Log Number: 70
Brand: 21st Century Toys, The Ultimate Soldier Xtreme Detail
Nickname: LE: Pilot Officer William Dunn
War: World War II
Airplane Type: Spitfire Mk I/II
Action Figures: 1, Cockpit Pilot
Airplane Scale: 1:32
Country of Origin: Great Britain
Product Part Number: 13317
Packaging: Original
Product Condition: Excellent and UnusedProduct Weight: 1 lbs 0.8 oz
Limited Edition, Paint Scheme, Spitfire K. II A, Pilot Officer William Dunn (USA), 71 (EAGLE) Squadron,Church Fenton, England, August 1941, S1.
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Mint Condition "New" in box. Item is no longer produced, collectors dream!
Shipped within USA with USPS Priority Mail.
Shipped International with eBay International Standard Delivery and/or USPS International Delivery. (Note: Cannot ship multiple airplanes under one order. Due to International Shipping customs regulations, shipping size and value - you will need to purchase in singular and/or one-by-one (per or each) purchase.)
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Text on box reads:
"In 1930, the Supermarine company, famous for designing flying boats and seaplanes, began work on a single-seat fighter. R.J. Mitchell, Supermarine's brilliant chief designer, was dissatisfied with the aircraft that resulted and continued development work on it until, in March of 1935, a wooden mock-up of what was unmistakably a Spitfire took shape. A prototype was then constructed and this first Spitfire, K5054, made its first flight almost exactly a year later on March 26, 1936. For its time, the Spitfire was an extremely modern design. Sitting next to the fabric-covered biplane fighters that remained the Royal Air Force's front line equipment, the first Spitfires looked very tiny, almost dainty. This daintiness belied the aircraft's deadliness in battle. The thin, semi-elliptical wing, eight-gun armament, all-metal stressed-skin construction, retractable landing gear and enclosed cockpit all represented the latest thinking in fighter design and contributed to the Spitfire becoming the world's supreme short-range interceptor.
The first Spitfire entered service with Britain's Royal Air Force in August of 1938. Two years later, at the height of the Battle of Britain, no fewer than nineteen RAF fighter squadrons would be equipped with the Spitfire. It was during this desperate battle against the German Luftwaffe, in the skies over southern England in the summer of 1940, that the Spitfire's immortal reputation would be created.
The Mk.I and ll were the two Spitfire variants in service during Battle of Britain. The Mk.I was the first version of the Spitfire to serve with the RAF. Powered by a 1030 h.p. Rolls-Royce Merlin II or III engine, early Mk.I's had four guns and a wooden two-bladed propeller. Armament was later increased to eight guns, these being Browning 303" caliber machine guns with 300 rounds per gun, each with a blistering 1200 rounds-per-minute rate of fire. By the time of the Battle of Britain, a three-bladed variable pitch propeller had replaced the two-bladed prop. With this more efficient propeller, the Spitfire Mk.I had a top speed of 354 m.p.h. at 18,900 feet, a ceiling of almost 35,000 feet, and could reach an altitude of 20,000 feet just 7.7 minutes after beginning its takeoff run.
These first Spitfires had a fuel capacity of 85 gallons, giving the aircraft a range of 395 miles including takeoff and 15 minutes of full-throttle combat. The Mk.II was essentially a Mk.I with minor improvements, built by another manufacturer. Spitfires may have been slightly slower than their main Battle of Britain adversary, the Me 109E, but their greater maneuverability meant that the two types were so evenly matched that, in a dogfight, victory was often decided by pilot skill.
Supermarine and Rolls-Royce worked tirelessly to maintain the Spitfire's superiority over enemy fighter aircraft for the remainder of its service life. A full nineteen years were to elapse between the first Spitfire entering service with the RAF and the retirement of the last survivor. During this time, the Spitfire was developed through forty major variants, adapted to roles never imagined when the type was designed and, with a total of 22,890 eventually being constructed, became the most-produced British aircraft type in history. To the British people, the "Spit" would become an eternal symbol of victory in their darkest hour."
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