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120-537: The Supermarine Spiteful was a British fighter aircraft designed by Supermarine during the Second World War as a successor to the Spitfire . Powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon engine, it had a radical new wing design to allow safe operations at higher speeds and incorporating inwards-retracting undercarriage . Other changes included a larger fin to improve the marginal stability of Griffon Spitfires. Development of

240-573: A rigid fixture . These formers are then joined with lightweight longitudinal elements called stringers . These are in turn covered with a skin of sheet aluminum, attached by riveting or by bonding with special adhesives. The fixture is then disassembled and removed from the completed fuselage shell, which is then fitted out with wiring, controls, and interior equipment such as seats and luggage bins. Most modern large aircraft are built using this technique, but use several large sections constructed in this fashion which are then joined with fasteners to form

360-894: A "sting"-type arrester hook, and two three-blade contra-rotating propellers. However, only the two prototypes ( VB893 and VB895 ) are known to have been completed. With the introduction of the Supermarine Attacker from August 1951, the need for the Seafang disappeared. Smith's laminar flow wing design was used for the Supermarine Type 391 , a variant of the aircraft. Data from Supermarine Aircraft since 1914 General characteristics Performance Armament Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also pursuit aircraft ) are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat . In military conflict,

480-565: A by now mediocre performance. The first Eindecker victory came on 1 July 1915, when Leutnant Kurt Wintgens , of Feldflieger Abteilung 6 on the Western Front, downed a Morane-Saulnier Type L. His was one of five Fokker M.5 K/MG prototypes for the Eindecker , and was armed with a synchronized aviation version of the Parabellum MG14 machine gun. The success of the Eindecker kicked off

600-463: A cadre of exceptional pilots. In the United Kingdom, at the behest of Neville Chamberlain (more famous for his 'peace in our time' speech), the entire British aviation industry was retooled, allowing it to change quickly from fabric covered metal framed biplanes to cantilever stressed skin monoplanes in time for the war with Germany, a process that France attempted to emulate, but too late to counter

720-435: A competitive cycle of improvement among the combatants, both sides striving to build ever more capable single-seat fighters. The Albatros D.I and Sopwith Pup of 1916 set the classic pattern followed by fighters for about twenty years. Most were biplanes and only rarely monoplanes or triplanes . The strong box structure of the biplane provided a rigid wing that allowed the accurate control essential for dogfighting. They had

840-566: A contract for three prototypes. A contract for 6 E.10/44 and 18 E.1/45 (the specification for the naval version) followed in July. The prototype Supermarine Type 392 ( TS409 ), first flew on 27 July 1946. The E.10/44 was not ordered by the Royal Air Force (RAF) due to its performance not being much better than the Gloster Meteor and de Havilland Vampire . The Admiralty expressed an interest in

960-485: A design is intended to be "self jigging", not requiring a complete fixture for alignment. Early aircraft were constructed of wood frames covered in fabric. As monoplanes became popular, metal frames improved the strength, which eventually led to all-metal-structure aircraft, with metal covering for all its exterior surfaces - this was first pioneered in the second half of 1915 . Some modern aircraft are constructed with composite materials for major control surfaces, wings, or

1080-443: A difficult deflection shot. The first step in finding a real solution was to mount the weapon on the aircraft, but the propeller remained a problem since the best direction to shoot is straight ahead. Numerous solutions were tried. A second crew member behind the pilot could aim and fire a swivel-mounted machine gun at enemy airplanes; however, this limited the area of coverage chiefly to the rear hemisphere, and effective coordination of

1200-552: A form that would replace all others in the 1930s. As collective combat experience grew, the more successful pilots such as Oswald Boelcke , Max Immelmann , and Edward Mannock developed innovative tactical formations and maneuvers to enhance their air units' combat effectiveness. Allied and – before 1918 – German pilots of World War I were not equipped with parachutes , so in-flight fires or structural failures were often fatal. Parachutes were well-developed by 1918 having previously been used by balloonists, and were adopted by

1320-645: A great deal of ground-attack work. In World War II, the USAAF and RAF often favored fighters over dedicated light bombers or dive bombers , and types such as the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and Hawker Hurricane that were no longer competitive as aerial combat fighters were relegated to ground attack. Several aircraft, such as the F-111 and F-117, have received fighter designations though they had no fighter capability due to political or other reasons. The F-111B variant

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1440-706: A navalised variation of the Spiteful type, the Supermarine Seafang , but few of those were built either. The wing developed for the Spiteful was used for the Supermarine Attacker jet. In 1942, to improve the rolling characteristics of the Supermarine Spitfire , the British Air Ministry asked Supermarine to devise a new wing for the aircraft and to incorporate a laminar flow wing section in

1560-492: A nearly finished product) is prevalent in the series production of many modern sailplanes . The use of molded composites for fuselage structures is being extended to large passenger aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (using pressure-molding on female molds). This is the preferred method of constructing an all- aluminum fuselage. First, a series of formers in the shape of the fuselage cross sections are held in position on

1680-431: A number of twin-engine fighters were built; however they were found to be outmatched against single-engine fighters and were relegated to other tasks, such as night fighters equipped with radar sets. By the end of the war, turbojet engines were replacing piston engines as the means of propulsion, further increasing aircraft speed. Since the weight of the turbojet engine was far less than a piston engine, having two engines

1800-534: A part of military nomenclature, a letter is often assigned to various types of aircraft to indicate their use, along with a number to indicate the specific aircraft. The letters used to designate a fighter differ in various countries. In the English-speaking world, "F" is often now used to indicate a fighter (e.g. Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II or Supermarine Spitfire F.22 ), though "P" used to be used in

