickness. Armour platewas installed in the areas ofgreatest vulnerability. (NATO AM)

The structure underneath the skin could trace its ancestry back to the prototypeairframe K5054. Major differences were wrought upon the various components wherewartime experience had shown it to be required. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

Even further action followed No.208 Sqdn in 1950 when it wasdeployed to Khartoum in supportof ground forces searching out anddestroying insurgent bands thatwere infiltrating Eritrea fromEthiopia. As well as combat sor­ties, the Spitfires were also used inthe postal role and for the aerialdelivery of small spare parts forArmy units.

As the requirement for theMk.XVIII had decreased by the endof hostilities, the greater majority ofaircraft were dispatched to variousmaintenance units. From here theywere later sold to other air forces orwere scrapped with very few flyinghours on the clock. Countriesreceiving supplies included theRoyal Indian Air Force with 20 air­frames. A small order consisting ofjust three aircraft was sold to theUnion of Burma Air Force duringApril 1948.

REINFOR~CNG SKINPLATES -~-' __ DOUBLERS.' .

o . FORWARDSLINGING

FRAME 5 PIVOTFUSELAGE SKIN

GRIFFON-POWERED

~r~TF~RE~

AFTSLINGING

PIVOT

DATUMLONGERON

REINFORCINGPLATE

25

Seen in this side-on view is Spitfire FR.XVIII, SM843, which spent its whole life as a test and trials aircraft. Prominent is thecamera window located to the rear of the bubble canopy. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

of a pair of cannons and machineguns. Bombs up to a maximum of500 pounds could also be carried ascould a selection of underwing rock­et projectiles. The camera installationcould consist of one F.24 with a focallength of 14 inches or a pair of F.24cameras of 20 inches focal length oran F.52 vertically mounted unit.

0.5 in BROWNINGGUN INSTALLATION

UPPER WING

lIJ1llIJ1llbi~~~~20 mm HISPANO

CANNON INSTALLATION

The through section of the gun bays(above) in the Spitfire F.XIV/XVIIIreveals the breech blister is the onlyprotuberance to disturb the smoothlines of the wing. (Big Bird AviationCollection)

This Spitfire F.XVIII is photographedin mid-1945 prior to delivery to theRoyal Air Force. The similaritybetween this and the earlier F.XIV isreadily apparent although the airframeof this particular variant was ofafarstronger construction. (C P RussellSmith Collection)

26 WARBIRDTECH:w

This side-on view of MV293 shows the broad chord rudder and redesigned fin fitted to the main batch of Griffon-enginedSpitfires. The profile of the rear fuselage and the shape of the canopy can be seen clearly. (Nick Challoner)

--~.

- - "",_..-.,..----~

From this angle the wings and general demeanour of the Spitfire FR.XIV are clearly revealed. This particular example is thepreserved MV293. (Damien Burke)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~P~TFll~~~ 27

This operational SpitfireFR.XIV is allocated to theNo. II Sqdn. Of note is therelaxed attitude of the controls,the open cockpit entry hatch,and the prominent camera win­dow. (C P Russell Smith Col­lection)

Close observation of theunderwing of this Spitfire

F.XVIII, TP197, reveals thatthis is afighter version as it

is fitted with underwingrocket projectile mounts.

(C P Russell SmithCollection)

Supermarine Spitfire FR.XVIII,TP386, is undergoing mainte­nance at the Maintenance Unitat Nicosia, Cyprus. Of note arethe prominent mounting beamsfor the Griffon engine. (C PRussell Smith Collection)

28 WARBIRDTECH:w

In concert with the high-backed versions of the F.XIV, the Belgian Air Force also operated examples of the low­backed Spitfire FR.XIV. This is a training unit aircraft assigned to the Operational Training Unit at Coxyde.Wearing serial SG-105, this airframe has blocked cannon ports. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

This view of a Belgian Air Force Spitfire FR.XIV reveals the size of the five-bladed propeller fitted to this variant. Of note arethe missing cannons exemplified by the open stub mounts. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~p~rWll~~~ 29

Prominent in this shot ofSG-72, a Spitfire EXIV of theBelgian Air Force, are thebulges required to cover theincreased size of the Griffonpowerplant. (C P RussellSmith Collection)

The Belgian Air Forcealso modified some of its

Spitfire EXIVs withimprovised camera portsas seen here. The bulges

on the wings cover theHispano cannon breeches.

(C P Russell SmithCollection)

This posed gate guard is a Spit­fire FR.XIVc on duty at RAFCosford. Close observation ofthe aircraft reveals many of theskin panel lines and the painted­over oblique camera port.(Ray Deacon)

30 WARBIRDTECH

SPITFIRE I THE BLUE

Wearing the codes of the Photo Reconnaissance Development Unit, this PR19 wasone of those manufactured with a pressure cabin and Lobelle canopy matched to arounded windscreen. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

This, the final reconnaissancevariant of the Spitfire, was

. an amalgam of the best partsfrom all the previous versions of thisfine aircraft. The issued Air StaffRequirement, Specification No. 475,had been proposed in response to areal need for an improved high alti­tude reconnaissance platform as thecurrent incumbent in the role, thePR.XI, was used for missions farremoved from its original task. Thishad encompassed solo high speedphoto runs at low to medium alti­tudes thus the need for such esotericitems as cabin pressurisation hadnot been a requirement. Also, theinstalled Merlin 61 and 63 enginesfitted to the greater majority of theseaircraft could not deliver the powernecessary to maintain a climb tosuch heights. An attempt to combatthis deficiency was to install theboosted R-R Merlin 70 in a few air­frames plus a pressure cabin. Thiswas seen as a stopgap as altitudesfor reconnaissance rose to a require­ment far in excess of 40,000 feet.

By the time this need had arisen theGriffon engine was already power­ing fighter and fighter reconnais­sance versions of the Spitfire andhad revealed the extra power need­ed for such a requirement was avail­able. The new version was allocatedthe Supermarine Type numbers 389for the preliminary batch and 390for the main production· run,although the Air Ministry haddecided to designate the aircraft thePR.XIX. This was later changed toPR.19 when Roman numeral desig­nations were abandoned as un­wieldy for everyday use.

THE SPITFIRE PR.19

Components included within thedesign carne from various aircraft.The Spitfire PR.XI provided thewings with spars built to Directorateof Technical Development (DTD)Specification 273 for greater strengthand structural rigidity which reducedthe torsional twist of the earlier,lighter structures. The fighter Mk.XIVwas the source for the undercarriagemounting pintles as well as the cool­ing and oil lubrication systems.

An extra not fitted to the first 22 pro­duction airframes was the provisionfor an additional 20 gallons of fuelhoused in bag tanks in each wingalthough this was later a standardfitment in the remainder. Deletion ofthe armament also allowed a further66 gallons of fuel to be housed in thenormal wing leading edge tanks.Further fuel capacity was also pro­vided in the space between the wingspars vacated by the cannons on the

GRIFFON-POWERED

~fITflilffiE~

fighter and the wing cameras on theMerlin reconnaissance aircraft.Another tank was installed in thewing interspar space which con­tained 19 gallons. The final total offuel in the airframe finally reached acapacity of 252 gallons. This is amarked contrast to the Spitfire Mk.Iwhose total capacity was 85 gallons.

As the task allocated to the PR.19 wasvery dangerous, it was felt that asmuch assistance as possible shouldbe given to the pilot in the manage­ment of the fuel system. In the case ofinterspar tanks, their contents wereboosted by air pressure to the topfuselage fuel tank. This in turn wascontrolled by an internal float valvewhich ensured that the tank wouldremain full until the wing tanks wereempty. The remaining wing tankswere fed by electrical booster pumpsand were graced by their own con­tents gauges. The fuselage of the new

31

This Spitfire PR.19 was an amalgamation of numerous parts drawn from otherversions of the aircraft. The influence of the closely-related Spitfire F.XIV can beseen quite clearly in this plan view. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

LOBELLE SLIDING HOOD

/DATUM

LONGERON

FRSR7 FIREPROOF BULKHEAD LONGERON

(UPPER SECTIONS REMOVED FOR CLARITY)

marque was based on the Mk.XIVwith the tail unit from the same air­frame, but with adjustable ballast fortrimming purposes.

As before, the first 22 aircraft wereslightly different from the main pro­duction run. One of the primary dif­ferences was the canopy. The firstbatch had a standard canopy with awindscreen drawn from the PR.XI.The greater part of the productionrun had a pressure cabin installedand a reinforced Lobelle slidinghood. The main part of the produc­tion run featured a special typecurved windscreen.

The cabin pressurisation systemwas based on that fitted to the highaltitude interceptor Spitfire VIIalthough the air intake and blowerwere relocated to the port side ofthe engine rather than the originalinstallation on the starboard side ofthe Merlin-powered aircraft. Whenthe cabin pressurisation system wasnot required it could be controlled

by a spill valve for bypass purposes.Inflation of the hood seal was by useof a control valve in the cockpit as

The fuselage of the Spitfire PR.19 was similar in strength and assembly to other versions of the high-backed Spitfires. (NATO AM)

32 WARBIRDTECH..--

TYPE35CAMERA

CONTROL

OBLIQUE CAMERASWITCH

DRAUGHTEXCLUDER

F.24-B" OR 14"VERTICAL CAMERA

CAME BAY~ ACCESS \ANEL

F.2414" MODIFIED TOSUIT PR 19

MOUN\T"ING FOR E~ECTRICALHEATER SOCKETS AND MOTOR

The camera mount installation within the PR.19 fuselage was of the universal variety and allowed numerous permutations ofthe available equipment. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

was the air demister system for thecanopy and windscreen. To reducethe propensity of the pressure cabinto leak, special care was takenregarding the sealing of control runexits where they passed through thefront and rear pressure bulkheads.

The cameras and their mounts wereinstalled in the Universal Mountingassembly in the rear fuselage whilstthe communications equipment wassimilar to that of the Mk.XIV fighter.The wing spar flange attachmentswere borrowed from the PR.XI forcompatibility as were the wing lead­ing edge tanks. The remainder of thefuel system was pure Mk.XIV in exe­cution. Overload tanks were speci­fied as a standard fit and encom­passed the normal range available tothe Spitfire and ranged in size from30 gallons to 170 gallons.

The proposed powerplant was theGriffon 66 rated at 2,035 hp althoughthe first 22 airframes were fittedwith the Griffon 65 with a similarpower rating. The Griffon 65 lackedthe cabin blower unit, a heating sys­tem being fitted instead for pilotcomfort. The method of enginemounting came from the Mk.XIV asdid the cooling system. The pro­peller was the standard woodenfive-bladed unit borrowed from thesame aircraft.

Further technical details pertainingto the Spitfire PR.19 were a span of36 feet 10 inches matched to a fuse­lage length of 32 feet 8 inches. Thewing area of this variant was 242square feet and the total internal fuelcapacity was set at 254 gallons withprovision for overload tanks rated at30, 45, 90, and 170 gallons respec-

GRIFFON-POWERED

~r~TWlil~~

tively. Normal performance parame­ters included a top speed of 445 mphat 26,000 feet with a range of 1,010miles using only internal tank capac­ity. These figures were, of course,optimum and would not applyshould the aircraft take off at itsallowable maximum takeoff weightof 10,450 pounds.

As the Spitfire PR.19 was totallyunarmed, its only defence was itsheight and its speed. To carry out itsmission all the cameras were mount­ed in the fuselage Universal Mount­ing assembly. Examples of the setupspossible included two F.52 of 36 inch­es focal length mounted vertically, orone F.52 vertically mounted. Anotherpossible combination was a pair ofcameras of the same type with focallengths of 20 inches each fanned ver­tically whilst a pair of F.8 cameras of

33

Seen behind the canopy hood of a Spitfire PR.19 is the access panel for the ground

power socket and the cover over the upper fuselage camera port. (Big Bird Avia­tion Collection)

flexible pipe was directed to thelower fuselage windows.

As the RAF needed high-speed,high-altitude reconnaissance plat­forms in a hurry, the manufacturersproposed to deliver 16 PR.XI aircraftfitted with a pressure cabin andpowered by a Merlin 63 engine.These in turn were followed by the22 unpressurised PR.19 airframeswhose serial range started at RM626.This airframe arrived for trials at theSupermarine test airfield at HighPost on 27 April 1944. The first pres­surised example was SW777 whicharrived for testing at the same air­field in October of that year havingbeen ordered in March. Deliveries ofthe first production aircraft began inMay 1944.

The fin and rudder of the PR.19 are very similar to that fitted to the Griffon fighterversions. Prominent in this view is the rudder trim tab whose operating rod is alsoclearly shown. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

20 inches focal length could bemounted in a similar manner. Thefinal setup included a single F.24camera mounted in the port obliquewindow with focal lengths of 4 inch­es or 8 inches as required. To ensure

34

that the cameras and their windowsremained clear, a warm air feed wastapped off from the rear of the star­board radiator and fed into two rigidducts which took care of the upperfuselage installations whilst a further

WARBIRDTECH

The first test flights of the PhotoReconnaissance Unit (PRU) blue­bedecked PR.19 revealed an aircraftwith some directional stability prob­lems. These were exacerbated by theinstallation of an underfuselageoverload tank. The test pilot didreport, however, that the aircraft hadpotential. Further airborne evalua­tion was undertaken at RAF Bensonwith a 170-gallon ferry tank. Mid-airrelease of the tank was attemptedduring later trial flights although ithung up on the mountings whenfirst attempted and required furtherdevelopment work to clear it for ser­vice use.

Extensive trials were undertaken atBoscombe Down where a variety ofcanopies and overload fuel tankswere put through their paces as werethe fuel system and its gauging.Eventually the PR.19 was cleared to40,000 feet with the external tanksdrained fully to empty. During flighttrials many pilots reported that theaircraft was longitudinally unstableduring some parts of the flight enve-

lope with an overload tank althoughit behaved far better without. Furtherevaluation flights with a trial camerainstallation in the wings were under­taken in April 1946 at Eastleigh usingPM655 although this was not adopt­ed as a standard fitment.

A final total of 225 aircraft were pro­duced for RAF service, although anumber, some 170 in total, were can­celled due to the cessation of hostili­ties in Europe and the Far and Mid­dle East theatres of operations.Whilst in service with the RAF, theoperating organisation was initiallyBomber Command and the PRUwas based at Benson although someexamples were in service with bothMiddle East and Far East Com­mands. The first unit to equip withthe PR.19 was No. 542 Sqdn in June1944, followed by No. 16 Sqdn inMarch 1945 which later became oneof the primary postwar reconnais­sance units within No.2 TAF inWest Germany.

