Saturday, March 5, 2011

Today's the 75th Anniversary of the Spitfire

From the March 5rh BBC News.

Today marks the first flight of a fighter plane that became very famous during World War II for the RAF. I'm talking about the war bird called the Spitfire. Yesterday, thousands braved cool weather to view a Spitfire fly over where the first flight was made in 1936.

The plane, piloted by Carolyn Grace, flew over Southampton in southern England for twenty minutes. This was not the original 1936 plane, but had flown in the war. This one was built in 1944 and is credited for shooting down the first German plane on D-Day.

The Spitfire was designed by the famous R.J. Mitchell at the Supermarine's Factory in Southampton and took off from Eastleigh Airfield, now Southampton International Airport. Mitchell, unfortunately, never got to see how famous his plane would become as he died at age 42 in 1937 of cancer.

Mrs. grace lives in Sydney, Australia, and owns the plane which was originally a part of the 485 Squadron. She began flying the plane after her husband Nick, who restored it, died in 1988.

Money is being raised to build a national monument to the Spitfire in Southampton.

The Little Plane That Definitely Could. --Cooter

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