Spitfire – the design classic that saved Britain

It was by any standards a design classic and an enduring symbol of British resolve as the nation stood alone in the darkest days of the Second World War.
By David Behrens
Published 7th Sep 2020, 06:00 GMT
Pilots of No 19 Squadron, Royal Air Force Fighter Command scramble to their wooden, two-blade, fixed-pitch propellered Supermarine Spitfire MkI fighter planes for a training exercise on 4th May 1939 at RAF Duxford airfield in Cambridgeshire, England. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)Pilots of No 19 Squadron, Royal Air Force Fighter Command scramble to their wooden, two-blade, fixed-pitch propellered Supermarine Spitfire MkI fighter planes for a training exercise on 4th May 1939 at RAF Duxford airfield in Cambridgeshire, England. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Pilots of No 19 Squadron, Royal Air Force Fighter Command scramble to their wooden, two-blade, fixed-pitch propellered Supermarine Spitfire MkI fighter planes for a training exercise on 4th May 1939 at RAF Duxford airfield in Cambridgeshire, England. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Even today, the sight of one of the few remaining Submarine Spitfires can stir the emotions of people not born when they first took to the skies.

These pictures from the archive help to tell the story of the short range, high performance fighter plane that helped an outnumbered Royal Air Force achieve superiority over the Luftwaffe.

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It was not an easy battle. The first models proved inferior in head-to-head warfare, but RJ Mitchell’s original design made it possible for his successor, Joseph Smith, to upgrade the plane with new engines and armaments.

circa 1940: The Spitfire production line at the Vickers Supermarine Works in Southampton. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)circa 1940: The Spitfire production line at the Vickers Supermarine Works in Southampton. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
circa 1940: The Spitfire production line at the Vickers Supermarine Works in Southampton. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

In 1940, some 2,600 Luftwaffe fighters and bombers were sent to destroy the RAF, which had at its disposal only 640 Spitfires and Hurricanes. Goering thought the Battle of Britain would be over in a few days.

But Britain proved it could build fighter planes faster than Germany, and the Spitfires, with their superior speed and agility, were able to bring down German fighters in vast numbers. By the end of the battle, exactly 80 years ago, the Germans had lost 1,887 planes; the RAF 1,023.

But the war was far from over for the Spitfire. In the air battle for the strategic base of Malta, the Mark V model proved decisive in gaining superiority and establishing the islands as a supply base for the troops in Africa.

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And in June 1944, the Spitfires provided air support for the D-Day landings, with many adapted as fighter-bombers that could attack German ground forces.

circa 1940: A spitfire of 72 Squadron, based at Acklington in the North East of England, flies out across the sea on a mission. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)circa 1940: A spitfire of 72 Squadron, based at Acklington in the North East of England, flies out across the sea on a mission. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)
circa 1940: A spitfire of 72 Squadron, based at Acklington in the North East of England, flies out across the sea on a mission. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

The last Spitfires left service in 1955, 19 years after their maiden flight. Of the 20,351 built before, during and just after the war, only around 35 around the world are still flying.

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Related topics:BritainGermany

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