Give me a squadron of Spitfires!

That's what Hermann Göring was told when he asked one of his aces what the Luftwaffe needed to win the Battle of Britain. On the 90th anniversary of its maiden flight, a glorious tribute to the world's most famous fighter aircraft

- By Leo McKinstry

A LIGHT breeze swept across the aerodrome that crisp spring afternoon as the expectant crowd gathered to witness the maiden flight of the revolutionary new aircraft. At this stage, on March 5, 1936, the prototype fighter was known only by its official registration of K5404, but that bureaucratic title could not conceal the enthusiasm that its pioneering design had already generated among those who knew of its existence.

Built by the Supermarine Company, whose factory on the south coast had produced a long series of successful flying boats and record-breaking seaplanes, K5404 certainly looked impressive on the ground as it waited to take to the air at the RAF base of Eastleigh, now Southampton Airport.

In an era still dominated by lumbering, fabric-covered biplanes, here was a fast, all-metal monoplane with an enclosed cockpit, a retractable undercarriage, eight guns and a potential to fly at over 350mph.

The nervous tension among the onlookers rose when the test pilot, Captain Joseph “Mutt” Summers, approached the plane. It was now well past 4pm and the unpainted metallic surfaces of K5404 were glinting in the fading sun as Summers strapped himself into the cockpit. He was the ideal man for this initial test flight. Although only 32, he was massively experienced and renowned for his lightning-quick reactions and ebullient self-confidence. It was joked that, such was his skill, if a kitchen table had a propeller attached to it, he could fly it.

With his usual self-assurance, he started up his engine, turned into the wind and opened the throttle. “The new fighter fairly leapt off and climbed away,” recalled Summers’ fellow test pilot Jeffrey Quill, who was an enthralled spectator that day.

While in the air, Summers cruised gently and carried out some checks on the controls before returning to Eastleigh after just eight minutes. His verdict was unequivocally positive. “I don’t want anything touched,” he told the waiting throng.