The Spitfire turns 70

From The Scotsman:

THE Spitfire, the fighter plane whose speed and agility helped win the Battle of Britain, took to the skies again yesterday to mark its 70th birthday.

Wedged in the cockpit for the celebratory flight was the aircraft's chief test pilot, Alex Henshaw, who, at the age of 93, is wearing as well as his plane.

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Mr Henshaw took control of the Spitfire while in the air yesterday and although he said he would still able to land it, there might be a few insurance problems, so his co-pilot would take over. "I doubt the insurance will allow me to land it, but if you can drive a car then you can fly a plane," he said.

He and his team, based at Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands, flew 37,000 test flights of the Spitfire from 1940 in what was a dangerous business, but one crucial to the war effort. During that time, there were 127 accidents and four pilots in Mr Henshaw's team were killed. He did not escape the drama of test flying: he was forced to bail out twice and was lucky to live.

Despite this, he is full of praise for the aircraft, which was recently voted a British icon, and he called on the government to award RJ Mitchell a posthumous knighthood for his work.
He said: "The Spitfire is the most outstanding low wing monoplane ever built. The Hurricane was a fantastic aircraft and contributed as much as the Spitfire, but although the Spitfire didn't win the war, it would have been lost without it."

The United Kingdom owes its life to the RAF and its victory over the Luftwaffe in the battle of Britan. No victory in the skys over Great Britan and WWII would have been won in Europe by the USSR alone. You don't have to be an historian to know that the entire European continent as a Soviet satellite would have had profound consequences for the post war world.

Truly never have so many owed so much to so few.