S2 – Spitfire (1936)

Reginald J Mitchell, designer of the legendary Spitfire was Chief Engineer at Supermarine Aviation Works in Woolston, Southampton. His inspired ‘seaplanes’ were designed with liquid-cooled engines and stream-lined bodies, with low drag. It was Mitchell’s Supermarine S6B that won the prestigious and sought after Schneider Trophy in 1931 and was clearly the precursor to his iconic masterpiece, the Spitfire in 1936. The Air Ministry quickly recognised that Mitchell’s Spitfire was both robust and adaptable and began ordering from Supermarine in earnest.

The threat of Nazi Germany, the Battle of France and subsequent evacuation of Dunkirk saw Spitfire production rapidly multiply. But it was during the summer of 1940 that the south coast of England came under intense bombing by Germany’s Luftwaffe. It wasn’t long before the Supermarine Aviation Works was targeted and manufacture was disrupted by continual air raids. The intense need to keep up production of this most precious fighter led the Air Ministry to help Supermarine set up shadow factories on the south coast and beyond. These shadow factories were workshops, garages, sheds, bus depots and even a hotel, and were predominantly filled with unqualified women, girls and boys. Supermarine and its army of workers produced over 2000 Spitfires during the summer of 1940. It was through this unquenchable spirit that the Battle of Britain was won.