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    • Year
      1906
      2018
    • Length
      7 m
      12 m
    • Height
      2 m
      5 m
    • Width
      1 m
      8 m
    • Diameter
      3 m
      9 m
    • Wing area
      18 m2
      28 m2
    • Wingspan (Beam)
      8 m
      14 m
    • Wing loading
      3 kg/m2
      829 kg/m2
    • Swept
      4 m
      10 m
    • Sweep
      25 deg
      68 deg
    • Aspect ratio
      1
      26
    • Disc area
      1 m2
      460 m2
    • Main rotor diameter
      1 m
      62 m
    • Rotor number
      1 qt
      8 qt
    • Blades per rotor
      4 qt
      5 qt
    • Disc loading
      17 kg/m2
      73 kg/m2
    • Tail rotor diameter
      0 m
      5 m
    • Empty weight
      2251 kg
      3377 kg
    • Max. takeoff weight (Gross weight)
      2772 kg
      4159 kg
    • Loaded weight
      5 kg
      242500 kg
    • Crew
      1 per.
      2 per.
    • Useful load
      26 kg
      90700 kg
    • Payload
      23 kg
      122470 kg
    • Capacity passengers
      1 per.
      400 per.
    • Hardpoints
      1 qt
      2576 qt
    • Ground Speed
      96 km/h
      1500 km/h
    • Max. Speed
      462 km/h
      694 km/h
    • Сruise Speed
      280 km/h
      422 km/h
    • Stall Speed
      40 km/h
      258 km/h
    • Landing Speed
      68 km/h
      270 km/h
    • Minimum control speed
      24 km/h
      113 km/h
    • Never exceed speed
      107 km/h
      1050 km/h
    • Fuel Capacity
      23 l
      320000 l
    • Fuel External
      142 l
      10025 l
    • Power/mass
      0 hp/kg
      23 hp/kg
    • Thrust/weight
      0 kN/kg
      3 kN/kg
    • Afterburning thrust
      29 kN/kg
      980 kN/kg
    • Total Power
      1267 hp
      1902 hp
    • Thrust
      1 kN
      1914 kN
    • Service ceiling
      7802 m
      11705 m
    • Static ceiling
      3 m
      5485 m
    • Range (Ferry range)
      660 km
      990 km
    • Range PTB (Ferry range)
      720 km
      10000 km
    • Сombat radius
      496 km
      744 km
    • Endurance
      0 h
      150 h
    • Takeoff roll
      20 m
      3200 m
    • Landing roll
      20 m
      2570 m
    • Maximum glide ratio
      7
      43
    • Load factor from
      2 G
      9 G
    • Rate of climb
      1 m/min
      3 m/min
    • Rate of sink
      36 m/min
      56 m/min
    • Time to altitude
      0 min
      105 min
    • Propellers
      1 qt
      8 qt
    • Prop diameter
      1 m
      6 m
    • Prop blade number
      1 qt
      8 qt
    • Guns
      1 qt
      18 qt
    • Bombs
      1 qt
      250 qt
    • Missiles
      1 qt
      24 qt
    • Rockets
      1 qt
      76 qt
    • Torpedoes
      1 qt
      4 qt
    • Bombs weight
      2 kg
      39000 kg
    • Rockets weight
      1 kg
      48 kg
    • Number built
      1867 qt
      2801 qt
    • Price
      41 USD
      750000000 USD

