I do think it depends on what you are matching the Spitfire up against. In each of its marks the Spitfire was a very capable fighter against foes of its own time. I have always wondered though how exactly a Spitfire would have compared with a Zero in terms of dogfighting ability. Maybe a good thing for someone one day to build exact replicas of the early Zero and the early Spitfire so there can be a head-to-head dogfight between them. I know they would never have met in real life, but it would be interesting considering the reports of how maneovourable the zero is.