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The Battle of Britain 75 th Anniversary

Commemorate 75th anniversary of Battle of Britain and early design of iconic Hurricane and Spitfire fighters. Learn about key figures like Sydney Camm, RJ Mitchell, and their engineering prowess. Explore the evolution from prototype to combat-ready planes. Witness the historic deliveries and significant modifications made for wartime effectiveness. Dive into the technological advancements and strategic roles played by these legendary aircraft. Discover the legacy that these planes left in the annals of aviation history.

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The Battle of Britain 75 th Anniversary

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  1. The Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary

  2. Early Design and Development of the Hurricane and Spitfire February, 2014 Barry Latter

  3. Thomas Sopwith (1888 – 1989) WW1 airplane pilot, instructor and designer Liquidated his own company in 1919 Led the Hawker Company from 1922 until 1974

  4. Harry Hawker (1889 – 1921) Demonstration and test pilot for Sopwith Formed Hawker Engineering Company in 1919 Died in crash following hemorrhage in flight

  5. Sydney Camm (1893 – 1966) Hired by Sopwith in 1923 Chief Designer 1925 British Air Ministry issued spec for “Light Day Bomber” in 1926 Camm designed Hawker Hart in 1928

  6. Hawker Hart - first flight June 1928

  7. Prototype Hurricane K5083

  8. Flight Lieutenant P.W.S. “George” Bulman Chief Test Pilot Hawker Aircraft Known for precise and well timed air show appearances

  9. Hurricane basic fuselage structure

  10. The Dumb-bell Spar Camm’s rolled steel main spar – the “Dumb bell spar”

  11. Hurricane fuselage structural joints Bolted for ease of maintenance Wooden formers are then bolted to resulting structure Wooden stringers then attached to formers top hold fabric skin

  12. One of the first Hurricanes delivered to the RAF 1938 Note the Watts two-blade fixed-pitch wooden propeller

  13. Hurricane deliveries First production deliveries to 111 Sqn at Northolt began in December 1937 with delivery of first 600 batch complete by October 1939 Subsequent mod program for fitting Merlin III engines, Rotol or DH variable pitch props and armor. Hurricane 1 built by Hawker and Gloster (part of Hawker-Siddeley Group)

  14. PZ865 – “The Last of the Many” Cranfield College of Aeronautics 1961 Flown by Hugh Mereweather

  15. PZ865 Hurricane IIC Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

  16. PZ865 2014 – colors of 34 Sqn. SEAC RAF Coningsby

  17. Supermarine Spitfire

  18. Reginald “R.J.” Mitchell 1895 – 1937 Chief Designer Supermarine Aviation Works (Vickers) Ltd “Mitchell wedded good engineering to aerodynamic grace and made science his guide” (Colston Shepherd – 1949)

  19. Earnest Hives (1886 – 1965) Chief test driver 1908 Head of the Experimental Department 1916 Head of development RR “R” engine General works manager 1936 Elected to the board 1937

  20. Rolls-Royce “R” engine Rated at 2350 hp powered S-6B Became the Griffon PV-12 initially at 1100 hp Developed into Merlin rated ultimately at 2600 hp

  21. Supermarine S-5 1927 Supermarine S-6B 1931 Supermarine S-6 1929

  22. Air Ministry Specification F.7/30 “A fighter capable of at least 250 mph and armed with four machine guns” Supermarine Type 224 The winning “Gloster Gladiator”

  23. “ ….. The (Vickers-Supermarine) design team would do better by devoting their time not to the official experimental fighter (i.e.F.7/30) but to a real killer fighter……my opposite number in Rolls-Royce…A.F Sidgreaves and I decided that our two companies should … finance … such an aircraft …… …. that in no circumstances would any technical member of the Air Ministry be consulted or allowed to interfere with the designer” Sir Robert McLean – Chairman Vickers Aviation Ltd.

  24. F7/30 refined – Supermarine Drawing 30000 sheet 11 Dated September 1934

  25. Beverley Shenstone Canadian aerodynamicist Joined Vickers-Supermarine in 1932 Used Ludwig Prandtl’s theories of elliptic wing planforms in the Spitfire design Spitfire wings (NACA 2200 series) were VERY thin by comparison with others - 13% root T/C tapering to 6% T/C at tip

  26. Joseph (Joe) Smith (1897 – 1956) Chief Draughtsman under Mitchell Succeeded Mitchell in 1937 as manager of Design Department and then Chief designer

  27. Joseph Smith’s Spitfire main spar construction

  28. L-R “Mutt” Summers, “Agony” Payn, RJM, S. Scott-hall, Jeffrey Quill

  29. Spitfire deliveries First production Mk.I deliveries were to 19 Sqn at Duxford between August and December of 1938 Subsequent mod program for fitting Merlin III engines, Rotol or DH variable pitch props, armor and conversion to metal covered wings Mk.II deliveries began in June 1940 but Mk.Is bore the brunt of the Battle

  30. Maximum speed in mph at: Ref. “Birth of a Legend” by Jeffrey Quill

  31. Ref. “Birth of a Legend” by Jeffrey Quill

  32. Ref. “Birth of a Legend” by Jeffrey Quill

  33. At the start of the Battle, 32 squadrons of Hurricanes were operational 19 squadrons of Spitfires were operational By August 1940 10 Group had 3 sqns of Hurricanes, 3 sqns Spitfires 11 Group had 13 sqns Hurricanes, 6 sqns Spitfires 12 Group had 5 sqns Hurricanes, 6 sqns Spitfires 13 group had 8 Sqns Hurricanes, 3 sqns Spitfires

  34. Charles Kettering (1876-1958) General Motors Corporation's research chief Initiated investigation into causes of “Knocking” (aka “pinking”)

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