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Depending on the supercharger fitted, engines were rated as low altitude (e.g.; Merlin 66, Griffon III), where the engine produced its maximum power below about 10,000 feet (3,000 m), medium altitude (Merlin 45), where the engine produced its maximum power up to about 20,000 feet (6,100 m), and high altitude (Merlin 70), where the engine produced its maximum power above about 25,000 feet ...
The amount of lead required to hit a target is a function of the rate of turn of the attacking aircraft and the range to the target. The former is measured using a gyroscope in the sight, while the latter is estimated by the pilot by moving a dial or pointer so that a reticle in the sight matches the wingspan of the target.
An elliptical planform is the most efficient aerodynamic shape for an untwisted wing, leading to the lowest amount of induced drag. The semi-elliptical planform was skewed so that the centre of pressure, which occurs near the quarter- chord position at all but the highest speeds, was close to the main spar, preventing the wings from twisting.
The new wing of the Spitfire F Mk 21 and its successors was designed to help alleviate this problem; the wing's stiffness was increased by 47 percent and a new design of aileron using piano hinges and geared trim tabs meant the theoretical aileron-reversal speed was increased to 825 mph (1,328 km/h).
The Spitfire wing may be classified as: "a conventional low-wing cantilever monoplane with unswept elliptical wings of moderate aspect ratio and slight dihedral".. The wing configuration or planform of a fixed-wing aircraft (including both gliders and powered aeroplanes) is its arrangement of lifting and related surfaces.
Audio recording of Spitfire fly-past at the 2011 family day at RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire Supermarine Spitfire G-AWGB landing at Biggin Hill Airport, June 2024. The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II.
A 60-gallon "slipper" type drop tank was mounted under the centre section and the top surfaces have been painted blue or blue/gray to help camouflage the Spitfire during the long flight across the Mediterranean. The first Spitfire modified to carry bombs was a Malta-based Vc, EP201, which was able to carry one 250 lb (110 kg) bomb under each wing.
Also known as the "universal wing" the new design was standard on the majority of Spitfires built from mid 1942. The design of the wing was altered to reduce labour and manufacturing time and carry various armaments: A type, B type, or four 20 mm Hispano cannon.