Her Majesty the Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire is probably the most famous aircraft of the Second World War. It is one of the very few aircraft, perhaps the only one, whose name evokes some images even to a layman of historical aviation things. This aircraft is an air legend, a true brand, and its image is inextricably linked to the British victory in the Battle of Britain. Used by the air forces of numerous allied countries such as the Soviet Union, Australia and the United States of America, it was the only allied fighter produced for the entire duration of the war. The Spitfire is not a single aircraft with various modifications and improvements, but a real family of aircraft that has covered a bit of all roles and has adapted to no less than 10 years of technological evolution, from the first Spitfires with their 1,000 hp Merlin engines and two-bladed propellers, to the latest with the Griffons of over 2,000 hp and 5-bladed metal propellers or even two counter-rotating three-bladed ones. Each version was distinguished by the wording Mk. (from the English Mark, model, type) followed by a Roman numeral, up to version 20, and by Arabic numerals for the subsequent ones, as in the post-war period the RAF changed its designation criteria.