or Supermarine Spitfire
British fighter aircraft in World War II. A low-wing monoplane first flown in 1936, it was adopted by the
At that time one of the war's fastest single-seat fighters, it was used effectively during the Battle of {{link=Britain, Battle of">Britain . Later models allowed it to serve as a fighter-bomber and a photoreconnaissance plane. The 1938 version had a top speed of about 360 mph (580 kph) and was armed with eight .303-in. (7.7-mm) machine guns. The Spitfire XIV, one of the last models of the war, had a ceiling of 40,000 ft (12,200 m) and a top speed of 440 mph (710 kph). The RAF retired its last Spitfires in 1954.