Elliptical wing

Despite this head-start, the elliptical wing was initially viewed as more a theoretical concept than one for practical application, in part due to the overriding needs to compromise between an aircraft aerodynamic properties and its other design aspects.

[8] Despite the type being produced in vast numbers before and during the Second World War, only the early production models of the He 111 were equipped with an elliptical wing.

[10] The chief reason for dropping the elliptical wing in favour of one with straight leading and trailing edges was economic, the latter design could be manufactured with greater efficiency.

During the early 1920s, the company's chief designer, Reginald Mitchell, had developed the Supermarine S.4, a British elliptical wing racing seaplane; it conducted its first flight during 1924.

An elliptical planform is the most efficient aerodynamic shape for an untwisted wing, leading to the lowest amount of induced drag.

The semi-elliptical planform was skewed so that the centre of pressure, which occurs near the quarter-chord position at all but the highest speeds, was close to the main spar, preventing the wings from twisting.

But near the root the wing had to be thick enough to accommodate the retracted undercarriages and the guns ... Mitchell was an intensely practical man ...

The ellipse was simply the shape that allowed us the thinnest possible wing with room inside to carry the necessary structure and the things we wanted to cram in.

[14] Almost all Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, an American fighter aircraft, were outfitted with elliptical wings; only the last production models differed, with squared-off wingtips, akin to the low-altitude Spitfire variants.