The first operational sortie wasundertaken on 25 May 1944 over theharbour and local defences at LeHavre using aircraft RM628, a Grif­fon 65-powered aircraft. Other unitsthat flew the PR.19 included Nos. 34and 81 Sqdns which provided muchneeded reconnaissance and meteoro­logical capabilities in the Far East.

Some of these airframes later hadtheir upper fuselage portions paint­ed in light grey in an effort to reducethe heat buildup in the camera com­partment within the fuselage, thusreducing the possible damage to thefilms and their magazines. Thisproblem did not affect units based inEurope where the climate was farmore temperate in nature.

The tail wheel assembly of the PR.19 is enclosed by a pair of retractable doors as arethose of the other Griffon-powered aircraft. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

Other units associated with the Spit- The retractable tail wheel borrowed from the F. VIII was also installed in the Griffonfire PR.19 included No. 34 Sqdn in fighters and the PR.19. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~~~TWlll~~ 35

This rear view shot of the port underwing radiator clearly shows the reduction inexit space when the radiator flap is retracted. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

Seen from the front the starboard main gear reveals its tie down points more clearly.The radiator behind the undercarriage leg has afilter fitted to reduce debrisentering the system. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

No. 81 Sqdn was to achieve a smallmeasure of fame when it undertookthe last operational reconnaissanceflight of the type on 1 April 1954using airframe PS888 operating outof the RAF base at Seletar, Singa­pore. This airframe flew in a totallyunpainted state. This unit was alsoto lay claim to the greatest heightand speed attained by a Spitfire andpiston-powered aircraft generally.

In the UK the primary operator was1 PRU based at RAF Benson whichhad introduced the genre to theRAF in the first place. To train pilotsin the use of the Spitfire PR.19, No.237 Operational Conversion Unit(OCU) came into existence in July1947 and remained active until 1956

the record for the shortest opera­tional use of an aircraft are Nos. 681,682, and 683 Sqdns which served inthe Far East, France, and Italyrespectively for a period of only afew months.

On 5 February 1952, PR.19 PS852was scheduled to undertake a meteo­rological flight to measure outsideair temperatures and other weatherphenomena at 5,OOO-foot increments.Eventually the aircraft levelled out at50,000 feet actual height whichequalled 48,500 feet indicated.Although the controls were verytouch sensitive the pilot realised thata further increase in altitude mightbe possible. Eventually, an actualheight of 51,500 feet was achievedalthough by this time the aircraftwas virtually uncontrollable. Duringthe Spitfire's occasionally out-of-con­trol descent, the aircraft managed toachieve an indicated speed of 575mph. Further investigation using thecollected barometric data revealedthat PS852 had reached a true alti­tude of 51,500 feet and a maximumspeed of 690 mph, Mach 0.94.

their re-equipment with newer air­craft during 1950 they had been allo­cated to the newly created BAFO.However, the units that must bear

the UK whilst the forces in Germanyalso boasted No.2, 16, and 54 Sqdns.Although their usage of the typewas fairly short-lived, by the time of

36 WARBIRDTECH......

when it re-equipped with Canberrabombers and T.4 trainers at its Bass­ingbourn base. Other training unitssuch as No. 203 Advanced FlyingSchool (AFS) and No. 61 Opera­tional Training Unit (OTU) alsoused the aircraft in small quantitiesfor a short period of time.

After the war there was a generalrundown of Spitfire assets within theRAP which resulted in some PR.19sdeclared surplus to requirementsbefore they had even entered service.These aircraft were later dispersed toSweden although the originalordered total of 70 was later reducedto 50. The Indian Air Force alsoreceived 12 aircraft in 1948, enoughto equip two squadrons dedicated tothe reconnaissance task. A far small­er total, four in all, were later sold tothe Royal Thai Air Force in early1954. One surprise allocation was tothe United States Army Air Force(USAAF) which operated twoPR.19s, PM536 and 541, from Cairoduring the closing stages of the war.

Later postwar operations using thePR.19 centred around the Tempera­ture and Humidity (THUM) flightbased at Woodvale, Lancashire,where the last ever operational Spit­fire flight was undertaken on 9 May1957 using aircraft PS853. This unithad been formed in response to anAir Ministry contract in 1951. Thishad been awarded to Short Brothersat Hooton Park near Liverpool.

Using three Spitfire PR.19s, the ini­tial premise for the flight was all­weather meteorological flying. Orig­inally, this location was the home totwo other Spitfire units. However,when they replaced their pistonfighters with the Gloster Meteor itwas decided to move the THUMflight across the River Mersey to linkup with another two Spitfire units

The elevators of the PR.19 were fitted with trim tabs and featured balance horns inthe forward section. Also visible in this view is the tail navigation light on the rud­der. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

thus reducing the logistics costs. The tudes of 30,000 feet. On 14 June 1957primary task for the flight eventual- the Spitfires were finally retired toly settled on gathering information be replaced by De Havilland (DH)about weather behaviour up to alti- Mosquito TT.35s.

The ailerons fitted to the Griffon Spitfires were mounted on bearings in contrast tothe hinging previously used. Close observation of the wing skin reveals the smoothfinish and high standard offlush riveting. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

GRIFFON·POWERED

~fITF~~~~ 37

CURVEDWINDSCREEN

CABINEXHAUST

UNDERFUSELAGECAMERA PORTS

From the side, the PR.19 is virtually indistinguishable from the high-backed Griffon-powered fighters. Only the lack of wingarmament and the cabin pressurisation intake fitted to the main production batch betray the differences. (Big Bird AviationCollection)

After retirement these airframesbecame part of the Battle of BritainFlight based at Biggin Hill. Still partof this historic flight, Spitfire PR.19PS853 moved to Binbrook where itcarried out one unusual and lastoperational task for the frontlineRAP. Here it was used for trainingLightning pilots atop their jet-pow-

ered Mach 2 mounts to chase theP-51 Mustang fighters of the Indone­sian Air Force during the period ofthe Malaysian confrontation.

Overall these mock combats revealedthat the Lightning had a significantedge as long as it remained clear of aclose entanglement where the tighter

turning circle of its more nimblecomponent would outfly the modernaircraft. The final tactic settled onwas for the Lightning to approachthe enemy fighter from underneathand enter the missile engagementzone without being observed beforelaunching its infrared homing Fire­streak missile.

UNDERWING FUELBOOSTER PUMP

This section of theunderneath of the SpitfirePR.19 clearly shows thelayout of the camera portsand the blisters that coverthe wing fuel tankpumps. (Big BirdAviation Collection)

38 WARBIRDTECH

The Spitfire PR.19 was

built in two versions, one

unpressurised and one

pressurised. This is the

cabin intake of the pres-

surised version.(Big Bird Aviation

Collection)

The propeller fitted to the

PR.19 was of the five-blad­

ed variety. Note the angleof the blade tips. (Big BirdAviation Collection)

Seen in close up are the

exhaust ports of a Grif­

fon engine plus the fas-

teners that hold the

access panels in place.(Big Bird Aviation

Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~P~TWTII~~ 39

A handful of retired Spitfire PR.19sare still flying in private hands. Thisview of PM631 clearly reveals thecurved windscreen unique to thisversion. (Dave Stewart)

This underwing shot ofa PR.19 inthe vicinity of the main gear bayshows quite clearly the housingforthe wing tank fuel pump.(Big Bird Aviation Collection)

40 WARBIRDTECH---- i__

The open access panel in this PR.19 reveals the aft wall of thecamera bay plus some of the fuselage structure. (ChrisMichell)

With all the internal coverings removed, the cockpit struc­ture is revealed. Of note are the aileron operating cables con­nected to the control column pulley. (Chris Michell)

This is Frame 11 inside aPR.19, most other versions of

the Spitfire are similar. Thepipe visible at the bottom of

the fuselage is that for thecamera bay heating.

(Chris Michell)

Looking forward inside the PR.19 camera bay reveals the port fuselage camera window plus some of the operating systemconnections. (Chris Michell)

Although photographed in its days as a gate guard at RAF Benson, PS915 eventually returned to flying duties with the RAFBBMF. Close inspection of the fuselage reveals the edges of the skin panels. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

42 WARBIRDTECH....

In landing condition,Spitfire PR.19, PM631,

approaches fortouchdown with both

wing and radiator flapsfully deployed.

(Nick Challoner)

This photo of SpitfirePR.19, RM632, shows itlacks the intake beneath theexhaust bank for the cabinpressurisation system, thusrevealing it was one of thefirst built. (C P RussellSmith Collection)

After their service withthe RAF, some SpitfirePR.19s entered servicewith foreign air forces.

This particular airframeis pictured in the inven­

tory of the Royal ThaiAir Force. The novel

rudder clamp should benoted. (C P RussellSmith Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~~~TF~IE~43

This underneath view ofa Spitfire PR.19 clearlyreveals the fairings forthe wing fuel boosterpumps and the underfuselage camera ports.(C P Russell SmithCollection)

Sitting on the pan atWoodvale, this SpitfirePR.19 awaits its final

sortie on behalfofTHUM Flight beforeretirement. (Big Bird

Aviation Collection)

Caught just after liftoff,this PR.19 is justretracting its undercar­riage, although the radia­tor flaps are still fullyopen. (Dave Stewart)

44 WARBIRDTECH

"SUPER ITFIRE"THE SPITFIRE F.21, F.22, AND F.24

The last operational versionsof the Spitfire were original­ly intended to be named the

"Victor," such were the differencesbetween these marques and theirpredecessors. The first glimmeringsof the new type began to appear in1943 when the Griffon-poweredSpitfire III development aircraftbegan test flying. The intended pro­duction version was originally des­ignated the Mk.IV, although toreduce confusion with the rapidlyexpanding range of Spitfire variants,it was later redesignated the Mk.XX.

The second of these airframes, seri­aIled DP851, first flew from the air-

field at Worthy Down with a GriffonII engine in August 1942. Later thatyear the aircraft was re-engined witha R-R Griffon 61, resuming flight tri­als in December of that year. Theresulting combination was then des­ignated as an interim Mk.21.

Also replaced were the originalwings which were superseded by apair of similar planform, althoughthese had a stronger, heavier gaugeskin and revised internal structure.These also featured metal-coveredailerons capable of withstandinggreater loads at higher speeds thanthe original fabric-covered items.This in turn required a redesign of

the whole wing structure whichbegan in 1942. All this was requiredto combat the possibility of aileronreversal which can be induced bythe twisting of a lighter assembly.

Other changes incorporated inDP851 were centred on the fuselage,especially in the cockpit area where anew curved windscreen wasinstalled as well as a canopy tomatch. At the rear of the airframe theaircraft was fitted with an originalearly-type fin matched to a broadchord rudder. Initial test flights wereundertaken using a four-bladed pro­peller, although this was laterchanged to a five- blade unit.

LA215 was a Spitfire F.21 which spent most of its working life in the trials role engaged in Spiteful tail unit and contra-rotat­ing propeller trials. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~P~TFIRE~ 45

This photograph depicts the first prototype Spitfire F.21, which was originallynamed the "Victor." Unlike the later versions of the second generation GriffonSpitfires, PP139 sports full-span wings. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

Flight testing of the Mk.20 revealedthat the Spitfire had a top speed of455 mph at 25,600 feet and a serviceceiling of 42,800 feet. Measuredclimb rate was 4,800 feet per minute

at a datum height of 7,700 feet. Theflying life of DP851 came to anabrupt end in May 1943 when itwas lost in a crash. Although theMk.20 did not achieve production

status, it did serve as the prototypefor the succeeding Spitfire F.21. Thefirst proper F.21 was PP139 whichmade its maiden flight on 24 July1943 piloted by Chief Test Pilot Jef­frey Quill.

Externally the major differencebetween the "Super Spitfire" and itsearlier Merlin- and Griffon-poweredsiblings was in the shape of thewings. These were completelyredesigned and incorporated sub­stantial strengthening to take advan­tage of the promised extra poweravailable from the proposed Griffonseries engines. Although the wingplanform retained its basic ellipticalshape, the trailing edge was straight­ened slightly which increased thewing's surface area, a much neededimprovement for the higher altitudesrequired from this version.

___ PRIMING SYSTEM

___ MAIN SYSTEM

_ _ - AUXILIARY SYSTEM

=== PRESSURE SYSTEM

()) FUEL COCK

B NON RETURN VALVE

-...e.... BOOSTER PUMP

AUTOMATIC VALVE

FUEL --=======c:::.::tTRANSFER((COCK

PRESSURE RELEASE COCK

AUXILIARYDROP TANK

PRIMINGCOCK

H.V. FUEL INLET

PRIMING PUMP

......----...TO CYLINDERS

ENGINEPUMP

...----.-)0 TO ENGINE

The fuel system installed within the Spitfire F.21 and later variants was far more complicated than that fitted to the firstversions, therefore more care and management were required by the pilot. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

46 WARBIRDTECH

Spitfire LA232 wears the personal "TT" codes of AVM T C Trial although theaircraft was allocated to the HCCS. This particular aircraft was fitted with acontra-rotating propeller unit driven by a Griffon 85 engine. (C P Russell SmithCollection)

Prior to its final use in the instructional role at RAF Cosford, Spitfire E21, LA226,had seen use by No. 91 Sqdn and No.3 CAACU at Exeter. Close study of thecannons will reveal that only blanking stubs remain. (C P Russell SmithCollection)

The powerplant fitted to the SpitfireF.21 could either be the Griffon 61 or64, both of which featured a slightly

changes with the addition of twosmall fuel tanks in the wing leadingedge which added an extra 35 gallonsof fuel to the usable total and broughtthe aircraft total up to 120 gallons.

The fuel system also underwent some

This in turn led to the tips of thepropeller being raised higher abovethe ground. Stability in groundmanoeuvring was also improved asthe track of the undercarriage wasincreased from 5 feet 9 inches to 6feet 8 inches.

Although setting up and adjustingthe various catches, rods, and lockswas a complicated business, theaddition of the wheel covers didresult in a cleaner wing which inturn resulted in improved perfor­mance. However, the undercarriagebay dimensions remained the samein size, thus a complicated series oflevers was used to compress the legto allow retraction. A further changeresulted in the undercarriage legsbeing lengthened and strengthened.

Unlike previous Spitfires, the Mk.21had only one wing-mounted arma­ment option: four 20mm Hispanocannons with part of the belt feedsystem hidden under blister panelson each wing upper surface.

Other changes to the wing structurecentred about the main undercar­riage bays where an outboard fair­ing was provided for the mainwheel which had previouslyremained uncovered on other mar­ques. To ensure that the new doorsdid not foul the main wheel onretraction, a sequence valve wasincorporated into the hydraulicoperating system for each leg.