1920-447: A portion of the external load (i.e. from wings and empennage, and from discrete masses such as the engine) is taken by the surface covering. In addition, all the load from internal pressurization is carried (as skin tension ) by the external skin. The proportioning of loads between the components is a design choice dictated largely by the dimensions, strength, and elasticity of the components available for construction and whether or not

2040-622: A range of specialized aircraft types. Some of the most expensive fighters such as the US Grumman F-14 Tomcat , McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle , Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and Russian Sukhoi Su-27 were employed as all-weather interceptors as well as air superiority fighter aircraft, while commonly developing air-to-ground roles late in their careers. An interceptor is generally an aircraft intended to target (or intercept) bombers and so often trades maneuverability for climb rate. As

2160-719: A result, during the early months of these campaigns, Axis air forces destroyed large numbers of Red Air Force aircraft on the ground and in one-sided dogfights. In the later stages on the Eastern Front, Soviet training and leadership improved, as did their equipment. By 1942 Soviet designs such as the Yakovlev Yak-9 and Lavochkin La-5 had performance comparable to the German Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 . Also, significant numbers of British, and later U.S., fighter aircraft were supplied to aid

2280-528: A scratch pane near the passenger. Acrylic is susceptible to crazing  : a network of fine cracks appears but can be polished to restore optical transparency , removal and polishing typically undergo every 2–3 years for uncoated windows. " Flying wing " aircraft, such as the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing and the Northrop B-2 Spirit bomber have no separate fuselage; instead what would be

2400-638: A separate (and vulnerable) radiator, but had increased drag. Inline engines often had a better power-to-weight ratio . Some air forces experimented with " heavy fighters " (called "destroyers" by the Germans). These were larger, usually twin-engined aircraft, sometimes adaptations of light or medium bomber types. Such designs typically had greater internal fuel capacity (thus longer range) and heavier armament than their single-engine counterparts. In combat, they proved vulnerable to more agile single-engine fighters. The primary driver of fighter innovation, right up to

2520-420: A single operator, who flew the aircraft and also controlled its armament. They were armed with one or two Maxim or Vickers machine guns, which were easier to synchronize than other types, firing through the propeller arc. Gun breeches were in front of the pilot, with obvious implications in case of accidents, but jams could be cleared in flight, while aiming was simplified. The use of metal aircraft structures

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2640-478: A single-seat fighter with a laminar flow wing; there was also to be provision made for the pilot to have for good visibility, for the wings to fold , to meet possible Fleet Air Arm requirements, for an armament of 4 × 20 mm (0.787 in) cannon , and for the propellers to be contra-rotating . Specification F.1/43 stated that the new fighter was to use a fuselage based on a Spitfire Mk VIII . Three aircraft with contra-rotating propellers were ordered under

2760-456: A thickness chord ratio of 13% had been used over the inner wing where the equipment is stored. Outboard the wing tapers to 8% thickness/chord at the tip. Specification 470 described how the wing skins were to be relatively thick, aiding rotational stiffness , which was needed for good aileron control at high speeds. Although the prototype was to have a dihedral of 3° it was intended that this would be increased in subsequent aircraft. To improve

2880-402: Is a fast, heavily armed and long-range type, able to act as an escort fighter protecting bombers , to carry out offensive sorties of its own as a penetration fighter and maintain standing patrols at significant distance from its home base. Bombers are vulnerable due to their low speed, large size and poor maneuvrability. The escort fighter was developed during World War II to come between

3000-539: Is able to defend itself while conducting attack sorties. The word "fighter" was first used to describe a two-seat aircraft carrying a machine gun (mounted on a pedestal) and its operator as well as the pilot . Although the term was coined in the United Kingdom, the first examples were the French Voisin pushers beginning in 1910, and a Voisin III would be the first to shoot down another aircraft, on 5 October 1914. However at

3120-445: Is composed of 4–6 panels, 35 kg (77 lb) each on an Airbus A320 . In its lifetime, an average aircraft goes through three or four windshields , and the market is shared evenly between OEM and higher margins aftermarket . Cabin windows, made from much lighter than glass stretched acrylic glass , consists of multiple panes: an outer one built to support four times the maximum cabin pressure, an inner one for redundancy and

3240-616: Is known as an interceptor . Recognized classes of fighter include: Of these, the Fighter-bomber , reconnaissance fighter and strike fighter classes are dual-role, possessing qualities of the fighter alongside some other battlefield role. Some fighter designs may be developed in variants performing other roles entirely, such as ground attack or unarmed reconnaissance . This may be for political or national security reasons, for advertising purposes, or other reasons. The Sopwith Camel and other "fighting scouts" of World War I performed

3360-642: The Air Member for Supply and Organisation was that: "...no reason for giving the name Spitfire to what was a different aircraft and not another Spitfire. Little about the new aircraft was interchangeable with the Spitfire, and continuance of the latter name would be a nuisance from the supply point of view." The Air Council was told in October 1943 that the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

3480-540: The Combined Bomber Offensive . Unescorted Consolidated B-24 Liberators and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, however, proved unable to fend off German interceptors (primarily Bf 109s and Fw 190s). With the later arrival of long range fighters, particularly the North American P-51 Mustang , American fighters were able to escort far into Germany on daylight raids and by ranging ahead attrited

3600-572: The Junkers D.I , made with corrugated duralumin , all based on his experience in creating the pioneering Junkers J 1 all-metal airframe technology demonstration aircraft of late 1915. While Fokker would pursue steel tube fuselages with wooden wings until the late 1930s, and Junkers would focus on corrugated sheet metal, Dornier was the first to build a fighter (the Dornier-Zeppelin D.I ) made with pre-stressed sheet aluminum and having cantilevered wings,

