Supermarine Spitfire (early Merlin Powered Variants) - Wing Types

Wing Types

The Spitfires with the Single Stage Merlin engines used four different wing types, A through to D which had the same dimensions and plan but different internal arrangements of armament and fuel tanks. All Mk Is, IIs, and Vs and their derivatives had small, rectangular undercarriage indicator pins which projected at an angle from the upper wing surfaces when the undercarriage legs were locked down. These supplemented lights on the instrument panel. All of these variants used Dunlop AH2061 mainwheels which had five openings. The fixed, castering tailwheels were Dunlop AH2184s.

Starting with the Mk V some Spitfires had their rounded wingtips replaced by shorter, squared-off fairings to improve low-altitude performance and enhance the roll rate. These are sometimes referred to as "L.F" versions, e.g. L.F. Mk. VB: this designation referred to the low-altitude versions of the Rolls-Royce Merlin with the "cropped" supercharger impellers (known as Merlin 45M, 50M or 55M). While many "L.F" Spitfires had the "clipped" wings, a number did not.

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