Elliptical Elegance
Flying and Evaluating the Seafire Mark III
Flying and Evaluating the Seafire Mark III
It’s commonly agreed that the Spitfire/Seafire configuration was the most beautiful fighter ever. Its elliptical wing and long, slim fuselage were most delightful to the eye, and its flight characteristics equaled its aerodynamic excellence. The Navy Spitfire, the Seafire, was heavier, but otherwise retained all of the Spitfire’s delightful flight characteristics.
The Spitfire and Seafire series had only two unacceptable features to perturb a fighter pilot: one was caused by its configuration, and the other was the result of gross negligence on the part of the design team. The length of its nose and the aircraft’s steep, nose-high angle provided insufficient forward visibility when taxiing. The slimness of the fuselage alleviated this problem somewhat, but continual S-turns while taxiing were mandatory. And the cockpit’s internal layout was a disaster! It was configured as if blindfolded engineers had played “Pin the tail on the donkey.” Important switches, instruments and controls weren’t labeled and were small and hidden. Unimportant items, too, weren’t labeled, but they were large and always in the way. So much for the objective evaluation. In reality, combat pilots would forget these drawbacks when airborne!
I was checked out by two soon-to-befamous Royal Navy lieutenants: Mike Lithgow, who became chief test pilot of the Supermarine after the War and also became my good friend; and Peter Twiss, who became chief test pilot at Fairey Aircraft. On March 10, 1956, he set a world speed record in the Fairey Delta-2 by flying the first jet aircraft to exceed 1,000mph in level flight. Lithgow and Twiss were not only friendly check pilots but were also most helpful in getting me off the ground and back to the flightline.
On the flight before mine, the pilot reported that the brakes failed after landing. Inspection showed that the engine-driven air compressor that provided power for the wheel brakes had somehow leaked air, and the brakes failed while taxiing with the engine at low rpm. Twiss confidently asserted that they had filled the air accumulator and that it would provide enough braking to get airborne but it might fail after landing. He further stated that if I made a “docile” landing and taxied “peacefully” off the runway into the grass, they would come out with a tug and retrieve the aircraft. With such professional encouragement, I decided to give it a go. Evaluating the Spitfire was on the top of my need-to-do list at the Joint Army/Navy Fighter Conference in October 1944.
THE TERRIFIC, FULL-POWER TAKEOFF ACCELERATION OF THIS LIGHT INTERCEPTOR-FIGHTER WAS THRILLING THE GROUND AFTER LESS THAN 500 FEET OF ROLL INTO A 20-KNOT WIND AND CLIMBED LIKE A HOMESICK ANGEL
Because of the thrust of its 1340hp Merlin engine, its big wing area and immediate powerful rudder, its wheel-brake problem was soon out of my thoughts. The terrific, full-power takeoff acceleration of this light interceptor-fighter was thrilling. By raising the tail immediately, I could easily see ahead. The Seafire left the ground after less than 500 feet of roll into a 20-knot wind and climbed like a homesick angel. For the rest of the flight, I mentally blotted out all problems with this airplane. Straight stalls and turning stalls were friendly with very little wing dropping and at an unheard speed of 66mph! (The Hellcat had an 85mph stall speed.)
I did spins as though I was in a training aircraft, with instant recovery as soon as I released the controls. Even if I could have found the trim-tab controls, and I couldn’t,
I had little need for them. The stability about the airplane’s three axes was low enough to make it a fighter pilot’s dream and high enough to fly hands-off in turbulent air—a great combination. Aerobatics were a pleasure. The airplane responded right after the thought of any aerobatic maneuver came into my mind—seemingly without effort. It was easy to see how a low-time pilot would easily be able to master this aircraft with confidence.
The Seafire had delightful upright flying qualities. Knowing that it had an inverted fuel and oil system, I decided to try inverted figure-8s. They were as easy as pie, even though I hung from the complicated, but comfortable, British pilot-restraint harness. I was surprised to hear myself laughing as if I were crazy. I have never enjoyed a flight in a fighter so much—before or since—or felt comfortable so readily in any aircraft and
I WAS SURPRISED TO HEAR MYSELF LAUGHING AS IF I WERE CRAZY I HAVE NEVER ENJOYED A FLIGHT IN A FIGHTER SO MUCH-BEFORE OR SINCE
in any flight condition. It was now clear to me why so few exhausted, hastily trained, Battle of Britain pilots were able to fight off Hitler’s hordes for so long and so successfully. I eventually learned the meaning of Winston Churchill’s famous phrase honoring those overworked RAF heroes.
Alas, the gauge on my Seafire’s one and only, all-too-small, 122-gallon fuel system beckoned me to attempt a brakeless, “docile” landing without a ground loop. Like a martini high and by landing in the same 20-knot wind, it seemed as easy as everything else had been during the last delightful hour and a half. After a gentle landing, I gently and civilly nudged the rudder of my new Seafire Mk. III friend and taxied off the runway. It stopped peacefully as I had been told it would. I called the tower, notified them of my predicament and awaited my very kind, English test pilot friend’s arrival with a tow tug.
During the war, 19,372 Supermarine Spitfires, including the Mk. XVI model, and 1,622 Navy Seafires up to the Mk. III model were delivered in 25 different models to British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and U.S. fighter forces. It’s a serious contender for the claim of being the most combatdeveloped and most prolifically manufactured WW II fighter. After the war, another batch of 2,500 Spitfires was constructed for the Swedish, Egyptian, Israeli, Burmese, Dutch, Palestinian, Norwegian, Danish, Greek, and Syrian air forces. With the advent of the Gloster Meteor and the de Havilland Vampire jet, the military Spitfires lasted into the late 1950s—not bad for a Johnny-come-lately to WW II.
The Spitfire’s flight handling characteristics are described by all pilots who evaluated it as being akin to those of a highly bred, swift Arabian steed. In comparison, America built only plodding, workhorse fighters.