Commensurate with the tweak tothe wing's trailing edge came a sig­nificant change to the positioning ofthe ailerons which were movedslightly outboard and were someeight inches longer. Also altered wasthe method of mounting. Originallythe greater majority of Spitfires useda pair of bearing mountings for eachsurface, whereas on the Mk.21 themounting was via a continuouspiano hinge which incorporated abalance tab for trimming and bal­ance and improved the aircraft's rateof roll. On PP139 the wingtip assem­blies were of the pointed varietyalthough on production airframesthey reverted to a blunter format.

GRIFFON-POWERED

~~~TWnIE~ 47

48

CJ

o

1CI

oCJ

o

oD

oo

The final versions of the Spitfire, the F.21, F.22,and F.24 revealed a modified wing planform

whilst the last two versions had a cut down

rear fuselage and bubble canopy as standard.

(Big Bird Aviation Collection)

WARBIRDTECH

Other changes incorporated in the lastSpitfires included completely covered mainundercarriage legs and wheels and aretractable tail wheel. (Big Bird AviationCollection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~r~iWnIE~ 49

different gear ratio from the Mk,XIVwhich had the Griffon 65 installed.At the receiving end of the engine'spower output was a five-blade pro­peller similar to that fitted to theMk.XIV series of airframes. Thediameter was increased by seveninches to eleven feet. Another enginethat featured in the E21 was theGriffon 85 which was developed todrive a six-bladed contra-rotatingpropeller unit. The airframe used totrial this installation was LA218which was dispatched to the AFDUat Tangmere in May 1945 for evalua­tion flying.

The report generated by these trialswas very enthusiastic as the Spitfirehad become a very stable gun plat­form due to the elimination of the

effects of engine torque. These firstexamples of the contra-rotating pro­peller were occasionally unreliablealthough considering the amount ofcomplicated engineering involvedit was hardly surprising. Eventual­ly, after many months of testing anddevelopment, the propeller unitbecame a tried and trusted piece ofequipment although its only pro­duction usage was its installation inthe Seafire FR.47. Engine coolingalso underwent some changes asthe oil cooler was moved to thestarboard underwing positionwhilst the intercooler was placed infront of the radiator assemblyunder the port wing.

This first aircraft also had the wind­screen and canopy design borrowed

from the earlier DP851 whilst the finhad a straight leading edge and anenlarged rudder borrowed from theMk,XIV although these were laterreplaced by units from the E21 pro­duction line.

After PP139 came the first full pro­duction airframe, LA187, whichundertook its maiden flight on 15March 1944. This airframe retainedthe fully pointed wingtips of the ear­lier aircraft with the fin and rudderchanged to that of the Mk.XIV Alsofrom the same source came thecanopy and windscreen. However,these revisions actually resulted inan aircraft with performance levelsthat had deteriorated from thedevelopment airframes. This wasofficially reported after a series of

SHUTTLEVALVE

/MAIN UNIT

JACK

LOCKING PINASSEMBLY

LOCKING EYEUNDERCARRIAGE

RETRACTED POSITION

SECTION THROUGHPINTLE AND STRUT

BEARING

LATCH LOCK

FAIRINGDOOR

The main gear units of the later Spitfires and Seafires were wider in track and fully enclosed. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

50 WARBIRDTECH

flight trials at Boscombe Down dur­ing November 1944.

The highlights included problemswith rudder trimming, which wasvery sensitive and exacerbated byaltitude. Further comments wereapplied to the general handling ofthe aircraft at its optimum opera­tional height of 25,000 feet. Overallthis report stated that the aircraft feltuncomfortable to handle duringcombat manoeuvres and had suf­fered a reduction in speed ofapproximately 15 to 20 mph.

Attention was paid to these reportedfaults. Therefore, when the fifteenthproduction aircraft, LA201, was sentto the AFDU at RAF Wittering forevaluation it was hoped that some

improvement would be noticed.During these trials the top divingspeed of 525 mph, improved rate ofroll, and cannon armament weredeemed worthy of praise. However,the final paragraph damned theSpitfire F.21 outright when it recom­mended that the type be withdrawnfrom frontline service and replacedby the earlier MkXIV. Although notdangerous, the aircraft was regardedas unstable for a gun platform.

This was not good news for bothFighter Command and Supermarinealthough the latter was aware thatsuch a problem could occur. A fixwas already in the process of beingdesigned and involved the produc­tion of enlarged horizontal and ver­tical tail surfaces that would cure the

over-control problem. Prior to theappearance of the modified rear sec­tion a series of experiments wasundertaken to see if the problemcould benefit from a temporary fix.This took the form of removing therudder trim tab whilst the problemwith elevators was cured by adjust­ing the trim tab gearing to half itsrange and replacing the originalpointed horn balance tips with thoseof a more rounded shape.

Spitfire F.21, LA215, was the firstproduction aircraft to feature allthese changes and was dispatched tothe AFDU, by this time incorporatedinto the Central Flying Establish­ment (CFE), once company flighttesting was complete. The reportfrom this unit praised the work that

Although F.21 LA198 was officially retired for gate guard duties when this photo was taken, it does reveal the more clippedwing fitted to production versions of the aircraft plus the outer fairing doors for the undercarriage units. (C P Russell SmithCollection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~r~TFll~E~51

AILERON CABLECONTROL DRUM

.1'111ELEVATOR I.! I

CONNECTING ROD

ELEVATOR FORWARDOPERATING LEVER

AND CABLES

ELEVATORTAB CONTROL

RUDDER TRIMTAB CONTROL

Possibly the most famous control column in the world, the Spitfire and Seafire retained this unique shape until the end with

only minor changes. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

52 WARBIRDTECH----

Securely lashed down is this F.21, LA2lS, allocated to No. 602 Sqdn Royal Auxiliary Air Force. The bulged canopy isnoticeable. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

Supermarine had carried out on the instrument flying. The report con- heights by some 10 to 12 mph;E2l and went on to recommend that eluded that the Spitfire E2l had sev- greater acceleration at the start of athe aircraft at this modification state eral advantages over the Spitfire dive; greater aileron control atwould be adequate for low-level and XN: greater fire power; faster at all speeds above 300 mph; and greater

Not a normal sight is a Spitfire under its protective covering, especially as the wartime aircraft were estimated to have anoperational life offive hours on average. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~P~TFIEE~53

Spitfire F.22, PK312, was the first production aircraft and as such spent most of its life as a trials vehicle including trials ofmetal-covered elevators. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

range. Although there was still someproblem with yaw at altitude at highspeeds, the Spitfire F.21 could beconsidered a satisfactory aircraft forthe average pilot.

The first frontline unit to receive theSpitfire F.21 was No. 91 Sqdn basedat Manston. It accepted its first,albeit unmodified, aircraft in Janu­ary 1945. These were replaced inMarch by a series of modified air­frames, the originals having beenreturned to Supermarine for modi­fication action before issue toanother unit. Once the squadronworkup had been achieved, No. 91Sqdn and its 18 aircraft moved toLudham in Norfolk to begin opera­tions. These primarily concernedarmed reconnaissance missionsover the Hague where it wasreported that the Germans wereassembling V2 rockets.

54

As the war in Europe was runningdown, the production of the SpitfireF.21 was limited to only 120 exam­ples. Other units that flew this mar­que of Spitfire included Nos. 1, 41,and 122 Sqdns although their tenurein frontline service had ended inApril 1947 when No. 41 Sqdn relin­quished its fighters. Although themain RAF units had disposed of theF.21, they still had a role to play inthe inventories of the Royal Auxil­iary Air Force Nos. 600, 602, and 615Sqdns operated the type from 1947until late 1950.

The development of the Spitfire notonly involved that of powerplants,but also of the wing aerodynamics sothat the best performance could beextracted from the overall design.First inklings of the perceivedchanges required to the aircraft werenoted when a pair of Spitfire Mk.IXs

WARBIRDTECH

were extensively tested to evaluatethe behaviour of the wing at highMach numbers. Aerodynamic behav­iour of flying surfaces in the transon­ic region were well understood bySupermarine therefore they set aboutimproving the design of the wing.

The original wing design placed thetransonic centre of pressure justbehind the leading edge. Therefore,a total revamp of the design was toplace the centre of pressure closerto the centreline of the wing, thuscreating a high-speed laminar flowdesign with a low drag coefficient.A further change saw the disap­pearance of the original ellipticalwing which was replaced by adesign with even degrees of taperto the front and rear edges. Overallthis would have reduced the wingarea to 210 square feet which wasonly a small reduction from the

----

1

original 242 square feet of thelonger span wings.

To actively test the reality behind thetheory, a Spitfire Mk.VIII, JG204,was sent to the Royal AeronauticalEstablishment (RAE) for experimen­tal evaluation. The first changesinvolved resetting the wing leadingedges to see how the aircraft wouldperform. This was followed by thefitment of new leading edges,although the change in the wingprofile was not close enough to theintended design to prove it one wayor the other.

Supermarine and other interestedparties then decided that the onlyway to really test the laminar wingwas to build an aircraft to fly evalua­tion trials. The original intention

required the construction of anentirely new airframe. However, tocut costs and hasten the first flight itwas decided to convert Spitfire F.2lprototype, PP139, to the new stan­dard. This resulted in the aircraftbeing redesignated the F.23 and ten­tatively renamed the "Valiant."(Astute readers will note that theunused names for the two new ver­sions of the Spitfire, Valiant and Vic­tor, would eventually emerge as twoof the jet-powered "v" bombers.)

On roll out the revampedPP139exhibited some drastic changes fromits previous existence. The wingswere extended with very pointed tipswhich increased the span to 40 feet 6inches whilst the armament of fourcannons was retained, althoughplans had been laid to fit the produc-

tion versions with six cannons. Thefin, rudder, and tailplane were alsochanged, all were enlarged toimprove stability. Although the con­verted Mk.VIII and PP139 continuedto fly in support of the forthcomingSpiteful/Seafang development pro­gramme, the F.23 Valiant contract for438 airframes was cancelled in early1944 as nonviable and not required asthe tide of war had turned in Europe.

Having departed down the F.23development avenue, Supermarinereturned to its original design pathwith a new version of the F.2l fight­er. This was designated the F.22 andwas built from the outset with a cutdown rear fuselage and bubblecanopy for improved pilot vision.The rest of the airframe was pureF.2l in execution.

This aircraft is the penultimate F.21 which served with No. 600 Sqdn Royal Auxiliary Air Force. The clearness of this shotshows the outer gear doors, cannons, and the rear view mirror above the windscreen frame. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~P~TFll~E~55

Another change concerned the elec­trical system which was upgradedfrom the original 12 volts to 24volts, this feature first appearing inthe later F.21 fighters. The first pro­duction F.22, PK312, was rolled outin March 1945. Initial test flightsrevealed similar handling character­istics to the previous F.21 and a fewof its vices. After initial Superma­rine test flights, PK312 was dis­patched to A&AEE, BoscombeDown, for further testing andweighing where it was perceived asa vast improvement on earlier air­craft even though it was the heavi­est Spitfire thus far. During thisperiod the much promised enlargedtail surfaces were finally installed,which gave the F.22 an increasedoverall length of 31 feet 11 inches.

Further trials were carried out dur-

ing 1947 using 500-pound bombs toextend the Spitfire's capabilities.AUW of the F.22 was averaged at9,309 pounds, an increase of onlyfour pounds over the F.21. Theinstallation of the revised tail unitmade an instant improvement onthe handling of the Spitfire F.22making it a far better gun platform.Use of the installed fuel tank in therear fuselage still remained official­ly prohibited.

As the war in Europe ended therewas very little need for the F.22,especially as the RAF was in theprocess of contracting to peacetimelevels. Production orders were set at260 airframes in total. Only onefrontline unit, No. 73 Sqdn based inthe Middle East in Ta Kali, Malta,would receive this new marque ofSpitfire in July 1947. Its tenure in

frontline service was short as No. 73Sqdn traded in its aircraft for the DHVampire jet fighter in October 1948.

Another handful of aircraft wereused by the Flying RefresherSchools until 1951 when they beganto enter long-term storage wherethey were to remain until declaredobsolete in May 1955. During thisnonflying period various storagemethods, including humidity-con­trolled cocooning, were evaluatedfor future use. A final total of 278Spitfire F.22s were built, most wereto serve with the Royal AuxiliaryAir Force until replaced by either

. the DH Vampire or the GlosterMeteor jet-powered fighters.

After withdrawal many of theredundant airframes were dis­patched to various Maintenance

This slightly high-angle shot ofSpitfire F.22, PK340, shows some of the normally hidden detail on the wing upper surface. Thisincludes the fairings above the Hispano cannon breaches and that above the undercarriage wheels. (C P Russell SmithCollection)

56 WARBIRDTECH

....r-----------------------------------------------------

RUDDER OPERATINGCABLES

'--.........~ ALTERNATECABLE RUNS

TURNBUCKLES

AILERONCONTROL CABLES

--_-- TURNBUCKLES

AILERON DRUM

DETAIL 'A'

Although the last marques of this famous aircraft were built with the rear fuselage of the Spiteful, the control runs and theirassembly still owed much to the prototype. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

Units (MUs) to await their fate. Notall were scrapped, however, as 22airframes were exported to theSouthern Rhodesian Air Force, 20went to the REAF, and 10 to the Syr­ian Air Force.

Externally the final version of theSpitfire produced by Supermarinefor the RAF was the same as the pre­ceding F.22. In fact, the changesintroduced within the F.24 hardlyjustified the allocation of a new des­ignation, these being a pair of 33-gal­Ion fuel tanks in the rear fuselage.An extension to' the weapons capa­bility was added by the incorpora­tion of underwing hardpoints forrocket projectiles. In the final batchof Spitfire F.24s the originallong-bar­reI Hispano cannons were replacedby the shorter Mk.V version.

A total of 54 Spitfire F.24s were builtby Supermarine, whilst a further 27were obtained by converting some ofthe earlier F.22s. The first aircraft wasreleased on 13 Apri11946 whilst thelast Spitfire delivered to the RAF,VN496, left the Vickers Supermarineworks at South Marston on 20 Febru­ary 1948. Only one operational RAFunit received the F.24, No. 80 Sqdnbased originally at Gutersloh in Ger­many as part of No.2 TAP.

During July 1949 the squadrondecamped to the RAF base at KiaTak, Hong Kong, to join the FarEast Air Force (FEAF). Thesquadron's 18 aircraft were shippedto their new base on the aircraft car­rier HMS Ocean. No. 80 Sqdn con­tinued to operate the Spitfire F.24until it was replaced by the twin

GRIFFON-POWERED

~~~TFI~E~

engine DH Hornet fighter, a devel­opment of the earlier Mosquito.Instead of returning the unit's air­craft to the UK, most were handedover to the Hong Kong AuxiliaryAir Force, which continued to oper­ate them until they were retired inApril 1956.