3720-456: The Lockheed Vega ) was built using molded plywood , where the layers of plywood are formed over a "plug" or within a mold . A later form of this structure uses fiberglass cloth impregnated with polyester or epoxy resin as the skin, instead of plywood. A simple form of this used in some amateur-built aircraft uses rigid expanded foam plastic as the core, with a fiberglass covering, eliminating

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3840-502: The RAF and the USAAF against German industry intended to wear down the Luftwaffe. Axis fighter aircraft focused on defending against Allied bombers while Allied fighters' main role was as bomber escorts. The RAF raided German cities at night, and both sides developed radar-equipped night fighters for these battles. The Americans, in contrast, flew daylight bombing raids into Germany delivering

3960-569: The Sopwith Tabloid and Bristol Scout . The French and the Germans didn't have an equivalent as they used two seaters for reconnaissance, such as the Morane-Saulnier L , but would later modify pre-war racing aircraft into armed single seaters. It was quickly found that these were of little use since the pilot couldn't record what he saw while also flying, while military leaders usually ignored what

4080-760: The Stangensteuerung in German, for "pushrod control system") devised by the engineers of Anthony Fokker 's firm was the first system to enter service. It would usher in what the British called the " Fokker scourge " and a period of air superiority for the German forces, making the Fokker Eindecker monoplane a feared name over the Western Front , despite its being an adaptation of an obsolete pre-war French Morane-Saulnier racing airplane, with poor flight characteristics and

4200-583: The Air Ministry from its original instruction for a Mk VIII fuselage to be used. The Mk XIV was chosen so that the new wing could be directly compared with the earlier elliptical wing. The aircraft was planned to fly for the first time on 15 March 1944, but delays to the construction of the new wing meant that the aircraft could not be delivered on time. NN660 was first flown by Supermarine's chief test pilot Jeffrey Quill from Vickers' flight development site at RAF High Post , Wiltshire, on 30 June 1944. Although

4320-643: The British Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force referred to them as " scouts " until the early 1920s, while the U.S. Army called them "pursuit" aircraft until the late 1940s (using the designation P, as in Curtiss P-40 Warhawk , Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and Bell P-63 Kingcobra ). The UK changed to calling them fighters in the 1920s , while the US Army did so in the 1940s. A short-range fighter designed to defend against incoming enemy aircraft

4440-621: The British, the Americans, the Spanish (in the Spanish civil war) and the Germans. Given limited budgets, air forces were conservative in aircraft design, and biplanes remained popular with pilots for their agility, and remained in service long after they ceased to be competitive. Designs such as the Gloster Gladiator , Fiat CR.42 Falco , and Polikarpov I-15 were common even in the late 1930s, and many were still in service as late as 1942. Up until

4560-656: The European battlefield, played a crucial role in the eventual defeat of the Axis, which Reichmarshal Hermann Göring , commander of the German Luftwaffe summed up when he said: "When I saw Mustangs over Berlin, I knew the jig was up." Fuselage This type of structure is still in use in many lightweight aircraft using welded steel tube trusses. A box truss fuselage structure can also be built out of wood—often covered with plywood. Simple box structures may be rounded by

4680-483: The German flying services during the course of that year. The well known and feared Manfred von Richthofen , the "Red Baron", was wearing one when he was killed, but the allied command continued to oppose their use on various grounds. In April 1917, during a brief period of German aerial supremacy a British pilot's average life expectancy was calculated to average 93 flying hours, or about three weeks of active service. More than 50,000 airmen from both sides died during

4800-606: The German invasion. The period of improving the same biplane design over and over was now coming to an end, and the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire started to supplant the Gloster Gladiator and Hawker Fury biplanes but many biplanes remained in front-line service well past the start of World War II. While not a combatant in Spain, they too absorbed many of the lessons in time to use them. The Spanish Civil War also provided an opportunity for updating fighter tactics. One of

4920-724: The Italians developed several monoplanes such as the Fiat G.50 Freccia , but being short on funds, were forced to continue operating obsolete Fiat CR.42 Falco biplanes. From the early 1930s the Japanese were at war against both the Chinese Nationalists and the Russians in China, and used the experience to improve both training and aircraft, replacing biplanes with modern cantilever monoplanes and creating

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5040-932: The Japanese Nakajima Ki-27 , Nakajima Ki-43 and Mitsubishi A6M Zero and the Italian Fiat G.50 Freccia and Macchi MC.200 . In contrast, designers in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States believed that the increased speed of fighter aircraft would create g -forces unbearable to pilots who attempted maneuvering dogfights typical of the First World War, and their fighters were instead optimized for speed and firepower. In practice, while light, highly maneuverable aircraft did possess some advantages in fighter-versus-fighter combat, those could usually be overcome by sound tactical doctrine, and

5160-605: The Luftwaffe to establish control of the skies over Western Europe. By the time of Operation Overlord in June 1944, the Allies had gained near complete air superiority over the Western Front. This cleared the way both for intensified strategic bombing of German cities and industries, and for the tactical bombing of battlefield targets. With the Luftwaffe largely cleared from the skies, Allied fighters increasingly served as ground attack aircraft. Allied fighters, by gaining air superiority over

5280-637: The Luftwaffe, and while the Luftwaffe maintained a qualitative edge over the Red Air Force for much of the war, the increasing numbers and efficacy of the Soviet Air Force were critical to the Red Army's efforts at turning back and eventually annihilating the Wehrmacht . Meanwhile, air combat on the Western Front had a much different character. Much of this combat focused on the strategic bombing campaigns of

