September 1940
by Pat Speirs
Title
September 1940
Artist
Pat Speirs
Medium
Photograph - Digital Art Print
Description
Spitfire Series
�September 1940�
A classic encounter from that dramatic time as a Bf 109 evades the following Spitfire, leaving the main engagement high above them. The Bf 109 pilots learned, very quickly, that the Spitfire was more nimble at height but suffered from an inability to keep up with the 109 in a dive. When the Bf 109 was �pushed over� into a dive the injection fuel system ensured the engine suffered no loss of power under the negative G force - not so with the Spit as the engine was served by float carburettors which failed under such G loadings. So, when all else failed, head for the deck and home!!
I know it looks, in the posted image, as if the Spit is very close to the 109 but the RAF pilots very quickly realised that the initial set-up with the guns harmonised at 400yds (point at which the eight bullet streams converge) was more of a �spray and pray� approach than a proper sighting solution. The gun harmonisation was quickly brought in to 150 yds and many of the better pilots held on till much closer ranges - less than 12 secs total firing time doesn�t leave much room for error.
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June 29th, 2012
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