There was one attempt to sell thesurplus aircraft to Argentina as partof a combined package with a batchof ex-RAF Lancaster bombers in theevent only the bombers were pur­chased. Some of the unused Spit­fires were used for storage trialsalongside the earlier redundantF.22s using various forms of preser­vation. Some 20 airframes under­went this process which began in1952 and was to end in 1956 whenthe aircraft were sold for scrap.

57

EXTENDEDWINGTIP

STANDARDWINGTIP

NAVlGATlONIOENTUMP

'OPSKIN PICKETING

""'""

RADIATORASSEMBlY

FLAP OPERATINGJACK TRAILlNGR1B

NUMBERING

REAR SPARATTACHMENT

NON SUPWALKWAY

(PORTONLYI

UNDERCARRIAGE LEGMOUNTING PINTLE

CENTRE RIBNUMBERING

The wing structural assembly for those Spitfires in the final series was still based on that of the prototype although by the timethe F.22/F.24 was achieved agreat deal ofstrengthening had taken place. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

Photographed in 1947, Spitfire F.22, PK657, is in immaculate condition. The subtle blending of the wing and fuselage is clearlyevident. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

58 WARBIRDTECH---- i__

PK559 sports all the modifications applied to the type including the Spiteful tail assembly. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

Spitfire F.22, PK430, is also taking part in the Kings Cup Air Race. To enable the aircraft to perform to its maximumperformance, the weapons and their ammunition were removed to reduce the all up weight. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~r~TWnIE~ 59

PK577 taxies out to beginits day's flying. Allocatedto No. 607 Sqdn thisparticular airframe had alife ofnine years beforebeing scrapped.(C P Russell SmithCollection)

This view of Spitfire F.22,PK346, ofNo. 613 Sqdn

Royal Auxiliary Air Forceshows quite clearly the

Spiteful tail unit that wasretrofitted to these early­

built aircraft to cure alongitudinal instabilityproblem. (C P Russell

Smith Collection)

After its short frontlineoperational life was over,Spitfire F.22, PK497,spent some time at OldSarum on gun firingtrials. Unlike the early­built aircraft, thismachine was constructedwith a Spiteful tail unit.(C P Russell SmithCollection)

60 WARBIRDTECH-

After service with theRoyal Air Force, some

Spitfire F.22s were sold toother air forces. This

aircraA 68t was sold tothe Egyptian Air Force.

As the Spitfire was due toundertake a long delivery

flight it is fitted with acentreline slipper tank.

(Eric B Morgan)

I.1 - .

This aircraft is shown inthe parked position whichentailed lashing thecontrol column in place inthe cockpit to stop thesurfaces from moving.Although allocated toNo. 603 Sqdn themarkings indicate that itwas taking part in theKings Cup Air Race in1950. (C P RussellSmith Collection)

When the Royal Air Forcefinally disposed of its

Spitfire F.24s in the FarEast it was to the Hong

Kong Auxiliary AirForce. This is VN318

complete with underwingrocket mounts. (Eric B

Morgan Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~r~TF~lffi~ 61

This might be the finalpure version of the Spitfirebuilt, but that famous topto the control column isstill evident.(Chris Michell)

From a slightly differentangle the whole of thepilot's panel is revealed asis the compass to the left ofthe control column. (ChrisMichell)

62 WARBIRDTECH~.... i__ :MIl

This view ofa Spitfire F.24 with the covers removed from the Griffon engine reveals the side bearer mounting beam and engineexhaust stubs. (Chris Michell)

The right-hand cockpit wall plus its structure is evident in this shot ofan F.24 cockpit as is part of the fixed windscreen frame.(Chris Michell)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~r~rw~~~~63

PK713 was originally constructed as an F.22, but was later converted to F.24 standard. During its delivery flight the aircraftsuffered the indignity of an undercarriage malfunction which made for a difficult landing. All the detail of the undercarriageand other systems is clearly revealed. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

This view of Spitfire PK683 clearly shows all the skin panel and access panel lines associated with the type.(C P Russell Smith Collection)

64 WARBIRDTECH..

COMBAT COLOURSOF THE SPITFIRE AND SEAFIRE

By the time the Spitfire Mk.XIIentered RAF service, theoriginal colour scheme of

green, dark earth, and duck egg bluehad been replaced with coloursmore suitable for operations in moretemperate climes, This consisted ofdark green overlain on medium seagrey in a disruptive pattern withundersurfaces in a lighter shade ofgrey. Some duck egg blue remained,however, in the form of a tail bandwhilst the leading edges were givena thin yellow stripe. This stripehelped differentiate the type fromthe aircraft of the Luftwaffe to anti­aircraft gunners although somereports stated that such a recogni­tion feature was almost impossibleto see against the sky.

When the F.XIV and the F.XVIIIjoined the inventory they too werecamouflaged in a similar manner tothe earlier EXII. Some alterations tothe finish were inevitable whensome of these machines weredeployed to the Far East. On someaircraft the grey was replaced withdark earth whilst all had South EastAsian Command roundels, with thered centre removed, applied to allsix positions. The tail flash also lostits red stripe and all aircraft in the­atre were given wide white stripesabove and below the wing and onthe rear fuselage. After the cessationof hostilities, most aircraft had theircamouflage removed and flew in anatural metal finish, with nationalmarkings to suit, until withdrawal.

VVhen the reconnaissance version ofthe Griffon Spitfire, the PR.XIX,entered the inventory of the RoyalAir Force, it was given an overallPhoto Reconnaissance Unit blue fin­ish. Few alterations were made tothis scheme. One main change wasthe application of light grey to theupper fuselage of those airframesbased in the Far East as part of FarEast Air Force. Only one otherPR.XIX changed its finish, PS888,which was operated for a while inan unpainted state.

Of the final Griffon-poweredSpitfires, the E21 flew on opera­tional sorties in the European tem­perate scheme although some wereto lose their camouflage after the

Spitfil'e EXJV; RM689, was ollce operated by Rolls Royce. Here it sports authentic markillgs applicable to a Europeall-basedaircraft except for tile Rolls Royce flash all the cowlillg. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

GRIFFON POWERED

SPITFIRES 65

war ended. Of the F.22, those fewthat actually enjoyed a period ofactive service wore the standardtemperate finish. Those of No. 73Sqdn were bedecked with the unit'sflashes on the fuselage side. Whenthe Spitfire F.22s were transferred tothe Royal Auxiliary Air Force, thegreater majority flew in an unpaint­ed state with peacetime roundelsand fin flashes applied. Unit mark­ings were in the form of colouredbars on each side of the fuselageroundels. The last Spitfire type builtfor the Royal Air Force, the F.24, wasoriginally delivered in the standardtemperate scheme although thissoon gave way to the normal peace­time unpainted finish.

Those aircraft sold or diverted tooverseas customers were frequentlytransferred in the finish initially

applied, thus the PR.XIXs of theSwedish Air Force were only renum­bered and remarked with RoyalSwedish Air Force marks beforedelivery. Others, such as those air­craft sold to Burma and Thailand,were delivered in an unpainted statewith only national markings tobrighten the airframe.

The aircraft delivered to the FleetAir Arm followed the needs ofwartime, thus the Seafire Mk.XVsoperating in the Far East wore atwo-tone finish on their upper sur­faces with sky undersurfaces. Asthey flew in the South East AsianCommand theatre of operations,the relevant markings minus thered centres and bars were applied.Those Seafires in service in moretemperate climates normally woredark sea grey uppersurfaces with

sky underneath offset by standardroundels and fin flashes.

This trend continued after hostili­ties ended. Therefore the SeafireMk.XVIIs, F.4Ss, F.46s, and FR.47sretained the full depth dark greyupper surfaces until a change inpolicy saw the extension of theoriginal sky undersurface colourfarther up the fuselage and over thefin and rudder. By this time the finflash had disappeared, beingreplaced by a two-letter unit/shipcode. The roundels on the wingsalso assumed equal proportions forall three colours. Seafires also woreinvasion stripes both over theD-Day landings period and laterwhen the FR.47s of No. 800 Sqdnwere involved in combat opera­tions over the Korean theatre of

. operations.

Wearing the standard Photo Reconnaissance Unit blue finish topped off by South East Asian Command markings is PR.19,

PM631, which had previously seen service with THUM flight prior to retirement. This Spitfire is currently flown by theBBMF from RAF Coningsby. (Nick Challoner)

66 WARBIRDTECH~-

:w

This photograph ofMV293reveals an aircraft in the

immediate postwar scheme ofoverall silver. This particular

airframe was operated for aperiod by the Indian Air Force

before returning to the UKand adopting No. II Sqdn

markings. (Nick Challoner)

Seen in the Battle of Britainhangar at RAF Coningsbyis Spitfire PR.19 PS915with its undercarriageraised whilst being support­ed by jacks and trestles.Note the counter balanceweight hanging from therear fuselage.(C P Russell SmithCollection)

GRIFFON POWERED

SPITFIRES 67

The markings worn by PS915 are those of No. 152nd Sqdn when it was based in the Far East Air Force during 1946. (NickChalloner)

This Spitfire FR.XVIII, SM845, had a very short Royal Air Force career before moving on to the Indian Air Force. Afterretirement the aircraft was purchased for private use. (Sander Wittenaar)

68 WARBIRDTECHi__ow

Still wearing its Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force markings is Spitfire F.24, VN485, which had originally been preserved at Kai

Tak. (Nick Challoner)

Seen in front of a retired

Phantom is Spitfire F.22,

PK624, when it was in store at

RAF Abingdon. The Phantom

was subsequently scrapped

whilst the Spitfire is still

extant. (Big Bird AviationCollection)

GRIFFON POWERED

SPITFIRES

RM689 is a Spitfire F.XIV

which wears the unit markings

ofNo. 350th (Belgian) Sqdn

when it was part ofNo.2

Tactical Air Force in 1944.

Unfortunately, this Spitfire

was badly damaged in a crash

landing. (Big Bird AviationCollection)

69

Captured in storage at St.Athan, this Spitfire F.22betrays its last role as a gateguard by the inclusion ofblanking plates in theradiators and the capping ofthe cannon barrels. (BigBird Aviation Collection)

Complete with V-Daystriping is Spitfire PR.19,PM631, currently in use

with the BoBMF.(C P Russell Smith

Collection)

Spitfire PR.19, PS853,achieved a measure offamewhilst based with the BBMFat RAF Binbrook where itwas used in tactical trials forthe resident Lightningfighters. It still flies with theBBMF and currently wearsthe standard temperate PhotoReconnaissance Unit bluemarkings complete withD-Day invasion stripes. (BigBird Aviation Collection)

70 WARBIRDTECHi__WI

This close up (right) of the starboard main gear

clearly shows the anti-drag links behind the main wheel

and the tie down points facing the camera.

(Big Bird Aviation Collection)

Above: To the rear of the main gear bays are the wing­

mounted radiators complete with filter grilles. These arestandard on all the Griffon-powered Spitfires from the

EXIVonward. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

Seen from a rear point of view this shot of a PR.19 reveals the Lobelle hood fitted over the cockpit and the relaxed state of the

flying controls. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

GRIFFON POWERED

SPITFIRES 71

This view ofaSpitfire FR.XIVclearly shows theenlarged tailsurfaces required tocounteract thetorque of the farmore powerfulGriffon engine. Theclipped wings,introduced toreduce wing panelstress, are evidentin this shot.(DannyJacquemin)

Preparing for takeoff is Spitfire PR.19 PS915 resplendent in South East Asian C0111mand markings. Of note are the openradiator cooling flaps under the wing. (Nick Challoner)

72 WARBIRDTECH

SPITFIR--=---.'

. - - - ---------------

AT SEA

In the late 1930s the Royal Navywas reasonably well equippedwith modern aircraft carriers,

although the aircraft carried weremainly biplanes such as the FaireyFlycatcher and the Hawker Nimrod.The outbreak of hostilities in 1939saw the FAA receiving its firstmonoplane fighter, the Fairey Ful­mar. Although modern in outline,the aircraft was grossly underpow­ered and underarmed in comparisonwith its German opposition.

To compound the difficulties facingthose charged with defending theships of the fleet and the convoysbringing in vital supplies to Britainthere was a distinct lack of carriersto cover these vital duties. Part of

THE GRIFFON SEAFIRES

the answer came in the shape of Cat­apult Armed Merchantman (CAM)ships complete with one-time-onlyuse Hawker Hurricane fighterswhich were used to defend the con­voys. This, of course, meant that theaircraft was lost at the end of its sor­tie while the pilot, a precious asset,had his life placed in danger whilstawaiting rescue from the sea.

As the war progressed, more capitalaircraft carriers and escort carrierswere constructed to improvedefences. These in turn requiredfighter aircraft capable of not onlyprotecting the ships the carrierswere escorting, but also capable ofoffensive operations against attack­ing forces and in support of ground

forces. The first aircraft to undertakethis role was the aforementionedFairey Fulmar which was laterreplaced by the far more capableFairey Firefly. This was a multi-per­son, multi-role fighter which foundits niche in the long-range fleetdefence role.

For the close fleet support role theMerlin-powered Seafire was foundto be the ideal solution although thissea-going derivative of the Spitfirewas at a slight disadvantage due tothe narrow track of its undercar­riage. These first versions of theSeafire, totalling three in number,added improvement upon improve­ment prior to the emergence of theGriffon-powered versions.

The Seafire XV was the first Griffon-engined version of the aircraft accepted by the Fleet Air Arm. This particular aircraft,SR583, was assigned to No. 767 Training Squadron. The two cannons sported by the Seafire are in fact dummy installations.(C P Russell Smith Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~~~Tr~IE~ 73

TI

ARRESTOR HOOKIN RETRACTED

POSITION

ARRESTOR HOOKIN DEPLOYED

POSITION

CENTRE LINEFUEL TANK

\

CENTRE LINESTORES CARRIER

GUN BAY HEATING

h~~~iTT--- PIPEWORK

UNDERWING-ll.-I---- RADIATOR

The Seafire F.45 was basically a navalised version of the Spitfire F.21 delivered to the RAF. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)\

The first Seafires, a corruption of thename "Sea Spitfire," followed veryclosely their land borne counter­parts, thus the appearance of theSeafire III was allied to that of theSpitfire Mk.Y. Many would assumethat the next marque for the Admi­ralty would therefore be based onthe following Spitfire Mk.VIII orMk.IX. However, the Air Ministrywas reluctant to release these air­frames as the former variant wasrequired for service in the Far Eastwhilst the latter airframes wereneeded for the UK-based squadrons.The Air Ministry did, however, sug­gest that some of the SpitfireMkVIIIs could be modified at a laterdate for carrier use.

