Supermarine Spitfire - From Failure to Icon

From the failure of the Supermarine Type 224 lessons had to be drawn yet the Spitfire became an iconic warbird. Let's have a closer look. Learn about modern RAF Air Operations: • How RAF Air Operations...
This video was sponsored by the Royal Air Force.
Patreon: / milavhistory
⚜ Find Me On Social Media ⚜
Twitter: / milavhistory
Instagram: / milaviationhistory
Facebook: / militaryaviationhistory
⚜ Sources ⚜
Alfred Price, The Spitfire Story
Eric Morgan, Spitfire - The History
A.P. 15657 P.L.-P.N., Pilot's Notes for Spitfire IX,Xi & XVI
⚜ Museums ⚜
Visit Battle of Britain Memorial Flight: www.raf.mod.uk...
⚜ Acknowledgements ⚜
I'd like to thank the staff of their Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Bunker for their kind welcome and assistence. Thank you also to Alan W., Charlie, Ellie R., Jenny Q.-J., Will C. and Will M.-J..
⚜ Music ⚜
Music and Sfx from Epidemic Sound
⚜ DISCLAIMER ⚜
BBMF Emblem (C) Crown Copyright
#sponsored #Spitfire #RAF

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Hey all, very glad to see you all enjoying this video. Slight hickup on the engine information - it happens. Happy to see that some of you caught it, feels great to have such a dedicated community of aviation fans :)

[@gamingenterpriseinc3682]

amazing video man. very enjoyable to watch.

[@ianclaproth3675]

Yep. Not an inverted V, but a "right way up" V config. Great presentation Bismarck. Subscribed.

[@gus2747]

Nice job... Why did the restoerers decide to extend the clipped wing?

[@SuperGreenough]

Gus I’d imagine it was purely for the BBMF flight to make sure it was more easily recognisable, not many of the clipped wing variants are ever shown and the wing shape makes it easy for most to identify from the Hurricane. Though personally I’d like to see the clipped wing variants flying as I’ve never seen one despite having seen lots of Spits!

[@Neneset]

Regarding the clipped vs standard (or even elongated) wing tips, keep in mind that they could be switch easily by the ground crew. It took about 30 minutes or so to change them, if desired. In practice, by the time this airframe was in service, almost all Mk IXs, regardless of LF, F or HF (designations determined by the presence of a Merlin 66, Merlin 60 or Merlin 70 respectively) were flying with clipped wings as the air-to-air role was decreasing in significance for the short ranged Spitfire and the newer Mk XIVs were seen as enough to fulfill the air-to-air role.

[@C4Cole05]

This is super cool that a youtuber gets to collaborate with the RAF

[@neilwilson5785]

He's good at this. Please do the Beaufighter!

[@Bollockmetwotimes]

Hey Neil, you know of one of these to view in the UK?

[@jamesmulligan7413]

@@Bollockmetwotimes I know there is a cockpit section of one in Bristol

[@rovercoupe7104]

Inverted vee 12? M.

[@MarsFKA]

@@rovercoupe7104 In the Spitfire? The engines were/are the right way up.

[@colinrussell2857]

Two from the RAF? And of the sexiest plane in the world? And with excellent camera work? You really spoil us bis

[@rentaspoon219]

I'd argue the sexiest is the hurricane but it's like choosing between your girl or her slightly older sister

[@colinrussell2857]

@@rentaspoon219 honestly yeah. I just think the hurricane is a little too bulky

[@gwtpictgwtpict4214]

@@colinrussell2857 There's nowt wrong with a well built lass :-). Or their slimmer sister for that matter. Oh decisions, decisions....

[@colinrussell2857]

@@gwtpictgwtpict4214 aye that's fair. Used to love the hurricane more but I've changed my tastes a but. I will say she's a rugged plane and will take anything you throw at her

[@mandernachluca3774]

To everyone their own taste, my favorite would be the Bf109, mainly because the early versions looked so crude and industrial, i love it ;D.

