Duxford in Cambridgeshire was the base where an RAF squadron received the first operational aircraft in 1938.
Now an Imperial War Museum (IWM) site, its Spitfire: Evolution of an Icon exhibition traces the plane’s development.
After the part it played in stopping a German invasion in the Battle of Britain of 1940, the aircraft was subsequently active in North Africa, Italy and elsewhere in Europe during the 1939-1945 conflict.
Now, alongside IWM’s own Mk Ia Spitfire, a number of private owners have loaned their aircraft to the museum, so visitors can get up close to various models from its 10 years of production.
Interesting to see them, I used to like the museum in Hendon
My mum worked in the rubber factory in Bradford on Avon during the war when she was a very young teenager
And they used to make the rubber seals for the Spitfires
One came down in a nearby field and they took them all out to see the bits they were making, then told them all to go back and work faster! She was only fourteen, I think
Would have liked to see that also since I’m reading “The Bomber War: Arthur Harris and the Allied Bomber Offensive, 1939-1945” by Robin Neillands. Lots of details I didn’t know.
I didn’t know this until I Googled it but there were 24 Marks of Spitfires in all. Here’s a link to a brief history and a list of the Marks and the upgrades to each variant:
LOL! I only sat in it, JBR, they wouldn’t let me fly it!!
It was a magic day altogether. They were having an Air Display Day - I was engaged to be married to a young officer at the time and was allowed to watch the display from the Control Tower! It was wonderful if rather noisy - especially as they had a Lancaster there - the ground shook when that taxied out and the engines made an unbelievable noise!