Obviously this was unacceptable tothe Adrniral~ and it was decided topursue a conversion of the first Grif­fon-powered Spitfire - the MkXII. Inresponse, Supermarine issued a com­pany specification to cover the newaircraft. This was an amalgam ofmany of the previous airframesalthough the basis was the MkXII.The engine installation was from thataircraft although the powerplant wasthe Griffon MkVI which drove a four­bladed propeller unit with a coolingsystem derived from that of the Spit­fire Mk.Y. This in itself was furtherupdated by the use of an Mk.IX radia­tor. Internal fuel in Mk.IX fuel cellswas set at 100 gallons with an externaltank containing 60 gallons.

The fuselage was based on theSeafire MkIII with the wings com­ing from the same source completewith folding mechanism whichenabled each mainplane to compactinto three parts with fold lines at thewingtip and just outboard of themain gear bays. The rear end wasmodified from the Mk.VIII completewith a broad chord rudder andretractable tail wheel.

Armament was based on the basic"B" type wing of the Spitfire Mk.Vand consisted of a pair of 20mm His­pano cannons plus four .303 Brown­ing machine guns. Externally, theSeafire was able to carry one 500­pound GP bomb on the centreline

74 WARBIRDTECH

with fitments available for fourexternal rocket projectiles. This mar­que of Seafire was also capable ofcarrying a pair of 250-pound bombson undeiwing pylons.

With the requirements defined, theAdmiralty issued Specification No.4/43 for six prototypes with theSupermarine type number 377. Orig­inally it was intended to designatethe new fighter the Seafire XIIalthough this was soon changed tothe Mk.XV so that the habit of desig­nations clashing and causing confu­sion was soon obviated.

The first production airframe wasrolled out in November 1943 andwas the beginning of a productionrun that covered 503 machines con­structed by Westland Aircraft andthe Cunliffe Owen organisation.These airframes were intended for

production between July 1943 andMarch 1944 and were to differ fromthe prototypes in that the oil coolerwas increased in size to match thatof the engine radiator. Two otherchanges were a slightly longerengine cowling and a spinner of anincreased size.

Not long after entering service theSeafires were forbidden to carry outdeck landings due to a problem withthe supercharger clutch slipping athigh revolutions. By early 1947,however, the fault had been rectifiedby Rolls Royce which was supplyingmodified clutches to replace thedefective items.

Delays to setting up the productionlines meant that the first aircraft didnot appear until late in 1944. Of theordered total, 384 were fitted with an"A" frame arrestor hook originally

seen on the Seafire III although itwas upgraded to accept a loadinglevel of 10,500 pounds instead of theearlier 7,000 pounds. From airframe385 the"A" frame was replaced by asting-type hook which was anchoredto the rear fuselage stern post andincorporated part of the rear fuselagein the moving portion. When thehook was released for a carrier land­ing it was spring loaded into thedown position extending as it did so.

To prevent bounce back on touch­down the hook was held in positionby an oleo pneumatic damper. Thisdid not prevent the hook from utilis­ing the built-in lateral play availableto catch the wire. Although the stinghook was a far neater installationthan the earlier "A" frame, its loca­tion aft of the tail wheel led to someproblems with it becoming tangledwith the arrestor wire. To combat

20mm HI$PANOCANNON

WING FOLDJOINTS

AIRFRAMESLINGING

POINTS

RATOG SYSTEMLOCATION POINTS

(PT &STBD)

This general arrangement drawing of the Seafire FR.47 reveals the layout of the fuselage camera installation plus a selection of

wing weapon loads. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~PATFIIE~75

With the introduction of the Griffon-powered Seafire thearrester system changed from the earlier U A U Frame type tothe sting hook type anchored to the rear fuselage fin post.(Eric B Morgan Collection)

Many pilots preferred the earlier U A U Frame installationwhich appeared to retard the aircraft quicker and drew on thegreater strengths of the aircraft's structure at that point.(Eric B Morgan Collection)

T

\this, a guard was installed in front ofthe tail wheel to deflect the wireonto the extended hook.

In contrast, the primary method ofdespatching aircraft from an aircraftcarrier was originally a straightunassisted takeoff under the air­craft's own power. This was latersupplemented by steam catapultslocated on the carrier's bow. TheFAA was also aware that there mightbe occasions when the Seafiresmight need launching from less thanideal decks. In order to boost theliftoff characteristics of the aircraftthe Royal Navy required that theybe fitted with RATOG as well as theobligatory catapult launch spools.

76

It was also suggested that animproved method of launching bedeveloped to improve takeoffspeeds after catapult acceleration.

Theory suggested that a tail downattitude would improve the presen­tation of the wing leading edge tothe airflow, therefore a Seafire EXVwas put forward for testing. The ini­tial rear tie down points were foundrather weak although the situationwas much improved after strength­ening was carried out. Also modi­fied were the main undercarriagelegs which would allow the airframeto absorb stress loads up to 2.25 Gs.Further trials involving the RAE andSupermarine revealed that under

WARBIRDTECH

most conditions the Seafires per­formed admirably.

The first unit to equip with theSeafire Mk.XV was No. 802 Sqdn inMay 1945 followed by Nos. 800, 803,804, 805, and 806 Sqdns. As theSeafire Mk.XV was withdrawn fromfrontline usage it passed to theRoyal Naval Volunteer Reserve(RNVR) squadrons whilst otherswere passed onto the Royal Canadi­an Navy which received 35 aircraft.Only two foreign sales were made.The first sale in late 1945 was to theUnion of Burma Air Force whichreceived 20 de-navalised aircraftand the second sale was to theFrench Navy which was to operate

---- :w

15 aircraft from 1948. Only oneother moved outside the control ofthe FAA when an Mk.XV in a high­gloss silver finish and completelystripped of armour plate was leantto the u.s. Navy Test Centre forhandling evaluation.

The version of the Seafire that wasto follow from the Mk.XV was thelast of the old-type versions whichwas designated F/FR.17 dependingon its role. The airframe used in thedevelopment of this new versionwas an Mk.XV, NS493, which wasdelivered to Westland Aircraft forconversion. Intended as a navalequivalent in standard to its RAFcounterparts, the airframe under­went a reduction in the depth of therear fuselage so that a bubblecanopy driven by a manual hand

crank could be fitted. In order toprovide a means of escape duringthe takeoff and landing process theaircraft was flown with the canopyfully wound to the rear. To ensurethat the hood would not spring for­ward during a normal or emergencylanding the cockpit entrance doorwas locked in the outer catch posi­tion thus acting as a brake.

In common with most aircraft builtor converted to this configurationthe reduction in fuselage side arealed to longitudinal stability prob­lems, especially when the rear fuse­lage fuel tanks were filled. To allevi­ate this problem in the F.17, anenlarged rudder was fitted whichhelped to reduce the instability.Other changes from the earlier EXVincluded strengthened wing and

fuselage structures plus improvedoleo legs for the main undercarriage.Other modifications included instal­lation mounts plus ports for a pair ofE24 cameras in the rear fuselage justaft of the cockpit.

Fuel capacity for this version was145 gallons housed in two tanks inthe fuselage plus two in the wings.As the Spitfire and the Seafire haddeveloped so the fuel system hadbecome more complicated, thereforecareful management was required tomaintain stability otherwise controlof the aircraft would become diffi­cult. So that the rear fuselage fueltank could be filled, operating pro­cedures were put in place thatallowed it to be used by the pilot ontakeoff. It remained usable until itwas empty. However, this was only

1 LEADING EDGE FUEL TANK2 HISPANO GUN BAY3 MAIN SPAR4 BROWNING GUN BAYS5 WING TIP JOINT6 AILERON HINGE7 .303 AMMUNITION BOXES8 20mm AMMUNITION BOX9 WING FOLD JOINT10 WHEEL WELL11 RADIATOR HOUSING12 AUXILIARY SPAR13 SPLIT FLAP

The wing structure of the later versions of SeaJire were all similar in their form ofconstruction except that the FR.47 featured awing fold mechanism. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~PlrF~IE~77

After the hostilities in Europe ceased, excess airframes were despatched to variousallies. One of those that received the Seafire was the RCN for operational use fromthe aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure. This is one of the earlier batch of F.XVsbuilt with the original underfuselage "A" frame hook. (CP Russell SmithCollection)

After a very short service career, SeafireF.Xv, PR433, was used as a trainingairframe. Here the airframe is mountedon servicing jacks awaiting its nextbatch of trainee engineers. Of note isthe folded-down wingtip.(C P Russell Smith Collection)

possible if the aircraft was flowngently as violent direction changesmade the Seafire very unstable. Inorder that the maximum distancecould be flown on missions, plumb­ing was provided for the carriage ofexternal combat fuel tanks.

The powerplant fitted to the F.17 wasthe Griffon Mk.VI which drove afour-bladed wooden Rotol constant­speed propeller unit which rotated inthe opposite direction to that of theMerlin, initially confusing somepilots. Such was the torque generat­ed by this combination that the rud­der trim had to be fully deflected inthe opposite direction during takeoffto maintain directional control.

Armament was a pair of Mk.V His­pano cannons with 60 rounds pergun plus four Browning machineguns with 3S0 rounds per gun in auniversal wing. External armamentincluded one SOO-pound bomb or apair of 2S0-pound bombs, alterna­tively eight 60-pound rockets andtheir mounts could be fitted to theouter wing panel installation points.All this was toted on an airframewhich had a wingspan of 36 feet 10inches and a length of 31 feet 10inches which later changed to 32 feet3 inches when the enlarged rudderwas installed. Weight when emptywas 6/300 pounds which increased to

Another redundant Seafire F.XV thatjoined the RCN was this late-productionaircraft complete with sting tailhook andguard for the tail wheel.(C P Russell Smith Collection)

78 WARBIRDTECHi__ow

This manufacturer's photograph ofaSeafire F.XV reveals many of the

differences between this and its landborne counterpart. The Griffon Spitfires

were built with five-bladed propellerswhilst those machines for the Fleet AirArm were equipped with afour-bladed

unit. In common with all naval aircraft,the Seafire has an arrester hook located

under the fuselage.(C P Russell Smith Collection)

a normal load of 8,000 poundsalthough this could be extended to amaximum of 9,100 pounds. Maxi­mum speed of the F.XV was 392 mphat 36,000 feet. The F.17 could managethe same sort of performance. Bothhad a service ceiling at the 37,000foot mark whilst the range of bothsat between 376 and 903 milesdepending on the fuel load.

Production versions of the F /FR.17began to appear in late 1945 withdeliveries to No. 883rd Sqdn begin­ning in September. Total production,after the cutbacks of cancelled con­tracts, was to stabilise at 212 byWestlands and another 20 from Cun­liffe Owen. Other frontline units toequip with the F.17 included Nos.800, 803, 805, and 807 Sqdns. Whenthese aircraft departed from thefrontline inventory they were passedonto the RNVR and training units.These variants of the first generationGriffon Seafires were to finally dis­appear in November 1954.

The second generation GriffonSeafires for the Fleet Air Arm closelyparalleled the development of theirRAF counterparts. Thus when theRAF ordered the Spitfire F.21 in

Parked in storage at Royal Naval AirStation Stretton is Seafire F.XVII,

SX358, awaiting its fate. Of note is theway the wing sections fold.

(C P Russell Smith Collection)

The Seafire F.XVII was very much a development of the earlier F.Xv, the primarydifferences being a cut down rear fuselage and bubble canopy. This aircraft is

SX156 of No. 767 Sqdn and is parked awaiting its next sortie. The open cockpitaccess door is worthy ofnote as are the angles assumed by the flight control surfacesin the restrained position. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

SPlrFIRE~79

Seafire F.XVII, SP343, was allocated to Royal Naval Air Station Culham whenpictured in 1949. Unusual for a postwar Seafire in the training role; the aircraftsports a centreline fuel tank. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

METAL SKIN

large quantities the Admiraltylooked to converting the design fornaval use. To cover production ofthe aircraft for Fleet Air Arm use theAdmiralty issued SpecificationN.5 / 43 to authorise the productionof the F.21 as the Seafire F.45.

The firm Cunliffe Owen was theorganisation selected to build theprototype under license although itwas intended from the outset thatthe F.45 would act as an interimlead-in aircraft for those to follow.Therefore; to allow production toproceed quickly; minimal changeswere authorised from the originalSpitfire, thus such naval features aswing folding were missing.