Supermarine Seafire
TypeAircraft
Company

Supermarine Aviation Works

Scheme

Low wing

Monoplane

Geometry
Length (m)
1.9
 
9.2
88.7
Height (m)
0.6
 
3.5
50.1
Wings
Wing area (m2)
1.1
 
22.7
925
Wingspan (Beam) (m)
0.1
 
11.2
95
Weights
Empty weight (kg)
8
 
2,814
276,800
Max. takeoff weight (Gross weight) (kg)
154
 
3,465.5
575,000
Capacity
Crew (per.)
1
 
1
112
Speeds
Max. Speed (km/h)
25
 
578
28,165
at 1554 m
Сruise Speed (km/h)
52
 
351
3,087
Power
Total Power (hp)
0.4
 
1,584.5
60,000
1 powerplant
Performance
Service ceiling (m)
0.6
 
9,753.6
161,544
Range (Ferry range) (km)
4
 
825
40,700
Сombat radius (km)
277
 
620
7,210
Dynamic Performance
Rate of climb (m/min)
1.9
 
1.9
36,000
to 1525 m
Stat
Number built (qt)
0
 
2,334
43,000
Introduction 1946
First flight 07.01.1942
It was the day after the Battle of Britain, when the Fleet Air Arm really began to take an interest in a naval version of the famous Supermarine Spitfire pursuit plane. Finally, a Spitfire Mk VB-was taken from stocks of the Royal Air Force and was equipped with a tail hook for operations on a board of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. Designated Seafire Mk- IA, it carried its trial flight between November and December 1941. It was made in almost total secrecy so as not to arouse the attention of Nazi Germany that lacked naval aviation. The tests were so successful that the Royal Navy quickly acquire from the Air Ministry a batch of 140 Spitfire Mk-V to convert them into Seafires Mk-IB by the addition of a hook and a reinforced landing gear . The canopy was also reviewed and corrected.

Unlike the Hawker Sea Hurricane, main air-defence interceptor, pursuit plane and air superiority of the British Navy fighter, the Seafire was never adapted to CAM-Ships that were the war/trade ships with a pneumatic catapult and a crane to use close air defense fighters. Thus the Seafire was truly a naval fighter.

But for real the Seafires entered the production as naval fighters only starting from Seafire Mk-IIC. The reason of this is that the first 372 units were not considered as modified Spitfire but rather as new devices designed from scratch. Some were later transformed by Westland in Seafire LR-IIC reconnaissance aircraft equipped with additional camera and a reconnaissance camera. These devices mainly fulfilled daytime missions. When the war ended in 1945, more than 2000 Seafire in a dozen of different versions were assembled and delivered to the Fleet Air Arm.

Among the feat of arms of Seafire fighters are air cover on D-day in Provence in August 1944 when the units of Squadrons 807, 809, and 879, all three embarked on the escort carrier HMS Khedive fought the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 of Luftwaffe in the region. Although the fights were tough, they nevertheless quickly turned in favor of the Allies.
Furthermore, in July the same year, the Seafire Squadrons 808 and 885 carried interception day mission of German fighter, but also sometimes at night. Although no Seafire was equipped with onboard radar. Between late 1944 and May 1945, the Seafire Mk-15 carried numerous missions from their aircraft carrier or from land bases against battery V2 ballistic missiles. In fact these weapons pose significant threats to the UK.

After the end of armed hostilities, the Seafire gradually began to give place to Hawker Sea Fury, more modern plane with better powerplants. However the removal from service of Sea Hurricane offered Seafire the role of second carrier fighter of the Royal Navy and a significant number of these aircraft were sent to the Far East, especially in Singapore and Hong Kong where the Crown had significant defense needs. Moreover, the UK needed to place back its colonial power blazon in these territories that once were under Japanese power. The Seafire often fly alongside the Spitfire but also De Havilland Mosquito RAF.

Finally, the Seafire flew in the Fleet Air Arm until 1954, until when the standard aircraft remained such as Mk-47 with Rolls & Royce Griffon engines and Mk-85 with dual contra-rotating propellers. These British Seafires gave way to combat jets Supermarine Attacker FB Mk-2.

If during the Second World War the Seafire was not exported, afterwards it was. In fact France which had obtained the Allied supply of the British aircraft carrier HMS Colossus, meanwhile renamed Arromanche after the famous beach of the Normandy Landings, had the opportunity to acquire for free 48 Seafire Mk-III assigned in March 1946 to the Flotilla 12F and 1F. They were followed in January 1948 a second batch of 65 Seafires Mk-III for the Squadrons 1S, 2S, 3S, 4S, 11S, and 54S. Many of these units were sent to Indochina alongside the Air Force equipment.

In June 1949, the Navy was permitted to commit to action a batch of fifteen Mk-15 Seafire but more modern and better armed. Yet neither the Seafire Mk-III nor the Mk-15 managed to attract leaders of the French Navy who considered this pursuit plane too fragile for French operations. That's why the last French Seafire was reformed in November 1951, finally giving way to F6F Hellcat old Grumman. Anyway, the Seafire was the first naval fighter for France after liberation. It can therefore be considered as the distant ancestor of Dassault Super Etendard or Rafale M. Dassault.

The Seafire quickly proved to be a very good fighter, though he was overshadowed by the aura of its "big brother" on the land. But like many other fighters constructed during the Second World War, this plane quickly became obsolete.

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