Supermarine Spitfire Mk.II

Foamboard scratch build RC Plane Warbird WWII fighter model

Materials: XPS foam 5mm 1050x500 (or Depron 3mm, 6mm) + Balsa wood 4x4,4x8 mm, aircraft plywood 2mm, UHU Por glue
Wingspan: 1040mm (41")
Length: 880mm
Flying Weight: 390g (13,8 oz)
Motor: X2305 KV1450 (25g)
Propeller: 1147 or 1080
Receiver: FrSky S6R (12g)
ESC: SunnySky X 18A (9g)
Servos:EMAX ES08D II (9g) x 5
LiHV battery: 1100mah 2S 7.6V
Stainless Steel Spring Wire 2 mm
Wheels 40 mm
Carbon Strips: 0.5mm x 3mm
Carbon Rods: 1mm
Round Pivot Pins D2.5 x W8 x L33mm:
Hinge Linker (24mm):
Nylon Control Horn with Clevis (0,52+0,34g):
Control Horn (0,5g)
Transparent plastic screws 4x16

Plans

Print in actual size (100%) A3 297x420mm (old version) and A4 (210×297mm) with different motor mount (look at the image below) Download A1, A2, A3 and A4 PDF (€3) в pубляx

Part 1: Wing with retractable landing gear

 

Part 2: Fuselage and Tail

Flight

WWII British fighter
One of the greatest legends in aviation history is undoubtedly the British Supermarine Spitfire.

Designed at the Supermarine plant by the famous 1930s record-breaking seaplane designer, engineer Reginald Mitchell. A prototype with an index of 300, which made its first test flight on March 5, 1936, confirmed the expectations. He turned out to be very fast, maneuverable and easy to control.

In 1937, the production of the serial version of the Spitfire Mk.I began, armed with four 7.7 mm machine guns. To this end, new orders were placed at Castle Bromwith and a contract was signed for the production of 1,000 aircraft. By the end of October 1939, a total of 4,000 copies had been ordered.

From the 175th produced copy, the Spitfires were equipped with very efficient Rolls-Royce Merlin III engines and metal three-blade propellers with variable pitch. During the production of Spitfires, armored glass was also introduced in the front of the cockpit and a steel plate to protect the back of the pilot's head and shoulders.

Two variants of the Mk.l version were produced - the Mk.lA variant armed with 8 Browning 7.7 mm machine guns and the Mk.lB variant with 2 20 mm cannons and 4 7.7 mm rifles.

 

The "Spitfire" plane was produced by the English label Vickers Supermarine. During World War II, it was considered to be one of the smallest and best fighter planes in Western countries, fighting against the Nazis. The name "Spitfire" literally means "spitting fire".

Work on the construction of this aircraft began long before World War II, in 1925. This year, the constructor of Supermarine, Reginald J. Mitchell, began work on the construction of the aircraft intended for the international competition for the Schneider Cup. The plane designed by him later became the progenitor of the famous "Spitfire" fighter. After adjusting the plane for military purposes, it became the smallest and simplest fighter, at the same time heavily armed, with four machine guns and two cannons. The armament was basically variable, related to a given type or version. In this model, two 20mm cannons and four 7.7mm machine guns.

The aircraft was powered by a 12-cylinder in-line (liquid-cooled) Rolls Royce "Merlin" engine, and in later versions of the "Griffin" by the same manufacturer. Landing gear retracted in flight to the sides. A characteristic feature of the "Spitfire" was that it had a liquid cooler under the right wing, an oil cooler under the left wing, and an air trap for the carburetor under the fuselage.

During the war, the "Spitfire" planes were built in more and more new versions. About 40 different versions and variants were built, almost 23,000 in total.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB

The most famous English fighter in the world, during the Second World War, was derived from the aircraft that set world speed records in the 1930s. Eng. R. J. Mitchell designed the fighter which exceeded the terms of the order. It was made at the Supermarine factory, where the first flight of the prototype took place on March 5, 1936. Thanks to the excellent properties of the aircraft, serial production began in 1937. The Spitfire I, powered by a Rolls-Royce RR Merlin II engine, had a twin-bladed propeller and was armed with four 7.7mm machine guns. The IA version already had eight, the IB version was armed with two 20mm cannons and 4 machine guns. 1,566 version I aircraft were produced. In 1940, the IIA and IIB versions with the RR Merlin XII engine with 846 kW (1,150 HP) were created.