When the Seafire was fitted with a sting hook the surface area of the rudder wasincreased. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

/

/

80

~~~~iil;~~~~~~:~ NAVIGATION/ LAMP

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MASS BALANCEWEIGHT

TAB ACTUATING

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RUDDER ASSEMBLYTO POST MOD 429

WARBIRDTECH

The prototype was a converted F.21,TM379, which was fitted with sling­ing points, a naval VHF radio setup,and a sting-type arrestor hook. Otherchanges from the land-based aircraftwere alterations to the main under­carriage fairings. Those attached tothe legs were shortened to clear thearrestor wires whilst the outer baydoors were increased in size.

Soon after roll out and initial manu­facturer's flight testing the aircraftwas delivered to the Supermarinetest airfield at High Post for initialweighing. By November 1944 theprototype was undergoing carrierlanding trials aboard the HMS Preto­ria Castle. During these trials the air­craft was affected by the torque gen­erated by the Griffon engine whichhad a tendency to cause the aircraftto crab sideways on approach. Thistendency notwithstanding, the F.45was faster than earlier aircraft andhad a faster rate of roll.

In an effort to reduce the crabbingtendency, TM379 was fitted with acontra-rotating propeller unit. Todrive both sets of propellers the origi-

~-i__

L

TOP LONGERON

REAR FUSELAGEACCESS PANEL

PORT WING SPARREAR ATTACHMENT

POINTS

PORT WING SPARFRONT ATTACHMENT

POINTS

From Frame 5 aft to the fin post, most Spitfires and Seafires featured a similar method of construction throughout the entirerange. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

nal Griffon 61 was replaced by theGriffon 85 which was more suited forthis role. During carrier and generalflight trials the F.45 was far more sta­ble during takeoff and landing and,when properly trimmed, the Seafirewas an excellent performer.

Seen as a taster of the aircraft tocome, Seafire F.45 production atCastle Bromwich was limited to 50examples, none of which would seefrontline service. In November 1946some of the F.45s entered the inven­tory of No. 778 Sqdn where theywere used as conversion and lead­in trainers for the later-builtF.46/ F.47 Seafires. After withdrawalfrom flying duties a few of theredundant aircraft were used forcrash barrier trials in connectionwith the forthcoming WestlandWyvern strike fighter.

The next sequential Seafire to followwas the F.46 which essentially was asemi-navalised version of the SpitfireF.22. In common with the aforemen­tioned Spitfire, the F.46 shared thecutdown rear fuselage and bubblecanopy although the installed power­plant was the Griffon 87 which inturn drove a six-bladed Rotol contra­rotating propeller unit. In order tomaintain stability this variant wasmanufactured from the outset withthe enlarged Spiteful tail surfaces, thebroad chord rudder and fin assemblyproving especially beneficial. Asbefore, the main form of retardationwas a sting-type arrestor hook forwhich a guard was installed in frontof the tail wheel to stop entanglementwith the arrestor wires.

Further takeoff assistance was pro­vided by the installation of catapult

GRIFFON-POWERED

~PTITW~IE~

launch spools and wing root rein­forcement for the mounting ofRATOG equipment. Armament wasstandard with the F.22 Spitfirealthough the wings were strength­ened to carry rocket projectiles andthe usual assortment of bombs andfuel tanks.

One primary feature omitted fromthe Seafire F.46 was that of wingfolding which precluded its useaboard aircraft carriers with theFAA's frontline units. Very much aninterim aircraft, only 24 airframeswere constructed, the first makingits maiden flight in September 1944.During its service life the F.46 wasflown by Nos. 736, 738, 767, 771,777, 778, 781, and 787 Sqdns in atraining role although the odd spec­imen was operated by the varioustrials organisations. One such speci-

81

This shot of a Seafire FR.47 on a test flight clearly reveals the camera port in the upper fuselage, the wing cannon armament,

and the underwing fuel tanks specific to the second generation Seafires. (Fleet Air Arm Museum)

The Seafire FR.47 was fitted with underwing combat tanks more conformal in

shape than the normal drop tanks. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

men was LA544, employed on anti­spin trials during 1946 for which ithad an anti-spin parachute and finguard fitted. Just prior to leavingthe service of the FAA, the remain­ing Seafire F.46s were operated byNo. 1832 RNVR Sqdn.

RIB 13

""~.Z>

, ., .~RONT ATTACHMENT

FITTING

82

The final definitive version of theSeafire to see FAA service was theFR.47 which was a fitting finale tothe Spitfire line begun so manyyears before. At first glance theFR.47 looked little different from thepreceding F.46. However, under the

iFUEUAIR

CONNECTIONS

REAR ATTACHMENTFITTING

WARBIRDTECHi__

skin it was a much improvedmachine and was the only Griffon­powered version from the secondgeneration to feature folding wings.In the first four airframes these weremanually powered although thissubsequently changed to a fullyhydraulic system.

The first prototype development air­frame, PS944, was manufactured asa pure fighter earning the designa­tion F.47. After initial company testflights and evaluations by the vari­ous test organisations, the produc­tion line began to deliver the defini­tive FR.47 which included standardmounts in the rear fuselage tomount cameras in the vertical andoblique positions.

Further changes from the F.46 includ­ed a rear fuselage tank capable ofcontaining 32 gallons of fuel. Otherchanges saw the engine carburetorintake extended to sit fully under­neath the engine cowlings. Toimprove performance, the Griffon 88

The final evolution of the Seafire was the FR.47. This version introduced all the

navalisations required for carrier operations. Although the only frontline operator

was No. 800 Sqdn, some did see use by the second line and reserve units. It is toone of the latter that VP455 is allocated, in this case No. 1833 Sqdn.(C P Russell Smith Collection)

engine was given fuel injection anddrove a Rotol contra-rotating pro­peller assembly. Another improve­ment incorporated to improve takeoffand landing performance was an

increase in the flap area by 20 percentplus the installation of longer strokemain undercarriage legs which wereof the nonrebound variety, beingmore than capable of absorbing the

increased operating weights possiblewith the FR.47.

To evaluate the new fighter, No. 778(Trials) Sqdn was formed at RoyalNaval Air Station (RNAS) Ford inDecember 1946 with some of thefirst aircraft to leave the productionline. This small unit carried outdeck landing and takeoff trialsaboard the carrier HMS Illustrious

during May 1947. A further evalua­tion unit, No. 787 Sqdn, was formedat West Raynham in 1947 to act asthe types tactical development unit.

Although the development and tac­tical trials were pushed throughquickly it was all for naught as hos­tilities ceased in Europe and the FarEast. The urgency for the deploy­ment of the FR.47 eased so deliveriesand creation of frontline squadronsslowed. Thus it took until January1948 for the first unit to form for car-

WING FOLDPOINTS

RATOGMOUNTS

AIRFRAMESLINGING

POINTS

WING DEPLOYEDPOSITION

UNOERWINGCOMBAT

FUEL TANK

STING HOOKINSTALLATION

WING JURYSTRUTS

OUTER WINGSTORES MOUNTING

This general arrangement drawing illustrates both the Seafire F.XV and Seafire F.XVII. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~P~TW~~ffi~83

HEATING PIPEAT RIB 5A

RADIATORASSEMBLY

The wing guns in both the Spitfire and Seafire required heating to ensure theirefficiency at increasing altitudes. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

rier duties, this was No. 804 Sqdnwhich later undertook sea trials anda deployment aboard HMS Oceanand later HMS Triumph. The lastSeafire FR.47 delivery, of the 90ordered, was in January 1949 whenVR791 was flown out of the VickersSupermarine manufacturing plant atSouth Marston.

In April 1949, No. 800 Sqdn becamethe second of the FAA's frontlineunits to receive the FR.47. This situa­tion existed for only four months asNo. 804 Sqdn re-equipped with theHawker Sea Fury. Initially, No. 800Sqdn was based at RNAS Sem­bawang on Singapore Island wherethe new aircraft was used in support

MAGAZINE CARRIER TIE-ROD SHACKLE PIN

FRONT MOUNTING UNIT OUTERECCENTRIC CLAMPING BOLTS

REAR MOUNTINGANCHORAGE TRUNNION

ElECTRCAllEADSFIRING MECHANISM

OUTER GUN110 ROUNDS

The Hispano cannon installation in both the late-marque Spitfires and Seafires was essentially the same. (Eric B MorganCollection)

84 WARBIRDTECH..-- i__

Complete with a centreline drop tank is this Seafire F.ll, SX345. Also clearly visible is the tail wheel wire guard and the

shortness of the retracted arrestor hook. (Fleet Air Arm Museum)

Preparing the Seafires ofNo. 1832 Sqdn for flight. As a reserve unit normally based

on land at Royal Naval Air Station Culham, this carrier shot is most unusual. Of

note are the still drooped wingtips on the nearest example. These will be manually

locked in place later. (Fleet Air Arm Museum)

of ground forces trying to flush outguerrilla forces from the Malayanjungle. Not only were the cannonsused for attack purposes againstspecified targets, but to reinforceeach attack the aircraft fired up toeight 60-pound unguided rockets atthe same target point.

A transfer to sea duty in February1950 saw No. 800 Sqdn and itsSeafires embarking aboard HMS Tri­

umph in company with the FaireyFireflys of No. 827 Sqdn for a seriesof goodwill visits. It was during thistour that a fault in the design ofthe rear fuselage structure firstappeared. Under normal circum­stances, the Seafire on landing andtaking the wire would run out for anear perfect landing. However, anymisalignment resulted in excessiveside loads being applied to the struc­ture which in turn caused distortionand wrinkling of the aircraft's skin.Another problem occasionally expe­rienced by pilots was that of under­carriage damage due to pilots mis­judging the weight of the Seafire.

On 25 June 1950 the forces of NorthKorea invaded the territory claimedand defended by the south. Thisaction resulted in condemnation by

GRIFFON-POWERED

~~~iFnIE~

the United Nations and promises ofsupport from the United States andits allies. Amongst the forces com­mitted to driving out the North

85

This diagram illustrates well the underwing rocket installation fitted to the SeafireFR.47. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

Korean insurgents were the aircraftembarked aboard HMS Triumph. By2 July the carrier had joined U.S ..Navy Task Force 77 headed by theUSS Valley Forge. The first offensiveoperations launched by the air wingwere against the enemy airfieldsnear the North Korean capital,Pyongyang. As HMS Triumph wasnot equipped with quickly reload­able catapults, the strike aircraft ofthe FAA relied on RATOG to assistthe first aircraft to depart the deck,the remainder leaving under theirown power.

On this first mission nine SeafireFR.47s attacked the designated tar­gets with little resistan"ce fromenemy forces. Two aircraft, however,suffered some minor damage, one

DETAil 'A'

JURY STRUTLOCKED PosmON

MAIN JURY STRUTIN CLOSED POSITION

~-"'f

PLUG

rot j_

PORT

MAIN JURY STRUTIN FULLY EXTENDED

POSITION7

STRUT HANDINGIDENTIFICATION

Aircraft operated by the Fleet Air Arm on aircraft carriers with folding wings required jury struts to support the structurewhen folded and protect them from overstress by wind power. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

86 WARBIRDTECHow

hit by rifle fire whilst the other wasdamaged by debris from its ownrocket launches. On 4 July a forcethat inc!uded seven Seafiresattacked targets on the railway net­work between Yonan and Haejuwithout loss. On completion of thesemissions Task Force 77 withdrew fora period of rectification and reap­praisal of its role.

One change from the original planwas that the Seafire FRATs wouldbe responsible for Combat Air Patrol(CAP) in support of the u.s. Navyaircraft and for fleet defence. Forthese roles the aircraft would nor­mally carry full cannon armament, a50-gallon centreline tank, and a 22­gallon combat tank under eachwing. This load inevitably reducedthe top speed of the aircraft by some25 mph although pilots wereinstructed not to jettison anythingexcept in case of emergency. Therear fuselage defect was also cleared

for active service as the aircraft weredesperately needed for operations.

After a mainly uneventful tour ofduty, HMS Triumph departed thewar zone for a period of refurbish­ment in Japan. It later returned toblockade patrol off the North Kore­an coast on 11 August. From thatpoint onward the Seafires of No. 800Sqdn returned to multiple missionstatus by adding the full repertoireof ground attack missions to that ofCAP. In addition to these flights, thesquadron also provided escort- air­craft and flew armed photo recon­naissance sorties.

The final Seafire FR.47 combat sortiewas flown on 20 September afterwhich HMS Triumph departed thearea and returned to the UK. Duringits 11 weeks of combat flying thesquadron had used 26 airframes, butby the end of operations only threewere declared serviceable enough to

continue flying. Of those declaredunfit for further flying some werestruck of charge, the greater majorityof these being those aircraft that hadsuffered rear fuselage damage dur­ing landing.

The Seafires of No. 800 Sqdn hadflown 360 sorties during their part inthe Korean War without loss,although two were written off innoncombat accidents. No. 800 Sqdnfinally dispensed with its SeafireFR.47s during November 1950 afterwhich a handful were passed to No.759 Sqdn for fighter conversionduties, in which role they serveduntil November 1953. One other unitwas to operate the FR.47 before itfinally left the service of the FAA.This was No. 1833 Sqdn, RNVRwhich re-equipped in June 1952 atits base of Bramcote near Notting­ham. This final unit to fly the typeretained its ten aircraft until it finallyretired from the FAA in 1954.

After Korea No. 800 sqdn relinquished its seafires to such units as No. 1832 sqdn of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. Thisis a Seafire FR.47 of that unit awaiting its next pilot. The slight offset of the camera reveals both the upper fuselage obliquecamera ports. (Fleet Air Arm Museum)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~P~TFIIE~87

1A CENTRE RIBNOS.

1

2A3A

4A

6A5A

7A

8A

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REAR SPARHINGE POINT

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13A 11B

1516

AMMUNITION BAYS19

21 20

GUN MOUNTINGCASTINGS

R.P. MOUNTINGS-=-----.......~

REAR SPAR

LIFTING RINGHOUSING

This diagram illustrates quite clearly the power fold mechanism fitted to the greater majority of Seafire FR.47s. Earlier-builtaircraft were entirely manual in operation. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

LOCKING MECHANISMACCESS DOOR

MAIN SPARHINGE

LOCKING LEVERREAR SPAR

HINGE DETAIL

I!!IlII!!.!I~_'::::"r-_.....:::D:.::ETAIL'A'

WING LOCKINGMECHANISM

The Seafire FR.47wing foldmechanism is wellillustrated in thisclose-up diagram.This is the poweredversion. (Eric BMorganCollection)

88 WARBIRDTECH

After their service, many of the redundant Seafire FR.47s were placed in storage to await final disposal. VP485 is sitting

parked with its wings folded and shows quite clearly the enlarged tail unit and contra-rotating propeller fitted to this version.(C P Russell Smith Collection)

Complete with underwing rockets and Rocket Assisted Take Off Gear this Seafire FR.47 of No. 800 Sqdn Fleet Air Arm begins

its takeoff run. Of note is the open canopy regarded as essential should the aircraft encounter problems. (Fleet Air ArmMuseum)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~P[TW[I~~ 89

WING SUPPORTJURY STRUTS

1

I

AIRFRAMESLINGING

POINTS

CENTRE LINESTORES CARRIER

STARBOARD SIDEACCESS PANELS

UNDERWINGBOMB CARRIER

TAIL WHEELGUARD

This general arrangement of the Seafire FR.47 reveals that it was a very similar aircraft to the earlier F.46, the greatestdifference being the incorporation ofwing folding in the former. (Big Bird Aviation Collection)

Equipped withRocket AssistedTake Off Gear thisSeafire FR.47 ofNo.800 Sqdn Fleet AirArm, complete withKorea war zonestriping, departs thecarrier for anotherCombat Air Patrol.(Fleet Air ArmMuseum)

90 WARBIRDTECH..... i__:w

This undersurface photo of a Seafire FR.47 approaching to land reveals a wealth of detail. Noteworthy are the modified

undercarriage units of the second generation of Griffon Seafires, the intake fairing which stops just short of the spinner, and thelocation of the underwing fuel tanks. (Fleet Air Arm Museum)

Contact - and this Seafire F.17 successfully engages the wire on touchdown aboard HMS Pretoria Castle. Of note are the

fully deployed flaps which were only used for landing purposes. (Fleet Air Arm Museum)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~rKTF~I~~91

This close-up shot of a Griffon Seafire reveals a wealth of detail, not only of its occupants, but the aircraft itself Clearly definedare the engine bearer beams, the rearview mirror, the reinforced wing root walkway, and the cockpit access door. (Fleet AirArm Museum)

rI

Seafire F.46, LASSO,

was one of the fewthat saw some use by

the Fleet Air Arm,

this being at RoyalNaval Air Station

Ford. Prominent in

this view are the

outboard

undercarriage doorsinherited from the

equivalent Griffon

Spitfires.(C P Russell SmithCollection)

92 WARBIRDTECH:w

FINATHE SPITEFUL AND THE SEAFANG

By the time the Spiteful andSeafang came to light fromSupermarine the day of the

piston-engined fighter had almostpassed, their replacement by jet air­craft being a certainty. However, thedevelopment of the jet engine, inboth centrifugal or axial forms, wassubject to improving their reliability.Before that happened, Vickers Super­marine was determined to take theSpitfire design to one last stage.

