Spitfire. Surely one of the most, if not the most, evocative proper nouns of last 75 years. I’m sure you’re familiar with two of the three variants of Spitfire available from the United Kingdom.
First, we offer the Triumph Spitfire: 320,000 produced between 1962 and 1980, engine ranging from 1.3 litre to 1.5 litre, eventually maxing out at 71 bhp and 100 mph. The swing axle rear suspension on the earlier versions assured that it would be entertaining to drive in certain circumstances. The owner’s manual didn’t spell out exactly what those were; it was up to the owner’s to make that discovery for themselves.
Also available, at a slightly greater price, the Supermarine Spitfire: 20,351 produced between 1936 and 1948; engine ranging from the 27 litre Rolls-Royce Merlin to the 37 litre Rolls-Royce Griffon engine, eventually maxing out at 1860 bhp and 371 mph. Arguably, the most beautiful aircraft ever built. And my Uncle was a draughtsman at Supermarine during the development.
Incidentally, Reginald (R J) Mitchell’s response when he heard the name Spitfire had been chosen? “Typical bloody stupid name they’d (sales guys?Ministry?) would choose”
Or, maybe, Shepherd Neame Spitfire: a classic Kentish hop ale, first brewed to mark the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, in 1990, and now one of the leading brands of premium British ale. You can imagine the advertising – one slogan actually was “Downed all over Kent, like the Luftwaffe!”
So, for a light-hearted QOTD for 1 April, which Spitfire do you prefer?
Just remember, please, not to mix the third with the first or second.
I’d prefer the 4 wheel Spitfire.
My take: Spitfire No. 1 made Spitfire No. 2 possible. Spitfire No. 2 made Spitfire No. 3 necessary. Crazy thing is, I’m still not sure which of the three I would prefer.
Sheer genius.
As much as I admire 1 my meagre maintenance budget would not support ownership. So I’ll take 2 and 3. Maybe drive 2 to an airshow and drink 3 while looking at 1.
Spot on!
I would prefer a Mk. IX Spitfire. The Spit pictured is discussed further here: http://www.ofmc.co.uk/spitfire_hist.aspx
I’ll take the Triumph! I hate flying and I prefer hard liquor. 🙂
I laughed out loud to this. That said, Amen and Cheers!
What a glorious sounding airplane!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYsLvdSmKQI
Now why couldn’t England make a car that worked as well as their planes?
Well, if you had a dedicated staff, many persons strong, keeping up with all the maintenance then a car probably would work as well as the planes. Just imagine trying to operate airplanes with the same level of “maintenance” provided by most owners; airplanes would be falling out of the sky on a regular basis.
I’ll take the ale please, I don’t have the budget for the airplane and have gotten too old to feel comfortable in the car.
For the next QOTD, how about HMS Vanguard v. Standard Vanguard, for the nautically inclined?
+1
Mark VII for me, please.
Gryphon !!!
Had a few Spitfires all 1/72 scale when I was a model maker (and had more patience).Revell Mk1,Frog Mk VIII(I think it was Australian with sharks teeth)and Airfix MkIX.There was also a Mk V which came free with Weetabix which I made as a Russian one.
Voiceover by Jean Shepherd of A Christmas Story fame……
Shepherd had a column in Car & Driver for several years and was a huge British sports car buff. He did commercials for other BL products, including the Rover TC.
I’ve not seen that before, but I guess they had to do at some time!
You can’t do that with a TR7!
There is a fourth Spitfire I as found out a few months ago. I was trying to sell a surplus Triumph Spitfire gas tank and advertised it locally as such. Only one guy showed up and somehow assumed it was for his John Deere Spitfire snowmobile. I think we were both in shock that the other product existed.
Also a small correction – the earliest Spitfires were fitted with a 1,147cc engine.
In my opinion, the Spitfire Mk IX-LF, the one with the clipped wings, is the coolest looking machine every designed, period.
Yes, I was going to say the Mk IX too, because it stopped the FW-190 scourge, had 2 cannons instead of those little .303s, & its fantastic rate of climb.
Main thing wrong with the Spit was its short range, which was more of an issue in offensive operations; even P-40s were better here.
This is the reason the RAF and RCAF squadrons were literally only a few miles away from the front lines. By 1944 the Allies had such supremacy in the air, Spitfires were mostly used as cab-rank air support and general fighter bombers. An incredible design, produced on the first and last day of the war.
Some USAAF groups (in addition to Eagle Squadrons) operated Spits too, at least early on; an author quoted a veteran as saying, more or less, “Few American pilots disliked the Spitfire.”
