The Insane Engineering of the Spitfire

The elevator must be deflected upwards, not downwards 4:07 Anyway great video!

The sheer imagination of getting into a plane and going into an air battle like this makes my skin shiver. These pilots were absolute madlads.

I really love how despite being a Spitfire video, it takes time for the 109 too. It's fascinating to see the ingenious and different ways both sides approached various technical challenges.

Wonderful documentary. my father was British and worked on the early warning system for the Battle of Britain. he wanted to fly a spitfire so much but his vision wasn't good enough - he wore glasses., but he was so proud of that plane. He gave me a model version of the plane to assemble one Christmas, and I was so proud of the plane too. God rest his soul.

6:00 I'm pretty sure this is Mustard's iconic narrating, glad to see him voicing over the quote

Love the Mustard cameo! Great to see collaboration like this between great channels

The wing armament was actually seen as a disadvantage because each gun needed to be configured to converge at a particular distance, which reduced overall accuracy. The BF109's nose guns concentrated firepower and improved roll rate by centralising mass.

I was born in 47, and as a small child my parents were still in the habit saving any bits of aluminium foil they came across. It seems that during the war years there was country- wide effort to secure as much aluminium scrap as possible with which to build Spitfires. This is easily one of the best and thorough Spitfire documentaries I've yet seen...

War Thunder is calling me

No interviews, deviations from the topic, no exaggerated narrative. Just physics, statistics, and engineering. If you had a TV show when I was a kid, I would watch it every chance I got. Good job on this one.

Question: How did the Spitfire work? Answer: Pretty well!

Proud to say my Dad was a member of the RAF - an aircraft fitter - and his job was to help to keep those planes 'fit to fly'. He was a young man in his 20s when he also had that great responsibility in signing off those planes, after being serviced, AS 'fit to fly'. Years later - in middle age - he admitted he would never have the nerve to do that type of job again. But youth is a wonderful thing, and he - and many more like him - did their jobs, and did them well. He was one of the lucky ones to survive the war, live to raise a family, and lead a good life. RIP Dad, and to all the other young men and women who fought during WWII - and the many who did give their lives - may you rest in peace, also, and know that you ALL were from the 'Greatest Generation'. :)

That’s “Hydraulics” But really, an insane presentation! Even as a former pilot, I learned a lot in this video

Mounting the guns centerline is beneficial when it comes to aiming and gun convergence. Wing mounted guns are typically set at angle so their shots converge at a certain range, making that range the optimal range. But that also means that outside the optimum aiming is harder and half your shots will always miss. Great video! The Spitfire is just beautiful!

Dude…. You’ve outdone yourself with this video…. Thank you for taking the time to educate us in these matters. As a history major I really appreciate it!

Thanks for using 601 squadron Spits in the CG sequences - my grandfather was a flight sergeant in 601, he knew that Merlin like the back of his hand and I am now the proud owner of his RR Merlin manuals.

I'm an aeronautical engineering student who loves military aviation history and the technologies involved in it. I've spent my fair amount of time learning about and making models of the Spitfire but it's so awesome to still learn new details of this beautiful bird and see all the information, videos, graphics and 3d models that the Real Engineering team put together. I dearly thank you and salute your work.

As someone who has studied the Spitfire all my adult life and also flown one, can I say that this documentary is of impeccable quality. There are a few misplaced clips of Hurricanes and Hispano Buchons, but that's forgivable. Your explanations of aerodynamic principles are very clear and accurate, and you rightly focus on the key points that made the Spitfire an apex predator: Bev Shenstone's wing design; the power to weight achieved by Rolls Royce engines; and the radiator technology that Supermarine had developed during the Schneider Trophy campaign. I'm really impressed and Nebula has instantly become a trusted brand. I have taken out a sub and look forward to much more.

Thank you for this video. My Father in law is Major General Carroll McColpin. He was a Spitfire Ace with the Eagle Squadron. He loved this plane and talked about it often. Look him up online, his story is fascinating. He and his wife are buried at Arlington National Cemetery a True war Hero.

this video is insane man. You are already the best engineering channel on Youtube and managed to step it up a whole another level. Congrats!