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 B range engines many Rolls-Royce B range engines are still in use. Rolls-Royce B range engines The Rolls-Royce B range was a range of petrol engines first intended to be installed in a car but in 1943 developed into a range to power the British Army's wheeled vehicles. The Alvis Saladin and Rolls-Royce Phantom IV were fitted with 8-cylinder versions. The B range of engines were all of the inline configuration, with crossflow inlet-over-exhaust cylinder heads and were naturally aspirated. They were heavily rationalized engines, which made use of as many common parts across the range as possible, for example, the 8 cylinder