[@eric3844]

Holy crap, the actual, literal Royal Air Force helped sponsor this video. That is absolutely amazing

[@jessicalacasse6205]

yeah by they fup the history of the plane so f ing bad for a history museum...

[@armin4823]

Pure joy to watch. That hangar is probably the coolest backdrop you can get and that rolling shot at the start is great!

[@ex59neo53]

I would be crazy as hell being so close to thoses beauties ... I guess he enjoyed spending time there :)

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Cheers!

[@csage3505]

I've been there and it was absolutely amazing

[@MrJelioy]

What have we done to deserve two RAF videos? I really hope there will be more to come. One about the Hurricane would be more than appreciated. Spitfire sure is the most beautiful plane that has ever flown.

[@corbeau8618]

I don't usually comment, but holy shit I need to say this. You have seriously upped your videos' quality. This is actually amazing. This is something I could see being aired on TV. Keep it up!

[@neilwilson5785]

Better than TV. The TV channels can't get this level of detail without losing the mainstream audience. This is why I am on KZbin so often, and TV a lot less.

[@austinrobbins1102]

Exactly what I said on his last vid, like we don’t deserve bis lol and think about this, I’m pretty sure his vids are demonetized because yt thinks history and military history isn’t advertiser friendly, despite being some of the classiest videos on the platform.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

@@austinrobbins1102 thanks. Yes, sadly demonitizations are an issue but thank fully they are usually only temporary until reviewed. Sadly this often takes a day or two.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Thank you. I had a professional team with me on this one, the visuals and sound are their achievement.

[@austinrobbins1102]

Military Aviation History good to hear that they are, at least, trying to be reasonable.

[@GregsAirplanesandAutomobiles]

I really enjoyed that. It's an excellent video with some good content. I really liked getting to see the various cooler locations and fluid reservoirs you pointed out. Showing the details of the wing structure was good as well. I know you mis-spoke at one point calling the Merlin an 'inverted" engine, but who cares? We all know what you meant, and it's really hard to speak for 20mins straight without a single slip up, I can't do it. Again, great job, and I am looking forward to the next one.

[@ponddipper91]

I find it crazy how these machines, and all other war equipment, was built by the thousands, and now there are so few left in such great condition. Major props to those who maintain these machines and also to you Bismarck! Love these videos,!

[@dambuster6387]

A majority where scraped with hind site they should have preserved a few more.

[@cgaccount3669]

@@dambuster6387 Even today I was talking with a old fighter pilot while touring a local museum in Canada. He said they had to "guilt" the company to get a retired F18 for their museum. It was destined to be scrapped. I was happy to hear our used Leopard tanks had no buyers so they were looking at turning a lot over to museums!

[@cf6282]

War was over they were scrapped by the thousands. Fortunately a number of them were retained at airbases. Fortunately quite a number of Spitfires were restored over the years. At the annual Flying Legends show 16 Spitfires of various Marks flew in formation. That nearly complements a full squadron. If you have about 2 million pounds to burn you can get yourself one.

[@cf6282]

CG Account My country could no longer afford the Leopard tanks and wanted to sell them to Indonesia and make a nice buck. But somehow it was politically incorrect, don’t ask me why. So we sold them to Germany. Ok problem solved? Partly the Germans sold the tanks to....Indonesia. A couple of years on we have funding again. So what do we do.....lease German tanks. It would be funny if it wasn’t sad.

[@dukecraig2402]

Niiiiiiiiiice👍👍👍 It really is a shame that Mr Mitchell didn't live to see his beautiful aircraft turn out to be such a icon of military aviation, but thank God he was there to do it, RIP Reginald J Mitchell 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧👍👍👍

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

My mother was a nurse in World War II in London. She was a pretty attractive young woman and so they had her taken care of Pilots that have been burned in their Spitfires. The positioning of the gas tanks out of necessity was fairly tragic and reality. Many British Pilots lost their vision and in many cases their faces dude fuel fires in the Spitfire. Before you question that or dismiss remember my mother took care of them. The burn Ward for the pilots featured many young attractive nurses to cheer up the pilots. That's how my mother had chosen to work there.

