Built by Supermarine the first plane to bear the name Spitfire (probably in 1930) was not very successful. It was an open-cockpit monoplane with gull-wings and a large fixed spatted undercarriage. As a private venture a new prototype was designed, around which an [Air Ministry]? specification was written.
The first prototype flew in March 1936. It was a low wing cantilever monoplane?. Its elliptical wings gave it a very distinctive look. Only after the war, as speeds went up, was it discovered how advanced these wings were with a safe mach number of 0.83 and a maximum mach number of 0.86. *need to check these numbers*
The Spitfire was a plane of major importance in World War II, and is considered one of the finest aircraft of the war. Together with the [Hawker Hurricane]? it took the brunt of duty during the Battle of Britain.
It was in service during the whole of World War II, in all theaters of war, and in many different variants. More than 8,300 planes of all variants were built, and the Spitfire remained in service well into the 1950's.
There also was a naval version called the Seafire. It was especially adapted for operation from aircraft carriers: it had arrester hooks, folding wings and other specialised equipment. Like the Spitfire, the Seafire had a narrow undercarriage track, which meant that it was not the best aircraft for carrier duty.
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