This Spitfire ALMOST Went SUPERSONIC - The British WW2 Fighter That Almost Broke The Sound Barrier
In early 1944, in the skies over southern England, an RAF Reserve pilot is hurtling towards the ground. This was not an accident. It was an intentional but very dangerous investigation into the characteristics of high-speed flight and the forces exerted on an aeroplane as it approaches the speed of sound. The aeroplane in this case is a Supermarine Spitfire. Ever since the first manned powered flight in 1903 by the Wright Brothers, aviators have been trying to fly ever higher and faster. World War 1 would see a step change in aircraft technology and the inter war years would see aircraft fly beyond 400 mph. During World War 2, the RAF wanted to see what would happen to an aircraft as it get ever closer to the sound barrier and so they took a Supermarine Spitfire PR Mk XI and sent it to find out.... It almost went supersonic, These high speed flight tests would allow designers to evolve their aerodynamics and eventually, break the sound barrier in 1947. These early tests were vital in the development of the supersonic aircraft of today. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comments are always welcome and I try to respond to as many as possible. Please keep the comments polite and respectful. I reserve the right to remove any comments that breach these guidelines. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music Credits Epidemic Sound.com Get a 30 Day FREE Trial of awesome music using this link. https://www.epidemicsound.com/referra... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Northern Historian on Social Media Facebook / thenorthernhistorian Instagram / northern_historian ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Credits & Attributions https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superma... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fastest... https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20... https://www.staplesandvine.com/index.... http://www.worldofindie.co.uk/ Spitfire MK XI air display / @leviercosmicwind
German Pilot Tested A Captured Spitfire... His Words Shocked The Luftwaffe
Why Did America Use British Spitfires? The Full Story
WW2 Luftwaffe Ace Flies RAF Spitfire For the First Time
The BIGGEST Non-Nuclear bomb in World War 2
FOCKE WULF 190 vs. SPITFIRE | REAL Tailchase
Why German Engineers Were Baffled That Britain's Fastest Bomber Was Made Of Wood
German Ace Tested Captured P-51 Mustang... His Words Shocked
Inside the Spitfire
P 38 Lightning VS De Havilland Mosquito - Which Would You Want To Fight WW2 In?
The Insane Engineering of the Spitfire
Why German Officers Hated the American .45 ACP
The Rarest World War Two Planes You've Never Heard Of
Red Baron’s Deadly Hunt, April 2 1917 (Aerial Battles of Bloody April)
Why the Merlin engine was essential to the war
How One Engineer’s “Stupid” Twin-Propeller Design Turned the Spitfire Into a 470 MPH Monster
Britain's 300 MPH Most Successful Mistake
What RAF Pilots Said When They First Flew The American P-51 Mustang
When German Pilots First Chased the Mosquito — And Realized They Couldn't Catch It
Germans Couldn't Believe This "Invisible" Hunter — Until He Became Deadliest Night Ace
