Post by watchmanjim on Jun 12, 2017 19:45:45 GMT -6
A World War II era Spitfire fighter crashed on takeoff Sunday 6-12-17 at an airshow in France. The pilot struggled to control the plane (the Spitfire is very hard to control on the ground) and the propeller hit the ground and shattered, sending shrapnel into the crowd as the plane's nose dug into the ground and it flipped over onto its back. Safety officials and crowd members rushed forward to help the pilot escape from the plane. The pilot was largely unharmed, but one person in the crowd was injured.
The Spitfire was designed by Reginald Mitchell, a British aeronautical engineer who was dying of cancer. He finished the amazingly revolutionary design of the Spitfire fighter before his young death. His urgency was propelled by his belief that the free world would soon need his fighter to defend against the oppression of Fascism. He was right. He essentially gave his life for the cause of the free West before World War II even began.
The crash:
www.rt.com/viral/391979-spitfire-crash-fire-debris/
The Spitfire is the only aircraft type, out of hundreds, that was produced continually from the very beginning to the very end of World War II. It is hands-down considered to be the best fighter produced by the United Kingdom during the World War II era. In almost every stage of the war, the Spitfire, in each of its improved variants, gave its pilots an edge over their enemies in terms of maneuverability and overall performance. It was considered the most beautiful Allied fighter to fly (its maneuverability and handling were outstanding) but on the ground it was extremely dangerous to operate, as shown in yesterday's accident. Many pilots experienced similar crashes, sometimes even after many hours of experience.
The Spitfire's clean, aerodynamic lines caused it to be considered one of the most aesthetically beautiful aircraft of all times. German General Adolph Galland once famously complained to Goering that the only way he could get an edge over the British would be if he could have a squadron of Spitfires to fly. This from a man who ultimately shot down over 100 British and American planes in combat and at one point commanded the Luftwaffe's entire fighter force.
A very interesting feature of the Spitfire's design was its elliptical wing shape, when viewed from above or below. Most aircraft of the era had a straight line-angled leading edge, trailing edge, or both, but the Spitfire featured beautifully curved leading and trailing edges to the wings. Whether this feature gave it any true performance advantages is debatable, but it was the signature feature of the model.
Over 20,000 Spitfires were built. It was used not only by the United Kingdom, but by every major, and nearly every minor Allied combat participant in World War II that was active beyond 1940. Together with its navalized version, the Seafire, it saw combat in nearly every theater of war, with a few minor exceptions. It served with the UK, USA, USSR, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Free France, and many other nations.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire
Does anybody see anything prophetic about this plane or this crash?
The Spitfire was designed by Reginald Mitchell, a British aeronautical engineer who was dying of cancer. He finished the amazingly revolutionary design of the Spitfire fighter before his young death. His urgency was propelled by his belief that the free world would soon need his fighter to defend against the oppression of Fascism. He was right. He essentially gave his life for the cause of the free West before World War II even began.
The crash:
www.rt.com/viral/391979-spitfire-crash-fire-debris/
The Spitfire is the only aircraft type, out of hundreds, that was produced continually from the very beginning to the very end of World War II. It is hands-down considered to be the best fighter produced by the United Kingdom during the World War II era. In almost every stage of the war, the Spitfire, in each of its improved variants, gave its pilots an edge over their enemies in terms of maneuverability and overall performance. It was considered the most beautiful Allied fighter to fly (its maneuverability and handling were outstanding) but on the ground it was extremely dangerous to operate, as shown in yesterday's accident. Many pilots experienced similar crashes, sometimes even after many hours of experience.
The Spitfire's clean, aerodynamic lines caused it to be considered one of the most aesthetically beautiful aircraft of all times. German General Adolph Galland once famously complained to Goering that the only way he could get an edge over the British would be if he could have a squadron of Spitfires to fly. This from a man who ultimately shot down over 100 British and American planes in combat and at one point commanded the Luftwaffe's entire fighter force.
A very interesting feature of the Spitfire's design was its elliptical wing shape, when viewed from above or below. Most aircraft of the era had a straight line-angled leading edge, trailing edge, or both, but the Spitfire featured beautifully curved leading and trailing edges to the wings. Whether this feature gave it any true performance advantages is debatable, but it was the signature feature of the model.
Over 20,000 Spitfires were built. It was used not only by the United Kingdom, but by every major, and nearly every minor Allied combat participant in World War II that was active beyond 1940. Together with its navalized version, the Seafire, it saw combat in nearly every theater of war, with a few minor exceptions. It served with the UK, USA, USSR, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Free France, and many other nations.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire
Does anybody see anything prophetic about this plane or this crash?
