In 1934, Supermarine, a company known for producing record-breaking sports aircraft, presented the Type 224 monoplane at the Royal Air Force (RAF) competition for a new fighter. However, the project lost the competition, and the designers began to rework it: the resulting aircraft was radically different from the original. The Spitfire was a fast and maneuverable interceptor fighter. It had an original elliptical wing, a closed cockpit, and the latest Rolls-Royce PV12 engine (later called Merlin). The armament was increased from four to eight machine guns, with four in each wing. The prototype first flew on March 6, 1936, and the first production aircraft on May 15, 1938.

With the experience of the air war, the fighter was continuously improved. More and more advanced and powerful engines were installed and the armament was increased. By 1943 Rolls-Royce had developed the new powerful Griffin engine. The water-cooled engine, of the same V-shaped design as the Merlin, had slightly larger dimensions and weight but developed much more power. This engine with a two-stage compressor was installed in a new model of the Spitfire - Mk.XIV.

The Spitfire Mk.XIV is a single-seat, single-engine, all-metal monoplane with a cantilevered low wing. During production, the wing was also modified — additional fuel tanks were fitted in the leading edge. There were both standard and shortened wing tips. The main innovation of the "E" modification was the lowered fuselage spine with a teardrop-shaped cockpit canopy. These planes were also usually equipped with an additional fuselage tank, located directly behind the armored headrest of the pilot, and space for mounting a camera for use as an FR.XIV reconnaissance plane. However, they were often flown as "pure" fighters with the camera removed.

The armament was installed in the "universal wing" Type E: two belt-fed Hispano cannons and two Browning heavy machine guns (there were options to install four .303 machine guns instead of the heavy machine guns). Racks for two 250 lb bombs were mounted under the wings, and under the fuselage, the aircraft could carry a bomb weighing up to 500 lb.

Spitfire XIVs with teardrop canopies arrived at the front in the final stages of the war in March-April 1945 and were mainly used for tactical photographic reconnaissance, but since they were armed, they were also used for fighter missions. It is believed that the last aerial victory of an RAF fighter pilot in the war in Europe was achieved in just such a machine.

These planes were also used as fighter-bombers. Some fighters and reconnaissance aircraft were transferred to India before the end of the war, but all three squadrons that received them had not reached combat readiness by the time Japan surrendered.

Used sources:

K. G. Munson "British Aircraft of World War II" 1962

V. Kotelnikov "Spitfire" The Best Fighter of the Royal Air Force" 2019

Materials from the site airwar.ru