The Spitfire was certainly a truly magnificent aircraft and was one of many British designed and built aircraft that helped win the war in Europe in 1945. It was fast, maneouverable and deadly in the hands of a skilled pilot. It was said by many pilots that you didn't simply get into a Spitfire, you 'strapped it on!'

Early marks saw speeds of 360mph while latter marks saw a top speed of over 450mph in level flight. The fastest recorded speed of a Spitfire was a Mk 19 that was on a routine flight surveying meteorological conditions at various altitudes. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Ted Powles, climbed to 50,000 feet indicated but inadvertently entered into an uncontrollable dive and didn't recover until he was below 3000 feet. Flight data recorded a speed of 690mph (Mach 0.94) in the dive. Upon landing, there seemed to be no serious damage sustained to the aircraft.

The earlier mark Spitfires were outfitted with the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine (1080hp) and the Rolls-Royce Griffon engine (2350hp), improving Spitfire, and Seafire, performance throughout the war. Latter mark Spitfires had improved speed and altitude performance though manoeuverablity decreased. However, they were still capable of out performing most Axis fighter aircraft of their time.

Some of the newer, faster marks of Spitfires were utilised in Britain to knock out the terrifying V-1 flying bombs that the Germans used against Britain into 1944. The V-1 (Vengeance Weapon) were initially launched from sites at the Pas-de-Calais, along the French coast as well as along the Dutch coast and were aimed at London. Spitfires were the first fighters to be used against the "buzz bomb" and, in the latter part of the war, the Hawker Tempest and Gloster Meteor, the first British combat jet fighter, were also utilised.

Spitfire armament originally consisted of four Browning .303 machine guns, mounted in the wings, 2 each side (four more were fitted to the aircraft later). Though the .303 was relatively effective against Axis fighter aircraft of the day, it was found they were less effective against larger and armour fitted aircraft. In June of 1939, a Spitfire had the drum-fed Hispano cannon fitted in each wing which required 'blisters' in order to cover the 60-round drum. Unfortunately, an issue with the cannon being mounted on its side caused frequent stoppages. Despite the issues, some 30 aircraft (Mk 1b) were outfitted with the Hispano though there were so many issues with them that the squadron requested their aircraft be refitted with the Browning .303 instead. Issues with the Hispano were mostly resolved and several Spitfire marks were outfitted with cannons throughout the war.

The Royal Air Force had some truly splendid and highly experienced fighter pilots such as the very famous ace Douglas Bader, CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, FRAeS, who flew the fighter with two tin legs. He ended up bailing out of his Spitfire Mk Vb after a dogfight and was taken prisoner. Another was New Zealander ace, Al Deere, DSO, OBE, DFC & Bar; Adolph Gysbert "Sailor" Malan, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, RNR, a South African who also became an ace; and Canadian ace, George "Buzz" Beurling, DSO, DFC, DFM & Bar, the most successful Canadian fighter pilot of World War II. He was also known as "The Falcon of Malta" as well as the "Knight of Malta" having shot down 27 Axis aircraft over a 14 day period.

There were 20,351 Spitfires built and, some 75 years since the end of World War II, there are over 240 surviving examples of the aircraft that still exist of which 60-70 are airworthy, most of which are in the UK. The Spitfire is still much loved and is an ongoing sign of freedom and a sense of pride in the UK, even after all these years. No doubt, the Spitfire will continue to be thought of as the saviour of Britain during World War II, with the workhorse Hawker Hurricane taking a back seat. Regardless, both aircraft served with great distinction but the sleek, sexy and sultry lines of the Spitfire will always be remembered as the aircraft that won the Battle of Britain.

Rebuilt/restored Spitfires may well see many, many more years of flight. Though the first Spitfire first flew in 1936, more than 84 years ago, the sight of the Spitfire in flight, and the sound of the Rolls-Royce Merlin or Griffon engine, still sends shivers up the spine and brings a tear to the eye of many, from those who saw the fighter in action during the Battle of Britain and World War II, to younger folks who have seen and heard the many stories from those who fought in the skies above Britain, and Europe, in order to keep us free so many years ago.

American Air Museum - americanairmuseum.com

Boultbee Flight Academy - boultbeeflightacademy.co.uk

Flying Legends - flyinglegends.com

BBMF - raf.mod.uk/display-teams/battle-of-britain-memorial-flight/

Aero Legends - aerolegends.co.uk

Historical Aircraft Collection - historicalaircraftcollection.ltd.uk

Imperial War Museum - iwm.org.uk

Vintage Wings of Canada - vintagewings.ca