5400-539: The Soviet Polikarpov I-16 . The later German design was earlier in its design cycle, and had more room for development and the lessons learned led to greatly improved models in World War II. The Russians failed to keep up and despite newer models coming into service, I-16s remaining the most common Soviet front-line fighter into 1942 despite being outclassed by the improved Bf 109s in World War II. For their part,

5520-580: The Soviet war effort as part of Lend-Lease , with the Bell P-39 Airacobra proving particularly effective in the lower-altitude combat typical of the Eastern Front. The Soviets were also helped indirectly by the American and British bombing campaigns, which forced the Luftwaffe to shift many of its fighters away from the Eastern Front in defense against these raids. The Soviets increasingly were able to challenge

5640-695: The Spiteful project was finally abandoned. In July 1948, 13 of the Spitefuls were sold for scrap. There were three variants of the type defined. Of the aircraft produced, those with the Griffon 69 engine and a five blade Rotol propeller were given the designation F. Mk 14. The two other variants, F Mk 15 and F Mk 16, differed only in the engine variant used or the number of propeller blades: 2,375 hp (1,771 kW) 2,350 hp (1,750 kW) 2,420 hp (1,800 kW) 408 mph (657 km/h) at sea level In late 1943 or early 1944, Smith proposed that

5760-504: The Spitfire, but the increase in speed was not as great as had been expected. The Spiteful had more adverse compressibility effects and poorer stalling characteristics than its predecessor. As early as 1943, the service name for any new type emerging from the Spitfire was under discussion. "Victor" was an option that was discussed by the Air Council (the governing body of the RAF), but this name

5880-594: The US for pursuit (e.g. Curtiss P-40 Warhawk ), a translation of the French "C" ( Dewoitine D.520 C.1 ) for Chasseur while in Russia "I" was used for Istrebitel , or exterminator ( Polikarpov I-16 ). As fighter types have proliferated, the air superiority fighter emerged as a specific role at the pinnacle of speed, maneuverability, and air-to-air weapon systems – able to hold its own against all other fighters and establish its dominance in

6000-529: The United States, Russia, India and China. The first step was to find ways to reduce the aircraft's reflectivity to radar waves by burying the engines, eliminating sharp corners and diverting any reflections away from the radar sets of opposing forces. Various materials were found to absorb the energy from radar waves, and were incorporated into special finishes that have since found widespread application. Composite structures have become widespread, including major structural components, and have helped to counterbalance

6120-492: The ability to gather information by reconnaissance over the battlefield. Early fighters were very small and lightly armed by later standards, and most were biplanes built with a wooden frame covered with fabric, and a maximum airspeed of about 100 mph (160 km/h). A successful German biplane, the Albatross, however, was built with a plywood shell, rather than fabric, which created a stronger, faster airplane. As control of

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6240-410: The addition of supported lightweight stringers, allowing the fabric covering to form a more aerodynamic shape, or one more pleasing to the eye. Geodesic structural elements were used by Barnes Wallis for British Vickers between the wars and into World War II to form the whole of the fuselage, including its aerodynamic shape. In this type of construction multiple flat strip stringers are wound about

6360-555: The advantages of fighting above Britain's home territory allowed the RAF to deny Germany air superiority, saving the UK from possible German invasion and dealing the Axis a major defeat early in the Second World War. On the Eastern Front , Soviet fighter forces were overwhelmed during the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa . This was a result of the tactical surprise at the outset of the campaign,

6480-600: The aircraft for use as a naval fighter and issued specification E.1/45 around it. The aircraft, named the Supermarine Attacker , was the Royal Navy's first jet aircraft. It had a short career with the Royal Navy during the 1950s, and served with the Pakistan Air Force until 1964. During the mid-1940s there was some uncertainty over whether jet aircraft would be able to operate from the Royal Navy 's aircraft carriers so it

6600-403: The aircraft's ground handling, the Spitfire's outward-retracting undercarriage was replaced with one that was inward-retracting system, so that the wheels were spaced further apart. This eliminated a perceived fault in the original Spitfire design that had made it comparatively difficult to land. The Air Ministry was impressed by the proposals. In February 1943 it issued Specification F.1/43 for

6720-534: The airspace over armies became increasingly important, all of the major powers developed fighters to support their military operations. Between the wars, wood was largely replaced in part or whole by metal tubing, and finally aluminum stressed skin structures (monocoque) began to predominate. By World War II , most fighters were all-metal monoplanes armed with batteries of machine guns or cannons and some were capable of speeds approaching 400 mph (640 km/h). Most fighters up to this point had one engine, but

6840-433: The basis for an effective "fighter" in the modern sense of the word. It was based on small fast aircraft developed before the war for air racing such with the Gordon Bennett Cup and Schneider Trophy . The military scout airplane was not expected to carry serious armament, but rather to rely on speed to "scout" a location, and return quickly to report, making it a flying horse. British scout aircraft, in this sense, included

6960-414: The bombers and enemy attackers as a protective shield. The primary requirement was for long range, with several heavy fighters given the role. However they too proved unwieldy and vulnerable, so as the war progressed techniques such as drop tanks were developed to extend the range of more nimble conventional fighters. The penetration fighter is typically also fitted for the ground-attack role, and so

7080-410: The company develop a simple jet fighter based around the Spiteful's wing. and the new jet engine being developed by Rolls-Royce. Smith's Type 392 proposal was accepted, as the wing was judged suitable for jet aircraft, and specification E.10/44 was issued by the Air Ministry for an experimental aircraft that was initially referred to as the '"Jet Spiteful" (and "Jet Seafang" for a navalised version) with

