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 RZ.2 Rolls-Royce RZ.2 The RZ.2 was a British design for a liquid oxygen (LOX) / kerosene-fuelled rocket engine to power the Blue Streak (missile). The design was a development of the Rolls-Royce RZ.1 rocket engine, which had in turn been a development by Rolls-Royce of the Rocketdyne S-3D.. Rolls-Royce, Ansty was the design authority. Two variants of this engine were developed: the first provided a static thrust of and the second (intended for the three stage satellite launch vehicle) . The engines were unique at that time in that they could be vectored by seven degrees in flight for guidance. Some