[@noelnicholls1894]

Our neighbor when I grew up was one of those with a burned face. The beginning of plastic surgery

[@Charners]

@@noelnicholls1894 this was already conducted from WW1 as medicine and cosmetic surgery developed

[@ronaldweed6103]

Had to break her heart,at times

[@monsieurcommissaire1628]

Bless her heart. It's likely that hers was the first face many of the injured pilots saw upon awakening. It's not too difficult to imagine them believing that they were encountering an angel. Sounds to me like they'd be right.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

@@monsieurcommissaire1628 it was to cheer them up. They would assign pretty nurses to the wards and patients well they're undergoing reconstructive plastic surgery on the damaged parts of their faces. Many of the procedures you know today for people to have injuries repaired or even to upgrade their appearance we're pioneered by the military to heal their injured men and woman. I think they started trying to reconstruct to a small degree during the civil War. Then the introduction of blistering gases into warfare resulted in an enormous amount of injured men and women to a lesser degree that needed to help to even begin to live a semi normal life. Plastic surgery and a lot of medical breakthroughs owe a lot to the military.

[@antivalidisme5669]

Love your Britain trip videos, what a great couple of weeks. While I'm not especially a planes addict, as both an engineer and modern History fan, listening to you talking about all the technical stuff and the story behind the concept and the modifications while admiring all the details of this beautiful piece of aircraft is delightful. What a nice hangar! Love the Spitfire/Dakota line of sight. If the most classy sponsor award of all the YT sphere was to be discerned I would have my money on you Bismarck! 9:51 have to share this with my colleagues!

[@Splattle101]

Good video. :D Regarding the 'Don't touch anything,' comment from the test pilot, he later explained that this was a normal procedure. He didn't want anything changed before he'd given his report and it could be fully analysed. It wasn't really an endorsement, it was an instruction.

[@JamesLaserpimpWalsh]

Great work Bismarck. Love the new vids you are doing.

[@flare2000x]

At 3:13 you made a mistake, the Merlin V12 was not inverted.

[@taotoo2]

As I learnt from Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles today.

[@arthurpendragon9079]

And again at 6:59. Vee engine, not inline.

[@Dr_Reason]

At the time it was not uncommon to refer to the Merlin and the Alison as "inline" engines. I suppose this was in contrast to radial engines.

[@Wesrl]

German love their inverted engines

[@krzysztofwaleska]

@@Wesrl yes. To the point that they describe uninverted v engines as inverted. Based on author's words. Strange. Almost all ferraris have v engines, and nobody says that they are all inverted. Audi/vw - the same thing.

[@cannonfodder4376]

A fantastic video as always Bis, stellar and informative.

[@morskojvolk]

Wow. Probably your best video to date. This was fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you!

[@MyILoveMinecraft]

Honestly I think it's school that history KZbin has come so far by now that somebody who is very in depth and serious about his content can get a chance to work with the freaking RAF

[@Ingens_Scherz]

I'm just blown away by the quality of KZbin documentary journalism in general these days, but of this channel in particular. I'm so glad I've discovered it.

[@DagarCoH]

Camera work and your body language both were excellent. Did you take some stage courses?

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Thanks, I haven't :)

[@ColinHarvey78]

Super, detailed video. Learned more about the Spitfire in this than anywhere else!

[@MrrMatts]

I live near Goodwood and it is an absolute joy to see spitfires flying. In the summer you see them almost daily.

[@cf6282]

MrrMatts Oh Dear you are lucky. I was lucky to catch a Spitfire flying into Redhill Aerodrome. Just had dinner in a Pub visiting from the continent. I heard the magnificent sound of a Merlin as it screamed overhead. Had the family bolt to the car to see it at the Aerodrome. It was a PR version a very rare bird indeed. It took of for a display above a castle where an open air night of the proms was conducted. I can imagine her showing up right at the moment Land of Hope and glory was playing. It gives me chills again.

