Joined
·
1,990 Posts
Here's a really nice restoration of a seldom seen aircraft.
https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/TneYPcyGbbY&autoplay=1&rel=0
https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/TneYPcyGbbY&autoplay=1&rel=0
Nice Warbird
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
Joined
·
795 Posts
TG: Try this one
"The Seafire" - YouTube
"The Seafire" - YouTube
Joined
·
7,059 Posts
The link worked just now
It is the Navy version of the British Spitfire called Seafire. Main difference is folding wings.
There are umpteen "mark" Spitfires but for some reason Mk 8 comes to mind
It is the Navy version of the British Spitfire called Seafire. Main difference is folding wings.
There are umpteen "mark" Spitfires but for some reason Mk 8 comes to mind
Joined
·
13,181 Posts
Mk VIII was Merlin-engined. It was similar to the much more-produced, more-used IX.
Seafire XV is known as a "short-nosed Griffon" Spit and is most similar to the little-produced Spitfire XII (the main Griffon Spit variant was the XIV, which had a slighly longer nose). The Seafire XVII was basically a XV with a cut-down rear fuselage deck and a bubble canopy.
Any questions?
Seafire XV is known as a "short-nosed Griffon" Spit and is most similar to the little-produced Spitfire XII (the main Griffon Spit variant was the XIV, which had a slighly longer nose). The Seafire XVII was basically a XV with a cut-down rear fuselage deck and a bubble canopy.
Any questions?
Joined
·
3,920 Posts
No questions - but IMO one of the most beautiful a/c ever produced.
Joined
·
1,727 Posts
What a beautiful girl.
Here's a Spit making a pass for the camera. She has to climb up to nosebleed altitude to clear the reporter, but that's only courteous.
Caution: adult language and trouser soiling:
Spitfire Low Pass - YouTube
Here's a Spit making a pass for the camera. She has to climb up to nosebleed altitude to clear the reporter, but that's only courteous.
Caution: adult language and trouser soiling:
Spitfire Low Pass - YouTube
Joined
·
3,647 Posts
To ALL,
My father, who flew with the USAAC in WWII, always said that he thought that "Spit drivers were either BRAVE or NUTS, as that bird was mainly fabric, wood & spittle."
yours, sw
My father, who flew with the USAAC in WWII, always said that he thought that "Spit drivers were either BRAVE or NUTS, as that bird was mainly fabric, wood & spittle."
yours, sw
Joined
·
13,181 Posts
Your Dad was wrong. Very little wood or fabric in a Spitfire. It was a modern (for its time) aircraft of aluminum monocoque construction.
Joined
·
1,491 Posts
He was probably thinking more the Hurricane which saw lots of use in the beginning of the BoB.Cap that was an awesome flyby
Joined
·
13,181 Posts
Not that much wood in the Hurricane, either, though the fuselage was of steel tube construction covered by fabric. The wings of the early ones were fabric covered but I think from the MK II on--maybe from late MK Is--they were aluminum covered too.He was probably thinking more the Hurricane which saw lots of use in the beginning of the BoB.Cap that was an awesome flyby
I saw a stripped Hurricane under restoration at the NASM shop at Silver Hill a decade or two ago. It's an unbelievably complex airplane inside--one wonders that thousands of them were built in just a few short years.
Joined
·
3,647 Posts
Snake45,
More likely I'm NOT remembering what he said about 60 years ago, when I was a kid.
Otoh, I well remember him saying how FRAGILE that the "Limey" planes were early in WWII & how quickly that they would burn to a cinder.
yours, sw
More likely I'm NOT remembering what he said about 60 years ago, when I was a kid.
Otoh, I well remember him saying how FRAGILE that the "Limey" planes were early in WWII & how quickly that they would burn to a cinder.
yours, sw
Joined
·
2,166 Posts
IMO, the best 'low pass' video EVER!!
Joined
·
2,546 Posts
When WWII started, the Spitfires still had fabric ailerons. They were phased in around the time of the Battle of Britain. Douglas Bader's biography made mention of his wingman's compaints after he got the first set in the squadron. Appartently, it made a marked improvement in the ability to turn.
About the 'burning to a crisp', I'm not sure self sealing fuel tanks were standard equipment at the start of the unpleasantness. Once a fire got started, the aluminum melted swiftly. Once they hit the ground, it didn't matter if the tank was self sealing or not.
About the 'burning to a crisp', I'm not sure self sealing fuel tanks were standard equipment at the start of the unpleasantness. Once a fire got started, the aluminum melted swiftly. Once they hit the ground, it didn't matter if the tank was self sealing or not.
Joined
·
2,484 Posts
The Hurricane was notorious as was the Corsair for having a fuel tank in the pilots face. There was a scene in the "Battle of Brittan" movie in which a WWII Hurricane Pilot played himself. His face was reconstructed by the best techniques of the day... It sticks in the brain after all the years past and comes up in my nightmares.
The early birds of war were light on armament and short on range. The US Standard in 1939 was still a pair of rifle caliber machine guns. If you were lucky you might have a .50 and a .30. After feedback from Europe the US went to 4x.30s and 2x .50s (Sync'd which cut the firepower 40% with a 3 blade propeller in the P-40Cs and later to 4 or 6 50's in the wings. The designers / requirements shifted so much the P-38 had all sorts of combinations in the nose, finally settling on 4 .50s and an unreliable 20mm cannon without much ammo.
The Spitfire wing never had much room for guns, the Spit IX had 2 20mm and 4 .30s in the wings. The Hurricane had room, but the 20mm s were so unreliable that they upped the .30's (OK .303 .. nit pickers) from 8 to 12 and then went to 4 20mm or 2x.303s and a pair of 37mms.
Geoff
Who notes he has squandered too much brain time on WWII aircraft, a disease of his youth.
The early birds of war were light on armament and short on range. The US Standard in 1939 was still a pair of rifle caliber machine guns. If you were lucky you might have a .50 and a .30. After feedback from Europe the US went to 4x.30s and 2x .50s (Sync'd which cut the firepower 40% with a 3 blade propeller in the P-40Cs and later to 4 or 6 50's in the wings. The designers / requirements shifted so much the P-38 had all sorts of combinations in the nose, finally settling on 4 .50s and an unreliable 20mm cannon without much ammo.
The Spitfire wing never had much room for guns, the Spit IX had 2 20mm and 4 .30s in the wings. The Hurricane had room, but the 20mm s were so unreliable that they upped the .30's (OK .303 .. nit pickers) from 8 to 12 and then went to 4 20mm or 2x.303s and a pair of 37mms.
Geoff
Who notes he has squandered too much brain time on WWII aircraft, a disease of his youth.
Joined
·
2,166 Posts
Actually, the main fuel tank forward of the cockpit was standard for single-engine fighters, for center-of-gravity reasons. P-51s had a tank installed behind the pilot, but the plane was squirrelly until it was emptied, hence it was the first used (and the first pulled out in civilian planes, also making room for a passenger seat).
I once read that fighter pilots in the SW Pacific wore shorts specifically so gas would run off their bare legs and not soak into a flight suit.
I once read that fighter pilots in the SW Pacific wore shorts specifically so gas would run off their bare legs and not soak into a flight suit.
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
