Overview
The British Supermarine Spitfire was facing several challenges by mid-1942. The debut of the formidable Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in late 1941 had caused problems for RAF fighter squadrons flying the latest Spitfire Mk Vb. Rolls-Royce engineers were already working on a new version of the Merlin incorporating a two-stage supercharger; the combination of the improved Merlin and the Spitfire Mk Vc airframe in a "stop-gap" design allowed the RAF to combat the Fw 190 on equal terms.
Specifications
Figures are compiled from public sources and may be approximate; they can vary by variant and configuration.
Photos
Photo 1: I took the photo Cfitzart 1 September 2005. / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Some text and images come from Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA licences. Source