[@daseladi]

Great video. Your strong point , among other things, objectivity. No nonsense approach, I like it.

[@watchfordpilot]

Excellent video Mr Bismark, thanks.

[@Mannock]

After over fifty years of reading about the Spitfire, I thought that I knew all there was to know, short of flying it. I am delighted to say that I learned a lot from this film, including the two fuel tanks. Also, I don't have an aversion to the clipped wings either. Good work, Bismarck!

[@Cranky0ldMan]

this is outstanding content, thanks to RAF for sharing with all of us, thank you

[@waynesimpson2074]

...and the lad is not reading from a teleprompter...He is seriously into his stats and data. Anyone who gives a nod to Britain's greatest female engineer gets subscribed, count me in. Superb.

[@markfryer9880]

Damn good video Bismarck, have to watch again tonight after work. Green with envy at your filming location you lucky bastard. :)

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

The BBMF hangar can be visited by the public afaik, well worth a visit.

[@veterankasrkin7416]

Spacefire is life, Spacefire is love.

[@martentrudeau6948]

Very well done the video has a great look, you are a true fountain of knowledge, Thanks Bismarck

[@funkyalfonso]

Sponsored by the RAF. I nearly fell off my chair. Another excellent video.

[@shermansquires3979]

Great vid!, thanks, really enjoyed this!

[@Lusitani74]

I could live there.... Great video herr Bismarck! Gratz on the sponsors also..

[@donsharpe5786]

A very good description on the development of an iconic aeroplane. Thank you

[@jamescollins908]

That was great mate Thanks from london really enjoyed that Thanks. Sincerely from england Jc

[@Charlieboterman]

This is a gem of a video.

[@GingerNinja__]

Bismarck: LF means low flying War Thunder: lmao spacefires for everyone!

[@spindash64]

GingerNinja They aren’t in space, the WT Meta is just Low Alt to Mid Alt. You rarely go above 7km in Air RB

[@sidarist]

We have a full Spitfire plus a few guns, and engine and other bits in our local museum. Thats is because it is Hanley Museum which is in the birthplace of RJ Mitchell. We also have the Saxon Gold Horde too. Not bad for a small city.

[@bobswan6196]

I remember reaching up to touch one of the canons on that Spit but it (the canon barrel) wasn't real - just a wooden facsimile. It drooped down when I touched it - almost came right off.

[@yeanlingRAMBO]

My favourite aircraft in my birthday! Love your videos!

[@mitchfromtheinternet297]

I’m named after R J Mitchell, so I’ve always had a soft spot for Spits, great vid.

[@Mugofbrown]

A brilliant video Bismarck. It must be great to have it sponsored by the Royal Air Force. Can they help you do one on the Hurricane please? Maybe a video on the genius of Sydney Camm too? Hurricanes served during D Day which is a story often forgotten. I was hoping that the BBMF would have painted "The Last Of Many" in D Day stripes this year.

[@johnburns4017]

The Mk 9 with the Stanley Hooker two-stage, two-speed supercharging was a quantum leap at the time. When it first came out it trashed the FW-190s, which up until then had its way.

[@busterdee8228]

A deeper look. It reminds me of how doggedly RR worked to refine the Merlin. You sure are thorough. Very interesting.

[@andrewsan1997]

this is the kind of stuff id expect from a museum. This is fantastic!

[@ZenZaBill]

Nicely done. Great video and production... BRAVO!

[@FroggyFrog9000]

Wow that is a basically brand new condition spit 9!! :)

[@brianmoore1164]

A fantastic video! I hope you get a chance to cover that lovely Hurricane we see in the background.

