Stability and Control characteristics of the Early Mark Spitfires

[Glider]

Originally Posted by robtek

There might be hundreds of Spitfires being lost over sea or behind enemy lines because of mishandling in stress situations, all disregarded because being accorded to enemy action.
Nobody knows that for sure.
The only data we have is a per se incomplete list of researched accidents.

As probably 90% of Mk I and Mk II combats were over the UK I doubt that hundreds were lost behind enemy lines or over the sea. So the comment about a lack of examples is a valid one.

One has been identified in volved in a spin. Crumpps comment was typical The never changed it because a high speed dive is generally the result of spin recovery and a Spitfire pilot could break the airplane rather easilyThe fact that this example was in a high speed dive from low cloud, then did a violent pull up presumably to avoid hitting the ground, suffered a high speed stall, then spun and then had a wing failure tells me that it was far from easy to break a Spitfire wing. It was very difficult.

Edit - I should add that to say that a high speed dive is generally the result of a spin recovery is rubbish, any pilot with spin experience would know that. In combat a high speed dive is normally the result of combat, trying to evade or bounce an enemy aircraft. Spinning is slow speed activity and recovering doesn't take long you have to wait until you have sufficient speed. Its the wait that is often the more dangerous time as if you try to pull out with insufficient speed the plane tends to sink (often called mush)and can still hit the ground. Holding your nerve until speed has been reached with the ground coming up can be difficult for some pilots to learn.
If you are in a high speed spin you are normally dead whatever happens to the plane as you will be trapped by the G forces, unable to open the cockpit or get out