What if i would say He 111 :P

From the 78th spitfire I onwards - either a constant speed OR two pitch 3 bladed propellor rather than the 2 bladed wooden fixed pitch. These fought in the battle of britain.

Many aircraft were field upgraded during the BoB to the constant speed.

The Narrow Margin says "... to enquire whether a Spitfire could be fitted with a constant speed propeller ... An extra 7,000 feet was added to the service ceiling and the machine had a better manouverability at height and improved take-off and landing perfomance ... on June 22nd, de Havilland received verbal orders to convert all R.A.F. Merlin powered fighters in the field with top priority. ... By August 15th 1,051 Spitfires and Hurricanes had been converted,"

Hope that helps.

Speaking personally, I find the Me far more beautiful. It's a bit like a Dolphin ( Spit ) vs Shark ( Me ).

The Me looks like the superb killing machine it is. :)

I hear what you say, and agree with it in many ways. The Spit looks a bit to "nice" but there is something about that elliptical wing I guess... It's in some aspects considered the "perfect wing" - on the drawing board. The backside is naturally that it's very expensive and complicated to do - and has nasty stall characteristics if done "all out" as the whole wings stalls at the same time...

/Mazex