[@stellarpod]

Very informative segment. As always, thanks so much for sharing. Steve

[@TIHIR1]

Awesome, you have really come a long way and have made some super content, this is just excellent! Thank you ;)

[@GreatistheWorld]

Dude, you’re sponsored by the Royal Fucking Air Force. Been a journey following this channel man

[@SCVIndy]

Excellent review

[@FroggyFrog9000]

Man! That hanger is awesome!!

[@CMDRFandragon]

Mk IXc 25Lb, that plane was amazing in IL2 FB 1946 flight sim. Flew that baby into some hilarious battles and came out on top. Flew a couple MkVs in that game as well, one where I flew clear back to base with no less than about 6 BF109s on my ass. Only the Spit's amazing turn radius and great low speed manuverability keeping me alive. Landed alive and well at the base.

[@nmarks]

The aircraft shown in the image before the video plays is actually spitting fire. 👍

[@mg_claymore8611]

Nice Chipmonk. Those are good trainers to learn tail dragers.

[@jimzivny1554]

Good video, loved seeing the other aircraft

[@davidguerrero9270]

Thank you for this and all your videos, I learn so much!!

[@RoyCousins]

The BoB Flight hangar at RAF Coningsby is a great place to visit. They're currently preparing the aircraft for the display season.

[@Mikey-xz4vn]

1:57 - no love for the Hawker Hurricane in the background? D:

[@austinrobbins1102]

Michael Piperni just a theory, but it might be that he doesn’t want to spoil a future vid, I could be wrong lol

[@cf6282]

Hope Bismarck makes a special video for the Hurricane. We know what she did in France and we know she shot down more Germans than the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain. Much praise to Sydney Camm and the team at Hawker.

[@rodgeranderson4922]

my thoughts exactly, the Hurricane did most of the work and the Spitfire got the glory.

[@mr.nobody6457]

Very interesting video! Thank you.

[@petergouldbourn2312]

I love your channel Bismark. 🇬🇧

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

The Spitfire DCLXVI featured a Rolls Merlin 666 engine...it was a real beast

[@neilwilson5785]

Wow you've upped your game even more! Great stuff.

[@carlosteran5617]

Bismark, nodody but you to show deep this magnificent Bird, that I am close to build, 1:48 Mk lX early versión US Air force Tunisia June1943. Soooo thanks a lot as usual to keep US un touch with those mix of history and metal that se do love so much!!!!!

[@michaelegan6092]

Gave you a thumbs up in spite of you saying that the Merlin was "inverted". The other mistake is that 5,000 metres is not 20,000 feet. 6,000 metres is 19,685 feet. Quite a difference but good video all the same.

[@M1Garand22]

Great video Bismarck.

[@colinbaldwin8769]

Thanks again for your totally informative videos. I hesitate to ask because I can appreciate the enormous effort it must take to produce stuff of this high quality but would you consider doing a vid on the de Havilland Mosquito? Just a thought!

[@stevebroughton4787]

Brilliant video. Forget the politics of the 1930's/40's.......Germany, Britain and America had some awesome machines.

[@ldblokland463]

HOLD UP, you got sponsored by the RAF? Nice

[@jaroslavhorak2299]

That Lancaster in the background tho.. 😍😍

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Hey Jaroslav, thanks for supporting the channel - could you send me a msg on the Facebook group so I can invite you to the Discord server? facebook.com/MilitaryAviationHistory/

[@zacharytuttle5618]

0 dislikes :o hope you're able to do something beyond KZbin I think you have what it takes assuming you want to. Great work as always

[@neilwilson5785]

First time I've checked a claim for 0 dislikes, and it is still 0. The backlash from the Star Wars, Gaming, and alt-right woman haters is on it's way... brace yourselves...

[@zacharytuttle5618]

@@neilwilson5785 star wars fans, gamers, and the alt right hate informative videos on the spitfire? News to me

[@austinrobbins1102]

Neil Wilson what the fuck are you on about m8?

[@Zajuts149]

Nice primer for when Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles does his in-depth study on the performance of the Spitfire:)

[@Uliio]

You should consider giving this a different thumbnail. Amazing video 👌!

