Memories . . .

Today saw the 70th anniversary of the first flight of the Spitfire. The prototype first flew on March 5, 1936 and more than 22,000 Spitfires were built. The aircraft has a particularly poignant memory for me. My late father-in-law, Leslie Naylor, worked for the makers, Vickers Supermarine, as a draughtsman and had a hand in the design of this iconic aircraft. I remember taking him to an air display marking two hundred years of flight where there were many aircraft on display, both static and flying. They included the de Havilland Mosquito, the Gloster Meteor (first jet fighter to break the sound barrier) the Hawker Hurricane and, of course the Spitfire. There were several Spitfires flying that day. They were lined up for display and then, when they started their engines, I looked at my father-in-law and thought I saw a tear in his eye. Obviously the sound of the Merlin and Gryphon engines stirred many memories for him. I will never know quite how he felt, I only know it was an extremely moving experience for him.
Back to today. At 4.35 pm, exactly 70 years to the minute, five Spitfires took off from Eastleigh airport where the first Spitfire was built and tested and flew over Southampton and Portsmouth in a tribute flight. In one of the aircraft, the only two-seat Spitfire in existence, Alex Henshaw was a passenger. Mr Henshaw, now 93, was a chief test pilot on the Spitfire and was able to take the controls for a short time during the flight. The emotion on his face as he flew in that aircraft, which was bought by the Irish air force in 1946 after British wartime service and converted to a two-seat trainer, was obvious and moving to watch.
The flight was a tribute to R. J. Mitchell, the designer of the aircraft, who died of cancer a year after that maiden flight and never saw his wonderful creation reach its pinnacle of fame. It was also a tribute to all those who flew the plane in wartime and in peace. It is often said that the Spitfire won the Battle of Britain. This is obviously not totally true as the Hurricane was still the main armament of the RAF and took the brunt of the battle. But the faster Spitfire as it was introduced and increased in service certainly played a vital part and went on to have a deciding role in air warfare in the European and other theatres of war.
My father-in-law loved this aircraft. We would often talk about it and its merits and, partly because of his love, the plane has a special place in my thoughts as well. My father-in-law's unfinished memoirs are at present being transcribed on www.spitfireman.blogspot.com. Do read them - I think they're worth looking at.