Portale
This book is not a history of the Spitfire (one day,somebody will write it) but a photographic portfolio set in a modern, high technology age.
Today, we tend to look at the Spitfìre as a quintessential work of aerodynamic art in its own right, rather than as an aeroplane designed to destroy enemy aircraft as efficiently as possible.
Its name, beauty, and track record has made it pre-eminent among Allied wartime aircraft in the minds of the British public, pilots, and enthusiasts ever since it personified the spirit of national resistance against Nazi tyranny when Britain stood alone in the long, hot summer of 1940.
For Supermarine, the Spitfire marked both the apex and the end of their brief foray into the fighter business, for despite the efforts of chief designer Joe Smith and his talented team, the post-war Attacker, Swift, and Scimitar were at best undistinguished, and at worst a complete disaster.
Until the Sandys' Defence White Paper in 1957, Hawker effectively regained the driving seat in British fighter aviation.
When the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain is celebrated in 1990, there will be even more Spitfires in the air than today.
Another generation will hear the sound of freedom and see one of the world's best loved aeroplanes.
Jeremy Flack
