Light fighter in 1938 and remained in production throughout the war. The empty weight of the Battle of Britain-era Spitfire IIA was 2,142 kg (4,723 lb), increasing to 2,984 kg (6,578 lb) in a later variant. It was highly maneuverable and was generally a match for its German opponents. Most Spitfires had a Rolls Royce Merlin engine, but later variants used one of the most powerful engines of the war – the Rolls Royce Griffon. The Spitfire was produced and improved throughout the war but was complex to build and had limited range. In other respects it was considered an outstanding fighter.
Rolls-Royce RB3011 Rolls-Royce RB3011 The Rolls-Royce RB3011 (previously designated RB2011) is a prototype propfan engine in development by Rolls-Royce plc. The design is also known as an "open rotor" engine. The RB3011 is designed for the 180-300 passenger aircraft (e.g. Boeing 737 or Airbus A320). Rolls-Royce bought the Allison Engine Company in 1995, and has studied the Pratt & Whitney/Allison 578-DX propfan engine built in the 1980s. The engine has two contra-rotating rotors (fans) on the outside of the engine nacelle, either at the front of the assembly ("tractor") or at the rear ("pusher"). Both pusher and tractor open rotor designs form