ORIGINAL: Old Fart
Ed if i read your post right you are wondering how that wing shape can be beneficial??
Having all the cannon or machine guns grouped close in to the prop arc(wing width)is one or were you looking at aerodynamics and manufacturing costs?
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I was wondering what kind of aerodynamic advantage was thought to be derived from such a shape.
The Spitfire was an interceptor with an emphasis on gaining altitude quickly and maneuverability once at altitude. I would think that load carrying capacity was deemphasized (no attack/fighter function) for climb to altitude performance. This is why I was puzzled when the P-47 used the elliptical form of wingtip.
Later on the P-47 was relegated to mostly attack/fighter type missions and less direct plane to plane dogfighting. With eight fifty caliber machine guns instead of the normal six for a fighter, it was a devastating attack aircraft.
I would have thought that a laminar flow airfoil with butched (squared) tips would have been a better selection of airfoil/wingtip combo for an attack/fighter, such as the P-47. Perhaps it was being viewed as a long range fighter initially and then relegated to attack/fighter usage later on, after the P-51 came on the scene.
It's early and no coffee yet. I hope that made sense.
Ed Cregger