7200-482: The complete fuselage. As the accuracy of the final product is determined largely by the costly fixture, this form is suitable for series production, where many identical aircraft are to be produced. Early examples of this type include the Douglas Aircraft DC-2 and DC-3 civil aircraft and the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress . Most metal light aircraft are constructed using this process. Both monocoque and semi-monocoque are referred to as "stressed skin" structures as all or

7320-539: The defense budgets of modern armed forces. The global combat aircraft market was worth $ 45.75 billion in 2017 and is projected by Frost & Sullivan at $ 47.2 billion in 2026: 35% modernization programs and 65% aircraft purchases, dominated by the Lockheed Martin F-35 with 3,000 deliveries over 20 years. A fighter aircraft is primarily designed for air-to-air combat . A given type may be designed for specific combat conditions, and in some cases for additional roles such as air-to-ground fighting. Historically

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7440-550: The design approach of the Italians and Japanese made their fighters ill-suited as interceptors or attack aircraft. During the invasion of Poland and the Battle of France , Luftwaffe fighters—primarily the Messerschmitt Bf 109 —held air superiority, and the Luftwaffe played a major role in German victories in these campaigns. During the Battle of Britain , however, British Hurricanes and Spitfires proved roughly equal to Luftwaffe fighters. Additionally Britain's radar-based Dowding system directing fighters onto German attacks and

7560-463: The early 1960s since both were believed unusable at the speeds being attained, however the Vietnam War showed that guns still had a role to play, and most fighters built since then are fitted with cannon (typically between 20 and 30 mm (0.79 and 1.18 in) in caliber) in addition to missiles. Most modern combat aircraft can carry at least a pair of air-to-air missiles. In the 1970s, turbofans replaced turbojets, improving fuel economy enough that

7680-529: The entire fuselage such as the Boeing 787. On the 787, it makes possible higher pressurization levels and larger windows for passenger comfort as well as lower weight to reduce operating costs. The Boeing 787 weighs 1,500 lb (680 kg) less than if it were an all-aluminum assembly. Cockpit windshields on the Airbus A320 must withstand bird strikes up to 350 kn (650 km/h) and are made of chemically strengthened glass . They are usually composed of three layers or plies, of glass or plastic :

7800-423: The expectation that it would be used on production lines from the end of 1944. However, the changes to the wing spar spacing meant the wing would not be a straight replacement. Internally Supermarine identified the wing as the Type 371 which—by extension—was used to refer to the aircraft design as a whole. The new wing was fitted to a modified Spitfire XIV ( serial NN660 )—the specification having been amended by

7920-513: The fighter. Rifle-caliber .30 and .303 in (7.62 and 7.70 mm) calibre guns remained the norm, with larger weapons either being too heavy and cumbersome or deemed unnecessary against such lightly built aircraft. It was not considered unreasonable to use World War I-style armament to counter enemy fighters as there was insufficient air-to-air combat during most of the period to disprove this notion. The rotary engine , popular during World War I, quickly disappeared, its development having reached

8040-412: The following year. The assessment was "below average" with criticism of the cockpit layout and time to refuel and rearm. By March 1946, Supermarine was informed that the RAF only needed the Spiteful as a "low altitude attack aircraft" and during the year RB516 was sent to the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment to see if the design had value as a fighter-bomber. When the company objected,

8160-458: The formers in opposite spiral directions, forming a basket-like appearance. This proved to be light, strong, and rigid and had the advantage of being made almost entirely of wood. A similar construction using aluminum alloy was used in the Vickers Warwick with less material than would be required for other structural types. The geodesic structure is also redundant and so can survive localized damage without catastrophic failure. A fabric covering over

8280-414: The fuselage is a thickened portion of the wing structure. Conversely, there have been a small number of aircraft designs which have no separate wing, but use the fuselage to generate lift. Examples include National Aeronautics and Space Administration 's experimental lifting body designs and the Vought XF5U-1 Flying Flapjack . A blended wing body can be considered a mixture of the above. It carries

8400-406: The guns were subjected). Shooting with this traditional arrangement was also easier because the guns shot directly ahead in the direction of the aircraft's flight, up to the limit of the guns range; unlike wing-mounted guns which to be effective required to be harmonised , that is, preset to shoot at an angle by ground crews so that their bullets would converge on a target area a set distance ahead of

8520-634: The inner two are 8 mm (0.3 in.) thick each and are structural, while the outer ply, about 3 mm thick, is a barrier against foreign object damage and abrasion , with often a hydrophobic coating. It must prevent fogging inside the cabin and de-ice from −50 °C (−58 °F). This was previously done with thin wires similar to a rear car window but is now accomplished with a transparent, nanometers-thick coating of indium tin oxide sitting between plies, electrically conductive and thus transmitting heat. Curved glass improves aerodynamics but sight criteria also needs larger panes. A cockpit windshield

8640-433: The innovations was the development of the " finger-four " formation by the German pilot Werner Mölders . Each fighter squadron (German: Staffel ) was divided into several flights ( Schwärme ) of four aircraft. Each Schwarm was divided into two Rotten , which was a pair of aircraft. Each Rotte was composed of a leader and a wingman. This flexible formation allowed the pilots to maintain greater situational awareness, and

8760-504: The interceptor. The equipment necessary for daytime flight is inadequate when flying at night or in poor visibility. The night fighter was developed during World War I with additional equipment to aid the pilot in flying straight, navigating and finding the target. From modified variants of the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c in 1915, the night fighter has evolved into the highly capable all-weather fighter. The strategic fighter

