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 Limited Rolls-Royce Limited Rolls-Royce was a British luxury car and later an aero engine manufacturing business established in 1904 by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's reputation established with his cranes they quickly developed a reputation for superior engineering by manufacturing the "best car in the world". The First World War brought them into manufacturing aero engines. Joint development of jet engines began in 1940 and they entered production. Rolls-Royce has built an enduring reputation for development and manufacture of engines for defence and civil aircraft. In the late 1960s Rolls-Royce became hopelessly crippled by its