The first Spitfires entered service in June 1938. In September, 9 squadrons of the RAF were fully equipped with these fighters. By July 1940, 19 squadrons already had the Spitfire I. During the Battle of Britain, they were still a minority in British fighter aviation. At the end of 1940, they began entering the service of the Spitfire II. New versions of the fighter - Spitfire V entered service in March 1941. It differed from versions I and II by the use of the new Merlin 45 engine with 1445 HP, also by the strengthening of the fuselage and the thickness of the armor plates protecting the pilot. In addition, various types of wing were developed in the event of a need to change weapons. The V version was used to combat German fighters over the mainland (France and Germany, so-called sweep-not-sweep). Polish squadrons received this version of fighters in July and August 1941 (Squadron 303, 308 and 315), and then other squadrons. They were mainly Spitfires VB, on which Polish pilots flew until the fall of 1943. In addition, the squadrons were armed with the VC version (universal wings, which could be equipped with different sets of weapons: eight machine guns - rarely used, four machine guns and two cannons - the most common type of weaponry, or four cannons. Each universal wing had a 113 kg bomb hook.). The LF VB version, along with other machines, was used by squadrons 303, 306 and 316 (from December 1943 to April 1945). The LF VB version had a shorter wingspan (wing tips cut off) and was intended for operations on low altitudes with high speeds, for assault and ground targets. The construction of the Spitfire V, as well as I and II, are all metal. The fuselage in the front part is reinforced with stringers (cabin cut-out) entering into the rear part with an elliptical cross-section. Wings divided, single-spar, with an auxiliary girder and a working sheet metal sheathing (the nose of the wing formed a caisson). The crocodile flaps have two or three working positions. Friese shuttlecocks, metal, covered with linen. The tail is made of metal, the rudders with horn compensation are covered with cloth. On the controls, trim tabs controlled from the cabin (trimmers). Narrow track single-leg undercarriage, retractable into the wings to the outside. Coolant radiator under the right wing, oil cooler - under the left wing.

Supermarine Spitfire used on almost all fronts of the past war, from its beginning until its victorious end.

 

One of the most famous fighter planes in the world, the "Spitfire", is inextricably linked with the history of World War II, and especially with the victorious air battles in which Allied pilots, participated on various air fronts.

The history of this aircraft dates back to the mid-twenties and is closely related to the excellent constructor of the SUPERMARINE aviation plant, Eng. Reginald J. Mitchell. He designed extremely fast machines that, taking part in the competition for the Schneider Cup, brought the designer well-deserved fame.

In the mid-1930s, Reginald J. Mitchell set about designing a fighter plane. It soon turned out to be the smallest and simplest fighter that could be built with the new Rolls-Royce 1000hp engine. The wings, with an elliptical contour and the resulting excellent aerodynamic properties, housed the then dangerous weapons - 8 machine guns with a caliber of 7.7 mm. It was this weapon - with a firepower that was not available at that time - that this great fighter got its name "Spitfire" (spitting fire or fire-breathing).

On March 5, 1936, the head of the pilots of the experimental aviation plants VICKERS-SUPERMARINE, Capt. J. Summers (affectionately known as "Dog"), after taking off from Eastleigh airport, flew the prototype of the "Spitfire". The flight tests were extremely successful. On June 3, 1936, the Ministry of Aviation ordered 310 machines, and in 1937 it increased the order by a further 200 aircraft. Constructor inż. Reginald J. Mitchell did not live to see the well-deserved satisfaction and fame that the "Spitfire" gained during World War II. He died in 1937. Engineer J. Smith took over the production management.