In contrast to earlier versions of theSpitfire, the new variant was sub­jected to extensive development,especially in the field of aerodynam­ic behaviour. Also to feature in this

new aircraft were laminar flowwings which, in theory, would givea marked increase in speed over theoriginal design for the Spitfire range.There is of course a problem withsuch aerofoils in that they are verysusceptible to marks caused by mili­tary boots, dead insects, paintworkdamage, and panel distortion, all ofwhich had a tendency to eliminateany of the benefits gained. Forexample, a grain that measured0.0022 inches could reduce the topspeed by as much as 43 mph on anairframe rated at 380 mph.

The foregoing notwithstanding,Supermarine, in conjunction with

Rolls Royce and encouraged by theRAF and the MaS, began the com­plex process of designing such an air­craft which could operate quite hap­pily at speeds in excess of 400 mph.First attempts at investigating thislast vestige of the Spitfire wereundertaken by the RAE in 1942 usinga pair of Merlin-powered SpitfireMk.IXs. These development flightsfrequently reached Mach 0.86 whichexceeded the airframe's set "never toexceed speed" of Mach 0.85.

The performance of these airframesgave the development team a set ofinitial parameters to work from, thefirst of which was that the wing

Making its first flight on 2 April 1945, the first production Spiteful F.XIV is seen here posing at height for the camera. By thistime the enlarged tail unit had been fitted to counteract the torque generated by the Griffon engine. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

GRIFFON-POWERED

~PllTWlll~~ 93

would need extensive redesigningto eliminate the drag curves createdby following the National AdvisoryCommittee on Aeronautics (NACA)

2200 aerofoil. Although this shapewas adequate for the Merlin-pow­ered aircraft and the first vestiges ofthe Griffon range, they were over-

cambered for the lift coefficientsneeded for the new aircraft and thespeed range it was required tooperate in.

I

I

This diagram illustrates the first Seafang that was converted from a Spiteful. Ofnote is the wide track undercarriage. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

With assistance from the NationalPhysics Laboratory (NPL), whichjoined the project at the end of 1942,the thickness chord ratio was set at13 percent at the wing root whichwould give accommodation for themain undercarriage. Such modifica-

Further development flying wasundertaken using a Spitfire F.21which was Griffon engined and hada refined wing planform to set amore advanced range of parametersat sea level. Even this aircraft and itsfollow-on versions would eventual­ly become limited by the compress­ibility of the wing which, fromSupermarine's point of view, wouldbe very embarrassing.

These resulted in the Air Staff issu­ing requirements for two types ofaircraft to Supermarine to furtherdevelop the concept. The first ofthese to fly was the Type 372 whichmaterialised in the form of SpitfireMk.VIII, JG204. This airframe fea­tured a normal Spitfire wing with itsleading edge lifted slightly in aneffort to increase speed. Redesignat­ed the F.23 the overall speed increaseof 4 mph was not deemed enough tojustify series production. The secondline of research was encapsulated inthe Type 371 which was seen fromthe outset as a totally new designdestined for quantity production.

With that end in mind the wing wasdesigned with a taper to both lead­ing and trailing edges. Further calcu­lations by the Aerodynamics Depart­ment at Supermarine revealed that awing with a span of 35 feet, giving asurface area of 210 square feet,would suffice to do the job.

00:

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94 WARBIRDTECHi__ow

tions to the design actually removedthe inner wing section from being apure laminar flow wing although theouter part of the wing did comply.

to be available for fitting to the F.21without modification and that itshould be available for installation ona version of the aircraft for the FAA.

The primary difference between bothversions would be the installation ofwing folding mechanisms. The fuse­lage was based on the Mk.VIII, later

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When the design was settled, Super­marine issued its own specification,No. 470, in late 1942 to define thenew wing characteristics prior to pro­duction. This projected that thedesign would achieve the highestcritical speed possible before com­pressibility became a problem, that itwould have the highest rate of roll ofany fighter ever built, and that thewing profile drag should be reducedas much as possible to increase per­formance. All these parameters,when measured against an existingset of F.21 data, would reveal that thecritical mach number had been raisedfrom Mach 0.64 to Mach 0.72 whichwas a real speed increase of 55 mph.

When the blueprints were preparedthey revealed a component that waseasier than previous designs to man­ufacture. It featured tapers to bothedges of the wing plus thicker skin­ning. Thicker skin served two pur­poses. One was to increase thewing's strength and thus reduce thechance of distortion. The other pur­pose involved an issue of stiffness, inthat high torsional rigidity would beprovided thus allowing good aileroncontrol at very high speeds. This inturn would guarantee that aileronreversal would not occur until atleast 850 mph. Estimated speeds incomparison with the F.21 were 470mph at 39,500 feet for the fighterwhilst the Type 371 wing wouldachieve 504 mph at the same height.

With the research complete, the AirMinistry felt justified in issuing Spec­ification F.1 /43 for a single-seat, sin­gle-engined fighter incorporating thelaminar wing. Subparagraphs withinthis specification called for the wing

The fully navalised seafang featured a sting tailhook, fitments for a centreline fuel

tank, and the blended external wing tanks first seen on the Seafire FR.47. (Eric BMorgan Collection)

95

Test flights of the new wing wereundertaken using Spitfire XIV,NN660, which made its maiden flighton 30 June 1944. Regarded as a hybridprototype, this aircraft was poweredby a Griffon 61 engine driving thestandard five-blade propeller.

This general arrangement of the Spiteful

reveals the layout of the laminar wing

planform. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

Although the loss of NN660 was atragedy, the production of the Spite­ful was to continue. Thus it was on 8January 1945 that the first prototype

The operational life of this airframewas short as it crashed in Septemberof that year during a mock air com­bat flight against a Spitfire XlV.Although a definite cause was nevercompletely established it was sus­pected that the aileron control circuithad either been jammed or discon­nected under positive G forces thusallowing flexure or jamming in thecontrol runs to occur. Some indica­tions of forthcoming problems expe­rienced in early test flights where thewing at, or near, the stall had exhibit­ed some unpleasant characteristicsespecially with aileron snatch.

NPL, both of which carried outintensive wind tunnel tests at everystage of the design. Other changeswere an improvement in manufac­turing tolerances as the new wing inparticular would be very responsiveto any production flaws. Precisionmanufacturing techniques were alsorequired in the vicinity of removablepanels where any airflow distur­bance could reduce the aircraft's topspeed considerably.

The flight control system fitted into the

Spiteful and Seafang was based on that

fitted to the later mark Spitfires and

Seafires. (Eric B Morgan Collection)

In contrast to the earlier versions ofthe Spitfire there was an intensiveparticipation by the RAE and the

be fitted instead although this optionwas not exercised. Fuel contentswithin the new airframe were set at149 gallons with 60 gallons possiblein external overload tanks. Arma­ment was specified as four 20mmMark.Y Hispano cannons. Also set­tled at this time was the aircraft'sname which had passed throughValiant and Victor to end as Spiteful.

~~G~'.. :=======\ I

'

0,. "'-. . "---- ------- i io \..i

As the development of materials hadimproved during the previous yearsof conflict, the specification of a bub­ble hood canopy was stated as arequirement from the outset. In theoriginal specification there was aclause that stated that a Merlin could

changed to that of the F.XIV, intowhich would be fitted an R-R Griffonpowerplant which would in turndrive a pair of three-bladed propellerassemblies driving in a contra-rotat­ing direction.

96 WARBIRDTECHi__ow

This photo of a Seafang F.32, VB895, clearly shows the radiator assemblies moved

to the trailing edge of the wing plus the undercarriage units that were to feature on

the later Supermarine Attacker. (Fleet Air Arm Museum)

Spiteful, NN664, made its first flightcomplete with a redesigned aileroncontrol circuit. The first require­ments addressed in the early testflights were those of the aileronssnatching at speeds close to the stall,also noted was the tendency of thewing to drop at this point.

A further problem that occurred wasthe ineffectiveness of the aileronsunder high G forces near the stallwhich resulted in a definite involun­tary flick of the wings. Many ofthese faults were attributed to thedesign of the surfaces themselves.Efforts were concentrated on eradi­cating the faults.

Many ideas were tried, these includ­ed shortening the ailerons, modify­ing the wing surface near the sur­face, fitting beading to the trailingedge which changed the airflow,slotted ailerons, and finally, wingspoilers. None of these effectivelycured the problem, therefore furtherinvestigation was required. Thissubsequently revealed that the fit­ment of an enlarged tail unit wouldrestore the authority of the ailerons.The new configuration was firstflown on 24 June 1945.

Also at this time serious considera­tion was given to fitting an ejectionseat to assist the pilot in escapingshould the need arise. Much of thecockpit development work had beenundertaken using a wooden mockup which had enabled the designteam to try various control layoutsand other ideas before metal was cut.

One of the less convincing ideas thatfound its way into the first Spitefulwas an attempt to build a cockpitthat would reduce the tendency ofpilots to black out under high Gforces. Although medically quiteconvincing, the whole idea was

deemed impractical as the resultingsetup, complete with raised rudderpedals, was very uncomfortable andpilots of the FAA would have hadgreat difficulty in seeing to land.

Whilst the problems afflicting theprototype were being cured, produc­tion had commenced of aircraft forfrontline use. The first production air­frame, RB515, made its maiden flighton 2 April 1945 fitted with the origi­nal E21 style of tail unit. This wassubsequently replaced by a Spitefultail unit which was first air tested on21 May. For reasons best known tothe authorities, it was decided to startthe number series at EXIV when fit­ted with a Griffon 69 engine driving afive-bladed propeller.

Originally contract totals for 650 and190 Spitefuls were ordered. This wasswiftly reduced to just 17 at the ces­sation of hostilities. The final aircraftof this small production run wasdelivered on 17 January 1947. How­ever, production of the necessaryengines had reached 160, most ofwhich were placed in storage. A

handful were later diverted to thenaval Seafang.

The FAA also had some influence onthe engine intake for the carburettorslung beneath the powerplant. Orig­inally this had been of the short vari­ety and incorporated a tropical filter,but on the second prototype,NN667, this had been changed tothe extended version first seen onthe Seafire F.47. Built to a similarspecification as the first prototypethis aircraft suffered from all thehandling faults that afflicted NN664.

When the production version of theSpiteful was authorised it was intend­ed that the powerplant would beeither a Griffon 89 or 90 engine dri­ving a contra-rotating propeller andthat this model would be designatedthe E15. In the event this version wasnot built as delays in progressing theairframe, engine and propeller assem­blies meant that the requirement forthis aircraft had disappeared.

Only one other version of the newfighter was to be constructed, this

97

The last vestige of the Spitfire genre came to fruition with the Supermarine

Attacker which borrowed the wings and undercarriage from the redundant Spiteful

series of aircraft. Contrast this photo with that of the Supermarine 5.6 at the

beginning of this book to really understand the evolution of this most famous of

fighters. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

was the F.16 of which only one was fitted with a two-stage three-speedproduced. This was serialled RB518 supercharger which in turn drove aand flew with a Griffon 101 engine five-bladed propeller.

Although designated as a pure fighter, the Seafang F.32 was clearly equipped for thephoto reconnaissance role as the oblique camera ports reveal. Although destined

never to see any frontline service, both the Spiteful and Seafang were smooth, cleanaircraft which handled well overall. (Fleet Air Arm Museum)

Very much a conglomeration, this air­frame retained the original shortintake, but was fitted with a Seafangbubble hood and windscreen. Usedmainly as a trials machine, RB518 wasfound to be at least 10 mph slowerthan the standard F.XIV version,although it was no slouch as it man­aged 447 mph at 25,500 feet increasingto 494 mph at 27,800 feet which madeit the fastest British piston-poweredaircraft ever built. RB518 was the sub­ject of further trials involving bothengines and propellers.

One of the first combinations evalu­ated was a five-bladed NACA pro­file propeller which allowed theSpiteful to reach a maximum speedof 487 mph. Another evaluationundertaken using RB518 was of aClark Y section contra-rotating pro­peller. This was driven by a Griffon121 engine which was specificallyconfigured for contra-rotating pro­pellers. Under test flight conditionsthe aircraft achieved 470 mph inlevel flight at 30,000 feet.

Investigation of the reduction intop speed was attributed to thepowerplant, although it was notpossible to evaluate the problem asRB518 was to suffer a major enginefailure whilst undertaking a testflight. The ensuing crash landing atChilbolton effectively wrote off thisairframe, especially as it wasdropped later by the recoverycrane, reducing it to scrap. Havingsuffered a series of engine failureswhilst testing the Griffon 101/121engines, the loss of RB518 effective­ly killed the Spiteful programme.

Of the remaining 16 production air­frames built, 13 were sold for scrapin 1948 having only flown sufficienthours to clear the aircraft by themanufacturer and to deliver it to No.6 Maintenance Unit (MU) at RAF

98 WARBIRDTECHi__:w

Brize Norton for storage. Of theremaining airframes, RB520 wasallocated to the Seafang develop­ment programme for which purposeit was fitted with a sting-typearrestor hook.

There was even an attempt to sellthe type overseas, Switzerland hav­ing expressed a strong interest. Somuch so in fact that a group of pilotswere sent to the UK to evaluate theSpiteful which they reported uponfavourably. However, the ability ofBritish bureaucracy to interfere withaircraft exports managed to wreckthe firm's chances of a sale.

Technical specifications of the Spite-

ful were as follows: The span was35 feet 6 inches with a wing area of210 square feet. The fuselage lengthof the F.14 and F.16 was 32 feet 4inches whilst that of the F.15 wasseven inches longer. The power­plant for all versions was the Grif­fon 90 for the five-bladed aircraftwhilst that of the contra-rotatingvariety was from the 101/121series. All were started using theCoffman cartridge starter. Fuelcapacity totalled 178 gallons inter­nally with the capacity to carry anextra 90 or 180 gallons in externaloverload tanks. Range using nor­mal internal fuel was 564 mileswhilst the greatest speed in a divereached 525 mph. In contrast, the

stall speed was 95 mph. The arma­ment for the Spiteful included fourMark.V Hispano 20mm cannonswith a total of 674 rounds whilstexternally the carriage of two 1,000­pound bombs or alternately four300-pound rocket projectiles couldbe carried.

