Being a descendent of Schneider Trophy seaplane air races, Spitfire adopted by RAF in August 1938 and became most numerous British plane produced in WW2 (circa 23,000), incorporating new 1930s-era technologies such as stressed-skin airframe, bulged canopy hood for enhanced peripheral pilot view, bullet-proof windshield, MERLIN engine. Mark I and II models had various weapon configurations, speed near 360 mph, range of 1,000 miles. Schneider Trophy - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schneider_Trophy

Although not depicted on this model, some 1940-era Spitfire had a brown square patch painted on port (left) wing, which would change color if poison gas existed in atmosphere. Memories of WW1 gas warfare haunted both Allies and Axis powers, both sides kept stockpiles of poison gas for potential usage on battlefields or urban centers. Once unleashed, this weapon would create mutual mass destruction for combatants and civilians alike. Hence, neither side deployed this weapon even in the most dire combat situations. Supermarine Spitfire - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire

Rollover : Sleek front angle view of Spitfire, common fighter feature of era was small plane silhouette to machine compactness and prevent ease of detection from enemy aircrafts. With bulky airborne radar in its infancy, aerial combat commenced with pilot visual sighting. Which ever combatant sights his enemy first was able to position aircraft for offensive advantage. Almost universal pilot expectation that only sleek & small aircrafts can be maneuverable for aerial combat, this notion was debunked when American P-47 Thunderbolt was introduced in 1942 for bomber escort and ground-attack missions. Being larger in size than traditional WW2 fighters, joke shared among P-47 crew was that if the enemy attacks, its pilot can simply duck into the plane fuselage and run around inside to avoid enemy rounds. Republic P-47 Thunderbolt - www.aviation-history.com/republic/p47.html

Nevertheless, by 1960s Vietnam War era, US pilots were ordered to visually identify enemy aircraft before launching their aerial missiles (which negated 10 miles or so stand-off capabilities of air-to-air missile ). With North Vietnamese flying Soviet-designed fighters, they possessed smaller silhouettes than US fighters (ex. F-4 Phantom II, F-105 Thunderchief), hence had advantage of detecting US planes first during aerial combat. By 1975, US Air Force instituted RED FLAG aerial training with Vietnam War pilot veterans to condition new US pilots to Soviet-style aerial combat. Red Flag - http://www.afa.org/magazine/Nov2000/1100redflag.asp

Inset : Fuselage insignia of Yellow (thick)-Blue-White-Red roundel is RAF Type A1. This was a common roundel found in 1939-1941 operations during Battle of France, Battle of Britain, and North Africa campaigns. Yellow roundel outlining was thicker than Type A1 Variant underwing insignia. RAF Roundels 1939 - 1945 - www.homepages.mcb.net/bones/01UKAV/roundels/RAF_ROUNDELS.htm