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Did a spitfire break the speed of sound?

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Did a spitfire break the speed of sound?

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  1. Not in our lifetime. I don't think it is likely as they were not the best put together plane!


  2. No way, Spits weren't built to go that fast. If one broke the speed of sound it would have dissenigrated.

  3. Many warplanes in WW2 reached the speed of sound but only in dives and several pilots died because the G force caused them to lose consciousness but none of the WW2 aircraft engines could reach Mach 1 in normal flight

  4. I have heard  a lot of stupid questions but I think this one tops them all.  If you didn't know a Spitfire is a propeller aircraft.  With my knoweledge from watching the Military Channel I have not seen any planes even go 400MPH, and the sound barrier can not be broken until about 700 something Miles Per Hour.

  5. Certainly not in controlled flight. It may have happened in the latter stages of a power dive but would invariably end in the destruction of the aircraft involved. The airframes were not designed to take the stresses as the science involved was still in it's infancy. The controls became unmanageable because of the forces at play on the aircraft's control surfaces.

  6. No propeller driven aircraft can break the speed of sound.

    Spitfires, Mustangs, Lightnings, Typhoons, and other

    high performance 'prop jobs` did experience 'compressiblilty'

    problems in dives during WW II, but this was because

    of their thick wings.

    They never got very close to Mach 1.

  7. It isn't uncommon to hear stories about propeller driven airplanes that broke the speed of sound.  But these are always based on accounts by pilots of their instrument readings.  I'm sure they are being honest about what they experienced and believe.  However, the instruments were designed and installed on their aircraft with very limited knowledge of the effects of compressibility on the airflow and instruments.  Even though the airplanes were not supersonic the instruments gave false readings.  The pilots are honest, but the airplanes are subsonic.

  8. No, it's not designed for that sort of speed and would have broken up.  Not many propellor driven aircraft have ever exceeded the speed of sound, only one or two at most.  There are huge aerodynamic issues with props and shock waves.

  9. No, came close in 1952 at 690 mph Mach 0.94 in a nearly uncontrolled dive from 50,000 feet.  Recovered a mere 3,000 feet from the ground.  No known aircraft of WWII surpassed the sound barrier.  Probably the only weapon that surpassed the sound barrier aside from bullets and artillery shells was the German V-2 rocket.

  10. Im sure its possible, whether it happened.. uh seems unlikely.

    If you work out the terminal velocity of the spitfire, it would quite probably exceed the speed of sound.. you would no doubt require a lot of altitude though.

  11. no it didnt the spit mk1 reached 435mph fitting of variable pitch prop improved this but even the spit mk10 super marine in its final development could only attain about 595 in service

  12. No but  the supermarine spitfire  held the air speed record for a long time,winning the contest for many years

  13. As far as i`m aware no propeller driven aeroplane broke the sound barrier.

  14. The highest speed reached by a spitfire was 690mph or mach 0.94

    This was the highest speed recorded at the time for a propeller driven air craft, but just short of 750mph

  15. Several pilots reported problems with the sound barrier in the later parts of World War II. The reason for this is that when an aircraft approaches the speed of sound, several shockwaves form over the wings and tail, which locks the controls. This would happen in a dive, which is terrifyingly dangerous.  Quite a few high powered aircraft like the Spitfire and Mustang had these problems and some broke apart. The massive structural loads of supersonic flight would likely cause breakup, so those instances might be evidence. Without proper instruments and data to calculate with, we can only speculate.

    Actually getting supersonic is hard to do because of the drag those shockwaves make, so it's hard to tell whether they crossed it or just got really close. Aerodynamically, it is very unlikely but possible. In any event, it would be considered uncontrolled flight as the pilot would basically be along for the ride. All he could do is throttle down and hope the plane is slowed by air friction in time to regain control.

  16. No.

  17. The propeller tips may well have gone supersonic in a full power dive. This also happens with a Harvard

  18. No I think Concorde did.

  19. Never, at least not in controlled flight.
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