The 25 Most Influential Aircraft of All Time by Walter Boyne & Philip Handleman

Author:Walter Boyne & Philip Handleman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781493026319
Publisher: Lyons Press

CHAPTER 14Breakthrough: Spitfire to the Rescue

In the throes of the Depression’s financial crunch, the British government had imposed austerity measures that included its withdrawal of support for the 1931 Schneider Trophy seaplane race. The decision provoked an outcry from the country’s aviation industry and avid enthusiasts. With little time to spare before the race, a reprieve came in the form of an unsolicited £100,000 donation from a wealthy British patron.

It is probably an exaggeration to say that the gift of Lady Lucy Houston, the widow of a shipping tycoon, assured the Spitfire’s development, yet her love of country, expressed with such magnanimity, led to the completion and flight of the magnificent racing floatplane that was the direct antecedent of Britain’s great fighter. Even with the infusion of funds, the British team feared it might be too late to match Italy’s Macchi Castoldi M.C. 72, which was to be powered by the Fiat AS.6. However, Reginald J. Mitchell, chief designer/engineer at Supermarine Aviation Works, and Sir Henry Royce, Rolls-Royce cofounder and engineering overseer, went to work tweaking their airframe and engine, respectively.

The gleaming blue and gray Supermarine S.6B, fitted with an upgraded 2,350-horsepower Rolls-Royce R Type engine, won the Schneider race on September 13, 1931, in the absence of the expected Italian and French teams. Neither was ready in time. In the uncontested affair, Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant John Boothman was clocked at an impressive 340.08 miles per hour.

The British, having won the race three successive times, ended it forever. Even so, shortly afterwards, Flight Lieutenant George Stainforth upped the aircraft’s speed to 379.05 miles per hour. He did it again, on September 29th, racking up a sizzling 407.5 miles per hour, a new absolute world speed record.

Between the 1929 and 1931 races, Mitchell credited the international competition as the impetus for the advances in his racing designs. Referencing the R Type engine, he wrote: “There is little doubt that this intensive engine development will have a very profound effect on our aircraft during the next few years.” Supermarine’s talented designer would prove to be prescient!

In the 1930s modernization was the watchword of many air forces. Although economies struggled, the need for improved performance in combat aircraft could hardly be denied. After all, in the decade’s early years racing planes outran some frontline military planes.

In answer to the British Air Ministry’s request for proposals for a new fighter under the F.7/30 specification, Supermarine submitted its Type 224, which first flew in February 1934. The single-seat design reflected the tug of the old and the pull of the new. It had a pudgy nose, fixed-gear fairings, an inverted gullwing, and an open cockpit. Using the problem-prone 660-horsepower steamed-cooled Rolls-Royce Goshawk engine, the plane was little more than a bridge to a more thoroughly modern fighter. The Gloster Gladiator, a sleek and powerful biplane, got the procurement nod.

In mid-1934, Mitchell moved on to a drastically different design. Backing him up, the chairman of Supermarine’s parent company, Vickers Ltd., obtained authorization from his board of directors in November to spend £10,000 on the new design, now known as the Type 300.

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