8880-420: The last piston engine support aircraft could be replaced with jets, making multi-role combat aircraft possible. Honeycomb structures began to replace milled structures, and the first composite components began to appear on components subjected to little stress. With the steady improvements in computers, defensive systems have become increasingly efficient. To counter this, stealth technologies have been pursued by

9000-622: The leadership vacuum within the Soviet military left by the Great Purge , and the general inferiority of Soviet designs at the time, such as the obsolescent Polikarpov I-15 biplane and the I-16 . More modern Soviet designs, including the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 , LaGG-3 and Yakolev Yak-1 , had not yet arrived in numbers and in any case were still inferior to the Messerschmitt Bf 109 . As

9120-471: The letter S. Portal suggested Spiteful which was accepted without discussion at a meeting in March 1944. The Spiteful was ordered into production as the Spiteful F.XIV, the numerals being carried over from the original Spitfire Mk XIV. The numbering was chosen to allow for Merlin-engined variants though ultimately none were built. In total, 650 aircraft were ordered from Supermarine. The number contracted to be built

9240-446: The loss was established, although the subsequent accident report discussed the possibility that the aileron control rods had momentarily seized or become disconnected during the flight. Quill encountered a similar problem one day when the ailerons jammed during "a high g turn" in NN664 but he had the altitude to recover. The controls were afterwards redesigned, which caused the first flight of

9360-410: The mid-1930s, the majority of fighters in the US, the UK, Italy and Russia remained fabric-covered biplanes. Fighter armament eventually began to be mounted inside the wings, outside the arc of the propeller, though most designs retained two synchronized machine guns directly ahead of the pilot, where they were more accurate (that being the strongest part of the structure, reducing the vibration to which

9480-495: The most modern weapons, against an enemy in complete command of the air, fights like a savage…" Throughout the war, fighters performed their conventional role in establishing air superiority through combat with other fighters and through bomber interception, and also often performed roles such as tactical air support and reconnaissance . Fighter design varied widely among combatants. The Japanese and Italians favored lightly armed and armored but highly maneuverable designs such as

9600-527: The necessity of fabricating molds, but requiring more effort in finishing (see the Rutan VariEze ). An example of a larger molded plywood aircraft is the de Havilland Mosquito fighter/light bomber of World War II . No plywood-skin fuselage is truly monocoque , since stiffening elements are incorporated into the structure to carry concentrated loads that would otherwise buckle the thin skin. The use of molded fiberglass using negative ("female") molds (which give

9720-409: The new Spitfire's speed performance was comfortably in excess of an unmodified Spitfire XIV, the wing displayed issues at the stall which, although acceptable, did not come up to the high standards of the Spitfire's earlier elliptical wing. NN660 crashed on 13 September 1944 during an improvised low altitude mock-combat with a standard Spitfire XIV. The test pilot Frank Furlong was killed. No reason for

9840-466: The new design. By November that year, the company's chief designer, Joseph Smith , was working on the new wing. It became clear to the Supermarine design team that the Spitfire's performance at speeds higher than 480 miles per hour (770 km/h) was compromised by the aeroelasticity of its elliptical wing . R.J. Mitchell 's original elliptical design had been regularly strengthened and modified during

9960-405: The new fuselage but not the enlarged fin/rudder. NN664 first flew on 8 January 1945, still unpainted. Subsequent modifications used to try to resolve faults found during trial flights included altering the wing section, and enlarging the fin , rudder , tailplane and elevators . The enlarged tail improved handling but caused a further drop in top speed. The Spiteful was found to be faster than

10080-607: The opposition. Subsequently, radar capabilities grew enormously and are now the primary method of target acquisition . Wings were made thinner and swept back to reduce transonic drag, which required new manufacturing methods to obtain sufficient strength. Skins were no longer sheet metal riveted to a structure, but milled from large slabs of alloy. The sound barrier was broken, and after a few false starts due to required changes in controls, speeds quickly reached Mach 2, past which aircraft cannot maneuver sufficiently to avoid attack. Air-to-air missiles largely replaced guns and rockets in

10200-496: The order was cancelled in May 1945, a few days before the end of the war in Europe, with only a handful of Spitefuls built. Supermarine received a replacement order for 150 Seafangs. A few Spitefuls were taken "on charge" for evaluation by the RAF but did not see squadron service. NN664 was delivered for official trials at Boscombe Down in June 1945, followed by NN667 between February and June

10320-488: The outbreak of World War I , front-line aircraft were mostly unarmed and used almost exclusively for reconnaissance . On 15 August 1914, Miodrag Tomić encountered an enemy airplane while on a reconnaissance flight over Austria-Hungary which fired at his aircraft with a revolver, so Tomić fired back. It was believed to be the first exchange of fire between aircraft. Within weeks, all Serbian and Austro-Hungarian aircraft were armed. Another type of military aircraft formed

10440-451: The outset for dual roles. Other fighter designs are highly specialized while still filling the main air superiority role, and these include the interceptor and, historically, the heavy fighter and night fighter . Since World War I, achieving and maintaining air superiority has been considered essential for victory in conventional warfare . Fighters continued to be developed throughout World War I, to deny enemy aircraft and dirigibles

10560-479: The period of rapid re-armament in the late 1930s, were not military budgets, but civilian aircraft racing. Aircraft designed for these races introduced innovations like streamlining and more powerful engines that would find their way into the fighters of World War II. The most significant of these was the Schneider Trophy races, where competition grew so fierce, only national governments could afford to enter. At

