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Secrets of the Spitfire: The Story of Beverley Shenstone, the Man Who Perfected the Elliptical Wing

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Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword Aviation (August 19, 2012)


Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 19, 2012


Language ‏ : ‎ English


File size ‏ : ‎ 5590 KB


Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled


Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported


Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled


X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled


Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • A Landmark Spitfire publication
This is an excellent book on the Spitfire and just as importantly Beverley Shenstone who was instrumental in guiding the aerodynamics of the Spitfire wing resulting in the unique forward swept modified ellipse that made the Spitfire what it is. The author Lance Cole is commended for digging deeper than previous authors in writing about the Spitfire, admittedly with the help of the Shenstone family providing the diaries and notes of Beverley Shenstone. The story provides a rich background of his time prior to Supermarine, working with Hugo Junkers and Alexander Lippisch in Germany in the early thirties where he gained valuable experience in the design of wing shape and tailless designs. It debunks many of the myths that have unfortunately emerged in this internet age, one of which is that RJ Mitchell used the idea for the elliptical wing for the Spitfire from the German Heinkel He 70. The wing design that Shenstone used was an original design and was a considerably modified elliptical profile whereas the He 70 was a symmetrical ellipse. He also used two NACA thin wing aerofoil sections and developed and modified them across the span to calculated thickness to achieve the required performance. There were numerous other special features that were developed and designed into the wing shape the majority of which came from Shenstone's mind, he refined the shapes mathematically, not having the luxury of advanced wind tunnels and CFD programs that today's aerodynamicists have. It also shows how RJ Mitchell did not create the Spitfire single handed, as is so often touted by less thorough authors and media when writing on the Spitfire; it was a team effort by many brilliant minds that together created what was the most aerodynamically advanced aircraft of its time. The proof being that the Spitfire was developed throughout the WWII and was able to counter all new German aircraft designs such as the Fw 190; however the German jets were an entirely different problem. The Hurricane the Spitfire's Battle of Britain stable-mate became outdated very quickly by comparison; a good aircraft but not an advanced one by any means, being developed as an evolution from the Hawker Fury bi-plane. Sydney Camm had economy in mind and used many parts from the Fury to reduce development costs, the first 500 Hurricanes delivered to the RAF had fabric covered wings, most of which by the Battle of Britain had been replaced with metal skinned wings, which permitted dive speeds 80 mph faster than the fabric covered wings. It clearly illustrates that the Supermarine Spitfire design team were the "dream team' of their time, with many great minds all working together. It also shows that while the work they performed was incredibly stressful it was rewarding and that working for RJ Mitchell was enjoyable, which probably helped the team work efficiently and with increased output. The other area the book delves into is Shenstone's post war career and shows him as a trailblazer in the field of running the technical and maintenance engineering department of BEA (British European Airways), in the post war era of austerity. BEA was later to become British Airways along with BOAC when they were both nationalized in 1974 by the UK government. This book is a revelation of facts and information on the Spitfire design that has never before seen the light of day. It requires some basic aircraft engineering, design and aerodynamics knowledge, for which I enjoyed it even more being an aerospace engineer, but saying that, it is still a very readable story for anyone with no prior aerospace knowledge. It also has a number of new never before seen photographs from the period of the development of the Spitfire. The only thing which I would have liked to have seen would have been some technical drawings showing the wing layout, spar position, ailerons etc. where they would be applicable to the story about those areas. However that did not detract from the overall enjoyment, but would have helped people with less prior knowledge of the specific layout of wing design, particularly the Spitfire. Now what other Secrets are there of the Spitfire, maybe a follow-on book giving us the in-depth story of RJ Mitchell and other key members of his team looking at the unique challenges of the structure, power plant, manufacturing, production issues etc. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2012 by Limey
    • Good, unique information, poorly presented.
This book contains insights into the shape of the spitfire's wing that I have seen no-where else. He describes in detail how many ellipses were combined to create the planform, which is not a simple ellipse after all. He also explains how the thin tip section does not fully stall and render ineffective the aileron. I can't judge that theory's veracity, but it's a plausible explanation for the spitfire's fantastic ailerons. The portrait of Mr. Shenstone is also interesting. It is indeed a badly written book, with repetitions made two or three times over, and belabored points full of confusing emotions and defensiveness. Reading it was a battle. But I cut the author some slack: poor delivery doesn't mean the ideas are valueless. I'm glad I read the book. I'm glad he wrote it and I'm glad the publisher printed it. I wished they had helped him. The photo on the cover shows the subtleties that the author describes: straight leading edge inboard, swept aft leading edge at the tips (roughly speaking). If you want pilots' perspectives, read elsewhere. Victor Tyler. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2014 by Julie K. Tyler
    • Must read for Spitfire/BoB/WW2 enthusiasts
Great book that explains how, why and more importantly, WHO was behind the iconic wing design of the Spitfire. A must have for any library dedicated to the history and interest of the Battle of Britain and WW2 fighters. Reveals startling information that will make you think twice about aerial combat from that era and, without giving away too much of the story, reinforce just how connected the world of science, design and commerce was, even back then. A book that will solidify as to why you should study your maths at school (or should have) ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2020 by Belisarius Blik
    • A Dreadful Book
This is a dreadful book. It has a tiny bit of useful information or I would give it zero or one star. It is badly written and hagiographic in the extreme. I am sure Shenstone went the places we are told he went and did the things he did, and was a good, quiet engineer, but he did not change the world every time he was present. Kelly Johnson, Sidney Camm, Stanley Hooker or Luke Hobbs were at least as significant in aeronautical engineering. The only way the author could handle the BEA - Dehaviland screw-up of the Trident while he was Chief engineer for BEA was to portray him as powerless at BEA, even after beating the drum about his fabulous contributions to the success of the Vickers Viscount. Bah! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2013 by Leslie C. Taylor
    • A much overdue treatise on the spitfire HOWEVER, the ...
A much overdue treatise on the spitfire HOWEVER, the dust jacket has a drawing of the wing structure. However there are no technical drawings inside the book and I was looking forward to a technical overview of those wings and their main spar.
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2015 by James Guillebeau
    • Could be a lot better
Not a well written book. Should have been described as a biography of Beverley Shenstone. The Spitfire secret is the elliptic wing. And I didn't need 200 pages to tell it. Or, tell it to you eight times. An elliptic lift distribution provides minimum induced drag and an elliptic wing is one way to get it. But there are other factors that need to be considered in the design of an aircraft, lift to drag, wing loading, power loading, internal fuel, etc and the design of a good aircraft depends on all of them. The author notes that the P-47 also had an elliptic wing but I didn't recall anyone writing a book claiming that the P-47 was a great aircraft because it had an elliptic shaped wing. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2017 by R1212
    • Kindle version lacking, Author needs better editing
This review mainly addresses the Kindle formatting of the book which I found to be very poor. As another reviewer noted, there are no photographs included in the Kindle version, but page numbers are also lacking and most annoying there is an index with no means of finding the the referenced material in the book as there are no page numbers! Why even bother? Add to this a rather ponderous author style which as others have pointed out could have been greatly reduced by a better editor and I can not recommend this digital work. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2015 by KNL
    • If you are interested in the aerodynamic story of the Spitfire you will like this book.
This book goes into a great deal of detail about the Canadian hero who was responsible for the aerodynamics of the Spitfire. If you are an engineer you will love this true account.
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2013 by FoxyDave

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