The USAAF also flew Beaufighters & Mosquitos. Nice to see operational requirements trumping NIH.
Any American readers have a BSA Spitfire scrambler?The best looking BSA ever
Thwaites Lancaster Bomber next? Proper northern beer, not fancy southern stuff
At this moment, I’ll take the one in the bottle.
However, for long term, the airborne one would be awesome.
I cant fly and prefer to drink cider, Ive owned a couple of Heralds so I guess the wheeled version would be best for me.
May I suggest yet another Spitfire worthy of consideration: HMS Spitfire, a WWI destroyer of less than 1,000 tons, which got into a ramming battle with the 18,500 ton German battleship SMS Nassau at the Battle of Jutland and inflicted almost as much punishment as it received.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Spitfire_(1912)
I’ll take the beer, but would happily accept a ride in either of the others.
Why is English beer served at room temperature?
Because Lucas made fridges too! 🙂
I had anticipated that the third spitfire might be human and female. Sad.
Well there was a Mexican one! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lupe_Velez_-_Mexican_Spitfire.jpg
My pick, as long as I don’t have to pay for the gas, would be an early version of the RAF Spit, Mk2 or Mk3, for it’s cleaner design…and these were the marks that did the heavy lifting during the Battle of Britan
armload of Spits at an air show, with sound track by Rolls-Royce and Vera Lynn
And don’t forget this ‘Spitfire’. Apparently the mpg didn’t really matter as it couldn’t go two miles without overheating.
I do love good old fashioned British eccentricity.
The Spit even has theme music, by Sir Wm. Walton:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spitfire_Prelude_and_Fugue
British thinking vs. German thinking:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT86iWiH2mI
Cheers!
Another strap line for the beer was ‘No Fokker can beat it’ or something very like that! It’s a great beer, and as a Man of Kent I can say I’m proud that shepherd Neame created it. As to drinking ‘beer served at room temperature’ please read this: http://www.camra.org.uk/beerinthepub
Shepherd Neame also brew under the Faversham Steam Brewery label:
A very interesting read, thanks for posting. I have yet to try a “real” cask ale, though I’ve read about it before.
Out of the three options listed, I think I would go for the bottled one 🙂
Between the car and the plane, I would go for the plane, but then again in this case, I would instead rather go for the P-51 Mustang (“the Cadillac of the skies”), or even better yet, for a P-47 Thunderbolt (due to its huge size and complexity probably more worthy of the title “Cadillac of the skies” than the comparatively smaller P-51)….
I prefer #4, the spitfire that happens when opening a steam-train firebox; or, failing that, #5, the spitfire that dragons do. Although, to be fair, I’ve only seen #5 after consuming too much #3.
No Spitfire for me. Make mine a P-51 Mustang, please – bubble canopy only, no razorback models.
As for beer, I drink almost anything…
I too prefer the Mustang to the Spitfire. I always thought it was a much cleaner design, especially the P-51D (bubble canopy). But make my Mustang powered by the awesome Packard built Rolls-Royce Merlin, I’d pass on an Allison powered model. I have seen a few Merlin powered aircraft fly at airshows and I tell you what an awesome sight and sound.
If I had to choose between the Spitfires, it’d definitely be a Supermarine for me.
I always thought the P39 Aerocobra was America’s most beautiful warplane but it was nowhere near as successful as the Spitfire or Mustang.Most of them ended up in Russian hands
And the Russians liked their -39s, strangely enough. The 37mm centerline cannon was one reason, and their theater didn’t often require high-altitude performance. Also, those Allisons were pretty rugged, a good thing since Ivans ran ’em hard. Somewhere I read that Allisons could tolerate abuse better than Merlins.
What killed it for Western Allied use was deletion of the G.E. turbocharger, which its prototype had.
The Spitfire car deserved and gallon of petrol and a match. The Spitfire Supermarine? I would give my soul for a ride in one. The beer? Nope…….try San Mig’s ‘Red Horse’; nectar of the gods.
If you have some disposable cash, try
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/ma_p51mustang.htm
which is a fair approximation since it’s also Merlin-powered. I doubt they fly it in a way that would make any significant differences, though the ‘Stang’s cockpit is a bit less snug.
Maybe the car should also have received the Malcolm hood treatment, for a little extra headroom!
I have a neat videotape of a Triumph car ad featuring the car and the plane, both being started up and rolling across a field.
The later model spitfire fighter with the bubble canopy.
I prefer my 1980 Spitfire 1500