10680-433: The period, going from a typical 180 hp (130 kW) in the 900 kg (2,000 lb) Fokker D.VII of 1918 to 900 hp (670 kW) in the 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) Curtiss P-36 of 1936. The debate between the sleek in-line engines versus the more reliable radial models continued, with naval air forces preferring the radial engines, and land-based forces often choosing inlines. Radial designs did not require

10800-452: The pilot's maneuvering with the gunner's aiming was difficult. This option was chiefly employed as a defensive measure on two-seater reconnaissance aircraft from 1915 on. Both the SPAD S.A and the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.9 added a second crewman ahead of the engine in a pod but this was both hazardous to the second crewman and limited performance. The Sopwith L.R.T.Tr. similarly added a pod on

10920-458: The pilot's sightline for deflection shooting and to use a larger fin and rudder to eliminate directional instability. The instability had arisen following the introduction of the more powerful Griffon engine and was exacerbated by the introduction of the four-bladed and subsequent five-bladed Rotol propeller airscrews. At the same time Supermarine designed the airframe so it could take either Griffon or Merlin engines. The updated design incorporated

11040-451: The pilots reported. Attempts were made with handheld weapons such as pistols and rifles and even light machine guns, but these were ineffective and cumbersome. The next advance came with the fixed forward-firing machine gun, so that the pilot pointed the entire aircraft at the target and fired the gun, instead of relying on a second gunner. Roland Garros bolted metal deflector plates to the propeller so that it would not shoot itself out of

11160-410: The point where rotational forces prevented more fuel and air from being delivered to the cylinders, which limited horsepower. They were replaced chiefly by the stationary radial engine though major advances led to inline engines gaining ground with several exceptional engines—including the 1,145 cu in (18,760 cm ) V-12 Curtiss D-12 . Aircraft engines increased in power several-fold over

11280-566: The propeller arc was evident even before the outbreak of war and inventors in both France and Germany devised mechanisms that could time the firing of the individual rounds to avoid hitting the propeller blades. Franz Schneider , a Swiss engineer, had patented such a device in Germany in 1913, but his original work was not followed up. French aircraft designer Raymond Saulnier patented a practical device in April 1914, but trials were unsuccessful because of

11400-461: The propeller arc. Wing guns were tried but the unreliable weapons available required frequent clearing of jammed rounds and misfires and remained impractical until after the war. Mounting the machine gun over the top wing worked well and was used long after the ideal solution was found. The Nieuport 11 of 1916 used this system with considerable success, however, this placement made aiming and reloading difficult but would continue to be used throughout

11520-406: The propeller blades were fitted with metal wedges to protect them from ricochets . Garros' modified monoplane first flew in March 1915 and he began combat operations soon after. Garros scored three victories in three weeks before he himself was downed on 18 April and his airplane, along with its synchronization gear and propeller was captured by the Germans. Meanwhile, the synchronization gear (called

11640-426: The propensity of the machine gun employed to hang fire due to unreliable ammunition. In December 1914, French aviator Roland Garros asked Saulnier to install his synchronization gear on Garros' Morane-Saulnier Type L parasol monoplane . Unfortunately the gas-operated Hotchkiss machine gun he was provided had an erratic rate of fire and it was impossible to synchronize it with the propeller. As an interim measure,

11760-421: The role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace . Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets, and helps prevent the enemy from doing the same. The key performance features of a fighter include not only its firepower but also its high speed and maneuverability relative to

11880-472: The second prototype ( NN664 ) to be delayed. By December Supermarine was being criticised by the Ministry for slow progress on the aircraft. Flight testing showed that performance was better than that of the equivalent Spitfire, but not as good as expected, and anything (including splashes of mud or dead insects) on the wing broke the laminar flow and reduced speed. The Spitfire's fuselage was redesigned to improve

12000-532: The skies above the battlefield. The interceptor is a fighter designed specifically to intercept and engage approaching enemy aircraft. There are two general classes of interceptor: relatively lightweight aircraft in the point-defence role, built for fast reaction, high performance and with a short range, and heavier aircraft with more comprehensive avionics and designed to fly at night or in all weathers and to operate over longer ranges . Originating during World War I, by 1929 this class of fighters had become known as

12120-417: The sky and a number of Morane-Saulnier Ns were modified. The technique proved effective, however the deflected bullets were still highly dangerous. Soon after the commencement of the war, pilots armed themselves with pistols, carbines , grenades , and an assortment of improvised weapons. Many of these proved ineffective as the pilot had to fly his airplane while attempting to aim a handheld weapon and make

12240-467: The specification which was largely experimental to test the wing and a contra-rotating propeller. Supermarine was initially left to decide whether to use a Merlin or Griffon; this was altered to the first two aircraft were to be built with Griffons and the third with a Merlin, all with the contra-rotating propeller. The specification also called for the wing to be used on Mark VIII or Mark 21 Spitfire airframes (with Merlin and Griffon engines respectively) with

12360-408: The steady increases in aircraft weight—most modern fighters are larger and heavier than World War II medium bombers. Because of the importance of air superiority, since the early days of aerial combat armed forces have constantly competed to develop technologically superior fighters and to deploy these fighters in greater numbers, and fielding a viable fighter fleet consumes a substantial proportion of

12480-503: The structure completed the aerodynamic shell (see the Vickers Wellington for an example of a large warplane which uses this process). The logical evolution of this is the creation of fuselages using molded plywood, in which several sheets are laid with the grain in differing directions to give the monocoque type below. In this method, the exterior surface of the fuselage is also the primary structure. A typical early form of this (see