The first serial planes left the factory in June 1938 and were handed over to the Royal Air Force (RAF). The "Spitfire I" quickly gained high marks from the pilots. The Aviation Ministry ordered 1,000 aircraft. The plant was hastily expanding to cope with new offers. Until Great Britain entered the war (September 3, 1939), the aviation plant had received orders for 2,160 aircraft.

October 16, 1939 became historic for the RAF and England. Because on that day, the "Spitfire" planes shot down two Nazi "He-111" planes. These were the first enemy aircraft to fall on the island since 1918. Other enemy machines were soon destroyed.

"Spitfires" enjoyed well-deserved recognition mainly due to very good weapons and excellent flight properties. They were as fast as their most formidable opponents, such as "Me-109" and "FW-190". They were unsurpassed in terms of maneuverability and maneuverability, which was determined by the lower unit load on the bearing surface and the very favorable load distribution on the elliptical hub. Due to their advantages, they could make tighter turns and therefore were better at wheel combat. The wings were characterized by very good aerodynamic properties in flight at high angles of attack: the plane remained steered until it was completely detached, so that the stall did not cause the machine to roll over undesirably.

Throughout the war, the "Spitfire" remained one of the best aircraft of the Allies. This success was due not only to the talent of R. J. Mitchell, but also to the continuous development work carried out by a team of constructors of VICKERS - SUPERMARINE aviation plants.

The development of the aircraft proceeded simultaneously in several directions. It was about increasing performance by improving aerodynamics and using more powerful engines, getting better range by increasing the capacity of fuel tanks, strengthening weapons and armor, and finally adapting the aircraft to various tasks. Among other things, many versions of the "Spitfire" intended for air reconnaissance, without weapons were produced. It was also adapted to naval tasks, on floats for take-offs and landings on aircraft carriers (with folded wings, known as "Seafire"). A total of 22 thousand. about 40 versions of the "Spitfires".

The first serial "Spitfires" received nine squadrons of the RAF: 19, 41, 54, 65, 66, 74, 602 and 611. The first to be assigned the "Spitfire V" was Squadron 92. In March 1942, 15 machines of the development "five" was given to the squadron stationed in Malta.

The "Spitfires" flew across the Atlantic with additional tanks. Fighter pilots fought on them over almost all of Europe, Africa, the Middle and Far East, and even Australia, where they successfully repelled the Japanese attacks on Darwin Port.

On October 5, 1944, the pilot of Squadron 401 on the "Spitfire XIV" shot down a pirwia Nazi jet "Me-262". A little earlier, on January 1, 1944, the pilot of 610 squadron shot down the first V-1, then called a flying bomb. Our excellent World War II fighter pilot, Major Stanisław Skalski (22 planes for sure shot down), knocked down many Nazi machines while flying on various versions of the "Spitfire".

It is worth recalling the great role played by the "Spitfire" during the Battle of Britain. The enemy very quickly felt that the English defense was vigilant and very active. This was evidenced by the voices of German pilots when they warned each other over the radio: "Achtung, Schipitfeuer". They had to be on guard all the time. English pilots opened fire from an average distance of 200-250 yards, approaching 50 if necessary.

One of the "Spitfire" squadrons attacked, for example, from a diving flight, passing through German bomber formations twice and attacking each time simultaneously from several directions. This tactic caused enormous confusion among the Germans. The enemy bombers had turned almost blindly, it seemed, marking the way back every few miles with the wreckage of flaming or crashed planes.

How was England defended? Well, a wave of high-flying Nazi fighters were attacked halfway between London and the coast by "Spitfires" squadrons, while groups of two or three "Hurricanes" squadrons attacked the bombers and their escorts before they could reach the airports located to the east and south of London. Finally, other squadrons of "Spitfires" formed a third, inner ring patrolling the airports, creating a defensive ceiling securing the southern access to London. Their task was to fight the third wave of air raids and to clean the sky from the remnants of retreating Nazi formations belonging to previous projections. The success of this tactic can be judged by the losses inflicted on the enemy: 11 fighter group alone destroyed 442 planes (from September 11 to October 5, 1940), losing 58 pilots.

Until today, there are still copies of the "Spitfire", which are in museums or as monuments at some military airports.