In total there were 24 marks of Spitfire and many sub-variants within each mark. This article presents a brief history of the Spitfire through all its variants. It should be noted that the numbering of the variants does not necessarily imply a chronological order; for example, the Mk. IX was a stop gap measure brought into production before the marks VII and VIII to address the urgent needs of the air force which could not wait for the more ambitious designs of the preceding marks. It is sometimes difficult to identify the variant of an individual Spitfire as many aircraft were built as one variant and later modified to be like another variant.

There is an apparent discrepancy in Spitfire numbering schemes in that sometimes Roman numerals are used and sometimes Arabic numerals are used. This is down to changes in RAF numbering schemes. Up until the end of 1942 the RAF would always use Roman numerals for mark numbers. From 1943 to 1948 was a transition period during which new aircraft entering service were given Arabic mark numbers but older aircraft retained their Roman numerals. From 1948 onwards Arabic numerals were used exclusively. This article adopts the convention of using Roman numerals for the marks I through XVI and Arabic numerals for the marks 17 through 24.

Description
Role Day fighter
Crew one, pilot
First flight March 5, 1936
Entered Service August, 1938
Manufacturer Supermarine
Dimensions
Length 29 ft 11 in 9.1 m
Wingspan 36 ft 10 in 11.2 m
Height 11 ft 5 in 3.9 m
Wing area ft² m²
Weights
Empty 5,000 lb 2300 kg
Loaded lb kg
Maximum takeoff 6,400 lb 3100 kg
Powerplant
Engine Rolls-Royce Merlin 45
Power 1,470 hp 1096 kW
Performance
Maximum speed 374 mph 602 km/h
Combat range 470 miles 760 km
Ferry range miles km
Service ceiling 35,000 ft 11,300 m
Rate of climb ft/min m/min
Wing loading lb/ft² kg/m²
Power/Mass hp/lb kW/kg
Armament
Guns 2 × 20 mm cannon
4 × .303 inch (7.7 mm) machine guns
Bombs 1 × 500 lb (230 kg) bomb