[@aewhatever]

As really a novice to the exact details . I look at this plane and think to myself, man this plane looks like it wants to fly itself. Like its it's own living breathing being with it's own heart beat. Almost like it doesn't need a pilot to fly it.

[@eugenemurray2940]

As per the pilots... One does not climb into it... You put it on like a suit of clothes

[@karenshortland6238]

Very interesting video. I hope you get to do some more in the BBMF hangar - one of my favourite places to visit when i'm up in Lincolnshire! Now following you here and on twitter :-)

[@eugenemurray2940]

Bismark...Wow! See you on TV...😊

[@chops0075]

Fun fact: many marks of the Spitfire had wood props, including the late marks, with the 5 bladed props. Apparently they still make them somewhere in Germany.

[@monsieurcommissaire1628]

That's really cool. The skills it must take to make them...

[@Gibbo263]

Nice to see my recommendation

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

You did an amazing job with the video👏

[@davidsabillon5182]

Awesome stuff man 👍

[@rovercoupe7104]

Very interesting. Thank you. M.

[@faeembrugh]

I once sat in a Spitfire XVI and, though not super-tall at 5' 11'' but with quite big shoulders, I found it amazingly snug to sit in. I can imagine that flying one for more than an hour would be pretty uncomfortable.

[@simonmcgough7336]

MY FAVOURITE AIR PLANE IS THE SPITFIRE MK 1,,,,

[@stewartw.9151]

The Spitfire was never even close to being any sort of failure as the title of this video seems to suggest. It also never used an inverted V12 engine! The 224 was actually going to be called "The Shrew" believe it or not but was not considered for production at all, as that was a failure but can hardly be called a true ancestor of the Spitfire being built to a specification laid down by the Air Ministry. The Spitfire was not designed to an Air Ministry spec, but to what Mitchell himself had in mind. That of course is how many excellent aircraft came about - essentially in defiance of the relatively clueless Whitehall bureaucrats! The Spitfire was a success from the prototype's first flight at the hands of Mutt Summers, who stepped out after that flight with the words "it is perfect, don't change a thing!" No doubt in his excitement he exaggerated a little, not surprising! Of course the prototype was not ready for service and in any advanced piece of new high performance machinery there are always bugs to sort out. That the Spit was a resounding success is evidenced by the fact of it's successful development through so many marks over many years of continuous service.

[@darrenjpeters]

It was almost perfect, the narrow track undercarriage would be my major criticism of the aircraft. Definitely a thoroughbred performer once in the air.

[@Bikerbob59]

Good video thanks.

[@musicbruv]

I cannot imagine a cry of "Auchtung shrew" instilling much fear in German pilots, maybe their laughing would have hindered them. Great video Biz on my favourite mark of spitfire. BTW I have heard it said by purist Spitfire lovers that the MK IX was the last true Spitfire.

[@markfryer9880]

You mean before the introduction of the Griffon.

[@markfryer9880]

Can't really imagine anyone being a Shrew Snob can you?

[@musicbruv]

@@markfryer9880 Yes, before the Griffon. I have heard that some German pilots claimed they were shot down by Spitfires rather than admit is was a Hurricane, however it may have been the other way round if a Shrew shot them down. lol

[@austinrobbins1102]

Would make for a funny bit in a comedy sketch lol

[@Caratacus1]

'Spitfire' and 'Shrew' were contemporary names for hot-tempered women. The legend says that Mitchell was thinking of his daughter who apparently wasn't afraid to stand up for herself!

[@iskandartaib]

If you ever visit Bangkok, there's a FRXIVe at the Thai Air Force Museum, near Don Mueang. They also have a Fairey Firefly and a whole bunch of other stuff, including a Mig-21. What really surprised me was a AV8A Harrier.

[@cleverusername9369]

I find it hilarious, ironic, and super ballsy of a dude named Bismarck who clearly knows his history to be hanging out with the freaking _RAF_ 🤣 like "terribly sorry, didn't we sink you in the war?" Joking aside love the video, this is excellent work and you're a great presenter.

