A Spitfire soared over the coastal skies of England for its final flight to mark the 90th anniversary of the first take-off of the war-winning aircraft. The Royal Air Force commemorative flights have been on a thrilling tour 10-day tour visiting RAF stations and airports associated with the Supermarine Spitfire’s iconic history.
Spitfire pilot and squadron leader Matt Jones, from Gittisham, Devon, took off from RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall on April 7 and yesterday touched down at Southampton Airport – the site of the former Eastleigh Aerodrome from where the plane’s original maiden voyage took place. That flight of the prototype K5054 took flight on March 5, 1936, with Captain Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers at the controls. The aircraft was designed by R.J. Mitchell, in the city’s Woolston area. It went on to play a key role in the RAF’s victory in the Battle of Britain, flying from airbases across the UK during World War Two hostilities.
The Spitfire90 Tour has featured a two-seater Spitfire painted in the original K5054 prototype livery, with seats on the historic flights auctioned via Spitfires.com to raise funds for the RAF Benevolent Fund and the Mark Long Trust.
The plane was photographed earlier in the week being escorted by a Dakota and Spitfire AB910 belonging to the Royal Air Force’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) as it made its way to RAF Coningsby, the home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight museum.
Proud pilot Jones said the Spitfire was an “icon that stands for Britain at its best” and “the most beautiful aeroplane to look at and to listen to”.
He said: “Then you remember it’s 90 years old and it defended our country and all the other history that goes with that. It really is a very, very special aeroplane.”
The pilot described his involvement with the aircraft for the celebrations as a “great honour” and said working with the Royal Air Force on the Spitfire90 memorial flight had been an “astonishing experience”.