The navalised version of the Spite­ful, the Seafang, was very much anonstarter although, had the hostili­ties in Europe continued, orders forthis aircraft would have undoubted­ly been large. Designated the Type382 by Supermarine, the Seafangwas to feature folding wings, asting-type arrestor hook, structuralstrengthening for the undercarriage

d~~I.~·'IL:~~~~~","'\ REAR FUSELAGE

. ASSEMBLY

" DETACHABLEWINGTIP

The Spiteful and Seafang shared many major components that are illustrated in this assembly drawing. (Eric B MorganCollection)

,.

GRIFFON-POWERED

~r~rW[~ffi~ 99

Although a small aircraft, the Spiteful

was well catered for with access panels.(Eric B Morgan Collection)

units, plus all the other revisionsneeded to create a navalised fighter.To cater to the new aircraft, Specifi­cation No. 5/45 was issued on 21April 1945 by the Air Ministry.However, the FAA was very reluc­tant to accept the new Supermarineoffering as it was seen as inferior tothe DH Sea Hornet and Hawker SeaFury which were already in service.These objections notwithstanding,two development airframes, VB893and 895, were ordered.

Supermarine had already produceda prototype for the Seafang pro­gramme by fitting a Spiteful, RB520,with an arrestor hook. Vickers

100

1 RUDDER TAB SCREW JACK2 ELEVATOR GAP3 ELEVATOR TRIM TAB CONNECTION4 FUEL FILLER CAP5 OIL FILLER CAP6 TOP COWLING PANEL7 SIDE COWLING PANEL8 BOTTM COWLING PANEL9 ENGINE STARTER BREECH10 GEARBOX DIPSTICK11 FIELD TANK CONNECTIONS12 DR COMPASS/REAR FUSELAGE13 FLYING CONTROLSITAILWHEEL UNIT14 ELEVATOR TRIM TAB15 MAIN COOLANT HEADER TANK16'OIL FILLER CAP17 REAR TANK FILLER CAP18 TAILWHEEL STRUT19 RUDDER TRIM TAB CONTROLS20 LOWER RUDDER HINGE21 RADIO22 ELECT GROUND SUPPLY SOCKET23 AILERON ACTUATING ROD24 GUN AND AILERON CONTROL25 RADIATOR FLAP JACK26 AILERON CONTROLS

Supermarine then undertook trialsat the test airfield at High Postbefore declaring the aircraft readyfor service collection. Two years

WARBIRDTECHi__

27 RADIATOR MOUNTING28 ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS29 INBOARD AMMUNITION BOX30 OUTBOARD AMMUNITION BOX31 GUN GAS PLUGS32 FUEL TANK FILLER CAP33 WING ROOT CONNECTIONS34 HYDRAULIC RESERVOIR & CHARGING VALVE35 INTERCOOLER HEADER TANK36 ELEVATOR TRIM TAB SCREW JACKS37 IDENTIFICATION LAMPS38 WINGTIP LAMP TERMINAL BLOCK39 AILERON HINGES40 AILERON CONTROL & FLAP JACK41 WING ROOT CONNECTIONS42 RADIATOR DRAIN PLUGS43 COCKPIT DRAIN44 REAR FUEL TANK45 SADDLE TANK DRAIN PLUGS46 HYDRAULIC SYSTEM DRAIN PLUGS47 PIPE CONNECTIONS48 AILERON CONTROLS49 SUPERCHARGER DRAIN50 MAIN FUEL TANK51 BOTTOM COWLING

later, after being left unused in stor­age, the aircraft was collected onbehalf of the FAA and then struck ofservice charge.

Although the converted Spiteful wasnever used in the test sequence, thetwo development airframes were.Thus at the beginning of 1946, VB895undertook its maiden flight desig­nated as the Seafang Mk.XXXII. Fit­ted with power folding wings and aGriffon 89 that drove a five-bladedpropeller, the Seafang underwentmanufacturer's trials before depart­ing to Farnborough for trials and ser­vice evaluation.

During this period most of the testflights concerned simulated decklandings and revealed a weakness inthe rudder balance horn. After vari­ous unsuccessful attempts tostrengthen this assembly the entirerudder and its mountings were com­pletely redesigned.

Further deck landing trials were car­ried out at Chilbolton and the shoreestablishment RNAS Ford where thebehaviour of the Seafang duringlanding was praised. Its wide-tracklanding gear made the aircraftexceptionally stable on the ground.Some actual carrier landing trialswere later carried out on HMS Illus­trious after which the aircraftreturned to shore-based use.

After the successful conclusion ofthe landing trials, attention wasturned to the performance of theexternal fuel tanks, especially duringdrop trials. These were modifiedfrom earlier models and allowed thefront end of the tank to drop uponpulling of the release mechanism. Asit pulled clear, the electrical and fuelfeeds disconnected and the airflowwould then pull the tank clear of therear mounts. Both 90-gallon and 170­gallon tanks were tested up to anairspeed of 255 mph.

Prior to the delivery of the aircraftallocated to these trials, another air-

frame had been delivered to Farn­borough. This, the sixth airframe,VG741, was designated Mk.31 andwas delivered to Farnborough on 15January 1946 for trials. In contrastto the other Seafangs, this particu­lar machine lacked folding wingsand was fitted with a five-bladedpropeller.

Another aircraft from this batch,VG474, was used to trial Lockheedservodynes in November 1947requiring the removal of the rearfuselage fuel tanks. Overall the sys­tem was praised although the pilotsdid mention that the control columnhad a tendency to creep to full travelinstead of a sudden sharp move­ment. Further trials were undertak­en to determine the type's availablemach number which reached a max­imum of 0.77 although the Seafangwas noted as unstable at speedsapproaching Mach 0.75.

A later series of trials concerningVB895 covered the operation of a newgun bay ventilation system whichdrew its cooling air through leadingedge intakes and vented it out viadump pipes located on the gun baypanels. This modification had beenrequired to combat the build up ofunstable gases in the bay which hadresulted in explosions in the wing.

Although a total of 150 aircraft wereordered, only nine completeSeafangs were delivered whilst a fur­ther seven were delivered in knock­down kit form. This order had origi­nally been for an equivalent numberof Spitefuls although the end of hos­tilities had changed the initialrequirement. Of this total, a few wereused for development and trials usesas mentioned before whilst theremainder were sold off for scrap.The laminar flow wing, however,lived on in another Supermarine

GRIFFON-POWERED

~~~rw~I~~

product. The Attacker jet-poweredattack fighter eventually enteredFAA service in reasonable quantities.

This was originally known as theJet Spiteful for which the navalrequirement E.10 / 44 was issuedunder a MAP specification in mid­1944. The concept behind the air­craft was to use the wings from theSpiteful, for which Supermarinewas already tooled to produce, andally them to a basically circularfuselage. This structure containedthe pilot in a slender forward fuse­lage whilst the designated power­plant was developed from a RollsRoyce centrifugal jet engine laternamed the "Nene."

Test flights of the prototype, TS409,began in July 1946 and revealed anaircraft that handled very wellexcept for a touch of elevator heavi­ness. This was later cured by the useof a spring tab. As only one proto­type had been constructed, thedesign team recommended that atricycle undercarriage be fitted onproduction aircraft. After consulta­tion with the Admiralty, this conceptwas abandoned as the Navyrequired a tail wheel jet aircraft toprove the concept before introduc­ing nose wheel airframes to aircraftcarriers. Eventually, Supermarinebuilt some nosewheel aircraft forboth the RAF and the FAA in theshape of the Swift and the Scimitar.

During this period there were someoverseas enquiries concerning salesof the Seafang from the RoyalNetherlands Navy plus others fromthe French and American armedforces. Although some evaluationflying was undertaken, no saleswere forthcoming, thus both theSpiteful and the Seafang wereunable to fulfil their obvious salespotential.

101

SPITFIRE~·---.,-~LPHABETACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

2TAF 2nd Tactical Air Force FEAF Far East Air Force RAF Royal Air ForceRAuxAF Royal Auxiliary Air

A&AEE Aircraft and Armament GP General Purpose ForceExperimental Establish- RATOG Rocket Assisted Take Offment HMS His/ Her Majesty's Ship Gear

AFDU Air Fighting Develop- RCAF Royal Canadian AirmentUnit MoS Ministry of Supply Force

AFS Advanced Flying School MU Maintenance Unit REAF Royal Egyptian AirAUW All Up Weight Force

NACA National Advisory Com- RNAS Royal Naval Air StationBAFO British Armed Forces mittee on Aeronautics RNVR Royal Naval Volunteer

Overseas NPL National Physics Labo- ReserveBEF British Expeditionary ratory R-R Rolls Royce

Force RSweAF Royal Swedish Air ForceOCU Operational Conversion

CAM Catapult Armed Mer- Unit SEAC South East Asian Com-chantman OTU Operational Training mand

CAP Combat Air Patrol UnitCFE Central Flying Establish- THUM Temperature and

ment PRU Photo Reconnaissance Humidity FlightUnit TT Target Tug

DH De Havilland PRDU Photo ReconnaissanceDTD Directorate of Technical Development Unit UHF Ultra High Frequency

Development USS United States ShipRAE Royal Aeronautical USAAF United States Army Air

FAA Fleet Air Arm Establishment Forces

102

WINGTIP

LEADINGEDGE

AILERON FRONT SPAR REAR SPAR

-J--__

UNDERCARRIAGEBAY RIB 1

WARBIRDTECH

Internally, thelaminar wingfitted to boththe Spitefuland Seafangwas muchsimpler incomparisonwith theearlier Spitfireand Seafire.(Eric BMorganCollection)

i__:w

SIGNIFIC T DATESKEY DATES IN THE HISTORY OF THE GRIFFON-POWERED SPITFIRE

II

18 September 1931Supermarine S6B seaplane achievesWorld Airspeed Record of 379 mph.

February 1934First flight of Supermarine Type224, the link between the S6B andthe Spitfire.

5 March 1935First flight of prototype F.37 I 34,K5054, later to be named the Spitfire.

14 May 1938First flight of production SpitfireMk.1.

13 October 1942Maiden flight of Type 366 SpitfireMk.XII to contract B19713/39 dated23 August 1941. This contract wasoriginally for Spitfire Mk.Vc aircraft.

February 1943No. 41 Sqdn RAF equipped withSpitfire Mk.XII.

24 April 1943First deliveries of second batch ofSpitfire Mk.XII to the same contractnumber dated 12 May 1942. Thisbatch of aircraft was based on theSpitfire Mk.VIII, whilst the firstcontract was based on the Mk.Vc. Atotal of 100 aircraft were built.

October 1943Maiden flight of Supermarine Type369 I 373 I 379 prototype which pre­ceded the production examples ofthe F.XIV, F.XVIII, and reconnais­sance variants ordered under con­tract B980385 I 39 dated 27 July1942. The contract originally cov-

ered an order for Spitfire Mk.VIIIaircraft.

January 1944No. 610 Sqdn equips with SpitfireF.XIY. A total of 957 versions of theF.XIV were built.

27 January 1944Type 368, designated Spitfire F.21,undertakes its maiden flight. Theoriginal contract, B981687 I 39,

dated March 1942, was for SpitfireMk.Vc aircraft. A final number of120 airframes were built.

25 February 1944First flight of Supermarine Type377 I 386 as Seafire xv. ContractAIC 2777/c.23(c) was originallyissued to cover order for Seafire IIIdated July 1943. It was followed bydefinitive contract B124305 I 40dated February 1944. A final total of390 aircraft were built:

June 1944Supermarine Type 398 Seafire XVIIcontracts issued for conversion ofone prototype F.XV to the newstandard. Contract numbersAIR/27771C.23(c) and AIR/3853.These aircraft, 232 in total, werebuilt by Westland and CunliffeOwen.

17 January 1945Maiden flight of Seafire F.45 proto­type. Contract No. B981687 139dated March 1942 modified fromSpitfire Mk.Vc and later F.21contracts. Further contractAIR I 4424/ c.23(c) was issued on 12December 1945 for production air-

GRIFFON-POWERED

SPITFIRES

craft. Designed to Naval require­ment N.7144. A total of 50 airframeswere built.

20 February 1945Maiden flight of prototype PR.19also known as the Supermarine Type389 I 390. The original contract wasdated 2 June 1943. A final total of 225Spitfire PR.19s were manufactured.

21 March 1945First flight of Spitfire E22 built tocontract B981687/39 dated 2 June1943. This contract was originallyfor Mk.Vc before being changed tothe Type 356. The manufacturersconstructed a total of 278 of thisvariant.

2 April 1945Contract AIR 18771C.23(c), dated14 August 1943, converted from theoriginal Spitfire E21 order to coverthe Type 371 I 393 Spiteful fighterwhich first flew on this date.

May 1945No. 802 Sqdn, FAA receives the pro­duction Seafire EXY.

19 June 1945The first production version of theSpitfire EXVIII undertakes its maid­en flight. These aircraft were origi­nally ordered as Mk.VIII airframesto contract Air 11877 I c.23(c) dated 1December 1942. A total of 300 wereconstructed.

September 1945Supermarine Seafire EXVII entersservice with No 88 Sqdn of the FleetAir Arm.

103

5 November 1945First flight of Type 388/374 SeafireF.46 produced to contractB981687/39 originally for SpitfireMk.Vc dated March 1942. A total of24 of this version were built.

15 January 1946Maiden flight of Supermarine Type396 designated Seafang Mk.31.

27 February 1946Development of F.22, the F.24, makesits maiden flight. Built to modifiedcontract A/C5795/C.23(c), dated 15

November 1945, it originally cov­ered an order for the F.22. Only 54 ofthis version were built from newwhilst a further 27 were convertedfrom unused F.22 airframes.

25 April 1946First flight of Seafire F.47, the finalversion of the type. A final total of90 airframes were constructed bySupermarine.

September 1946No. 778 Sqdn (a training unit) re­equips with the Seafire FA5.

August 1947No. 1832 Sqdn equips with SeafireF.46, the only unit to do so.

April 1949No. 800 Sqdn FAA re-equips withthe Seafire FRA7.

14 June 1957Final flight by operational Spitfirewhen THUM Flight retired theremaining Spitfire PR.19s.

Spiteful RB518 was originally built as an F.XIV before being converted to F.XVI standard in 1947. Used mainly as a testaircraft, it suffered a series of engine out landings whilst trialing the Griffon 101 engine and associated contra-rotatingpropeller assembly. It was finally written off when it made a forced landing after engine failure which pushed the main gearunits up through the wings. (C P Russell Smith Collection)

104 WARBIRDTECHi.....

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