[@ConanTheContrarian1]

Missing from every discussion I've ever seen regarding the Battle of Britain and, of course, the Spitfire is an article I read years ago in The American Inventor. It turns out that a French chemist fleeing from Vichy France went to work with DuPont, I think, and figured out a way to make 100+ octane gasoline. This was an incredible boost to the power of the Spitfire, which hadn't been remarkably successful against the Messerschmidts before that, and was the real story behind the success of the Spitfire, as the Germans only had 87 octane gas.

[@chopchop7938]

The American's made high octane fuel available to the British before the BoB. Eventually the British recieved 100-130-150 octane rating American fuel. The British always conveniently leave out this fact. The Germans had 87 octane fuel. Without the American fuel the sputfire would have been decimated by the far superior German fighters of the time.

[@iroscoe]

@@chopchop7938 Who left it out I've read a few histories of the BoB and they all mention it .

[@newlifenewlife8433]

thanks very informative

[@callsign.jester]

sponsored by THE RAF??????? Subbed and liked

[@thegreatdominion949]

Photographic reconnaissance Spitfires could carry a large amount of fuel in their wings (giving them a range of up to 2000 miles on internal fuel) without any major ill-effects on handling, but, of course, this came at the expense the ability to carry armament and ammunition. There really wasn't such a thing as a long-range armed Spitfire. Even with drop tanks, the relatively small internal fuel capacity of armed spits would always be the most significant limiting factor preventing major extensions of their effective combat range.

[@thegreatdominion949]

@HiWetcam The Mark VII and VIII Spits had the greatest internal tankage at 122 gallons which enabled them to fly approximately 660 miles on internal fuel under optimal conditions. The maximum effective range of these aircraft would have been just shy of 1200 miles with a 90 gallon slipper tank which would need to be dropped before entering a dogfight. Of course these figures are at cruising speeds at the most fuel efficient altitudes. Increased power usage and fuel consumption during combat reduces the effective range considerably. 500 miles from base would probably be the maximum combat radius of these extended range Spitfire fighters, and that is probably being generous. As such they were certainly not in the same league as the P51 B-Ds which routinely sortied to rendezvous with bomber formations over 700 miles distant from their bases, though the Mustangs had to basically become flying gas cans to accomplish this.

[@Statist0815]

Ich war sehr oft in Flugzeugmuseen in England. Speziell in Sommerset und Cornwall waren die Leute immer sehr nett. Darum freut es mich das ein unvoreingenommener neutraler (Amateur ?) Historiker aus der Bundesrepublik von der RAF gefördert wird. Ich wünschte wir hätten die ländlichen Pubs in DE ;)

[@antonioperez2623]

Fantastic video and very educational. My only comment is instead of the camera following you in circles, I would rather see images of the of the model aircraft you were discribing. Still a top video.

[@howardchambers9679]

Can you do the Hurricane as well please. A very underrated aircraft

[@Red-Magic]

For those who wish to have the closest experience to the Spitfire, hop on DCS. Digital Combat Simulator focuses on the peculiarities of aircraft, and currently features four warbirds: BF-109K-4, FW-190D-9, P-51D-25/30, and the Spitfire LF Mk.IXc. It is a very challenging aircraft, but the feeling of reward when you make your first grass landing in the Spitfire is immense.

[@billsmith5166]

Great job!

[@Idahoguy10157]

Britain is very fortunate both the Hurricane and Spitfire were bought by the RAF

[@KB9813]

Merlin was inverted V12? Okay. Your German superiority is coming out Bismarck eh?

[@karlbrundage7472]

Glad I scanned the comments for this. I didn't want to pile-on.........................

[@GVBiggs524]

oops, he said that Rolls Royce had just come out with a new INVERTED V-12 called the Merlin, I'll wager he was thinking about the Diamler Benz DB-601! And I see that has been commented on already! Aside from that, awesome video!