12600-420: The target aircraft. The success or failure of a combatant's efforts to gain air superiority hinges on several factors including the skill of its pilots, the tactical soundness of its doctrine for deploying its fighters, and the numbers and performance of those fighters. Many modern fighter aircraft also have secondary capabilities such as ground attack and some types, such as fighter-bombers , are designed from

12720-480: The top wing with no better luck. An alternative was to build a "pusher" scout such as the Airco DH.2 , with the propeller mounted behind the pilot. The main drawback was that the high drag of a pusher type's tail structure made it slower than a similar "tractor" aircraft. A better solution for a single seat scout was to mount the machine gun (rifles and pistols having been dispensed with) to fire forwards but outside

12840-460: The two Rotten could split up at any time and attack on their own. The finger-four would be widely adopted as the fundamental tactical formation during World War Two, including by the British and later the Americans. World War II featured fighter combat on a larger scale than any other conflict to date. German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel noted the effect of airpower: "Anyone who has to fight, even with

12960-481: The very end of the inter-war period in Europe came the Spanish Civil War . This was just the opportunity the German Luftwaffe , Italian Regia Aeronautica , and the Soviet Union's Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily needed to test their latest aircraft. Each party sent numerous aircraft types to support their sides in the conflict. In the dogfights over Spain, the latest Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters did well, as did

13080-473: The war as the weapons used were lighter and had a higher rate of fire than synchronized weapons. The British Foster mounting and several French mountings were specifically designed for this kind of application, fitted with either the Hotchkiss or Lewis Machine gun , which due to their design were unsuitable for synchronizing. The need to arm a tractor scout with a forward-firing gun whose bullets passed through

13200-543: The war to cope with increases in engine power, but if the Spitfire was to fly still higher and faster, a radical new design of wing would be needed. The design progressed in collaboration with the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington. In September 1942, Supermarine used Specification No 469, which outlined the first steps towards designing the Type 371, which would later become the Spiteful. Specification No 470

13320-443: The war. Fighter development stagnated between the wars, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom, where budgets were small. In France, Italy and Russia, where large budgets continued to allow major development, both monoplanes and all metal structures were common. By the end of the 1920s, however, those countries overspent themselves and were overtaken in the 1930s by those powers that hadn't been spending heavily, namely

13440-482: The wing was formalised by Air Ministry specification F.1/43 ; as well as a new aircraft, there was an expectation the wing could be used as a replacement for the elliptical wing on Spitfire production. The Spiteful was ready for production as the war was ending but in testing had shown only marginal improvements over existing types and was now being overtaken by jet-powered designs. Of the original order for 150 Spitefuls, only 19 were built. The Royal Navy opted for

13560-721: Was "interested in the choice of name" and wanted to discuss it with the Secretary of State. Sir Charles Portal , the Chief of the Air Staff , thought the name Valiant was much better than Victor . In November, needing to settle the matter, the Council decided that the Spitfire XXI would be named Valiant, provided the Admiralty agreed. However, Supermarine objected to Valiant and wanted one starting with

13680-480: Was considered to have an air of overconfidence, and it lacked any suggestion of speed or aggression. The introduction of a new design to replace the Spitfire's original elliptical wing, which dated from the 1930s, prompted fresh discussions. Objections were raised against using the name Spitfire for a type that differed substantially from Mitchell's original design, though those using the Spitfire (from pilots to AOC Fighter Command) were against any change. The opinion of

13800-498: Was decided to develop a naval version of the Spiteful, to specification N.5/45, subsequently named the Seafang . The initial prototype was a converted Spiteful XV ( RB520 ) with an arrestor hook fitted. The first full Seafang prototype was VB895. This was followed by 10 Seafang F.Mk 31, two of which were marked up as further prototypes ( VG471 and VG474 ). The final fully navalised F Mk 32 version differed in that it had folding wingtips,

13920-422: Was first reduced by 260 aircraft; a second cancellation left 80 machines to be built. The third and final cancellation reduced the size of the contract to 22 aircraft. The first production aircraft, RB515 , flew for 15 minutes on 2 April 1945. A week later, it sustained damage when Quill had to make a forced landing at RAF Boscombe Down but was repaired and returned to flight. With the advent of jet propulsion,

14040-470: Was issued by Supermarine on 30 November, A new wing has been designed for the Spitfire with the following objects: 1) To raise as much as possible the critical speed at which drag increases, due to compressibility, become serious. 2) To obtain a rate of roll faster than any existing fighter. 3) To reduce wing profile drag and thereby improve performance. The wing area had been reduced from 242 sq ft (22.5 m) to 210 sq ft (20 m), and

14160-420: Was no longer a handicap and one or two were used, depending on requirements. This in turn required the development of ejection seats so the pilot could escape, and G-suits to counter the much greater forces being applied to the pilot during maneuvers. In the 1950s, radar was fitted to day fighters, since due to ever increasing air-to-air weapon ranges, pilots could no longer see far enough ahead to prepare for

14280-472: Was originally intended for a fighter role with the U.S. Navy , but it was canceled. This blurring follows the use of fighters from their earliest days for "attack" or "strike" operations against ground targets by means of strafing or dropping small bombs and incendiaries. Versatile multi role fighter-bombers such as the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet are a less expensive option than having

14400-501: Was pioneered before World War I by Breguet but would find its biggest proponent in Anthony Fokker, who used chrome-molybdenum steel tubing for the fuselage structure of all his fighter designs, while the innovative German engineer Hugo Junkers developed two all-metal, single-seat fighter monoplane designs with cantilever wings: the strictly experimental Junkers J 2 private-venture aircraft, made with steel, and some forty examples of

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