Chocks away!
As chief designer at the Supermarine Aviation Works, a subsidiary of the famous engineering conglomerate Vickers-Armstrong, the skills of Staffordshire lad, Reginald Joseph Mitchell were paramount when it came to creating one of the world’s best short range interceptor aircraft, the Spitfire. The fine design of its elliptical wings meant the aircraft could reach a much greater top speed than many contemporary fighters of the day.
Initially, Mitchell had submitted plans for a monoplane Type 224 which took its first flight in February 1934 but the RAF were not impressed and rejected the plane as unsatisfactory. Undeterred, Mitchell continued with his designs working on a private project commissioned by Supermarine to construct an all-metal monoplane. When his new work was revealed the RAF’s interest was immediately renewed, contacting the Air Ministry to finance a prototype which was ultimately to.
