Today, 5th March 2026, marks 90 years since the first flight of the Supermarine Spitfire, which took off from Eastleigh Airport (now Southampton Airport) on 5th March 1936.
The designer, R. J. Mitchell, began designing the Spitfire in November 1934, with construction starting in December of that year while the design work was still underway. The prototype Spitfire, given the serial K5054, featured a wooden two-bladed, fixed-pitch propeller, exhaust stubs and a tail skid.
The Spitfire’s first flight was conducted by chief test pilot Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers on 5th March 1936. After the test flight, Summers famously remarked “Don’t touch anything,” impressed by the aircraft’s performance.
Over the following months, further tests were carried out on the aircraft. On 3rd June 1936, the Air Ministry, also impressed with the design, placed an order for 310 Spitfires. These would become the Mk I Spitfires, with the first aircraft delivered in 1938.
Following the production of the Mk I Spitfire, K5054 continued to serve as a test aircraft for the development of the Mk II and Mk III variants until it was lost in an accident in 1939. Sadly, R. J. Mitchell died from cancer in 1937 and never saw the Spitfire fly in combat.
By the end of production, more than 22,000 Spitfires had been built, across 24 different marks. Even after the Second World War, the Spitfire remained in service into the 1950s with several air forces around the world.
Today, we are proud to operate three two-seat Spitfires here at Flyaspitfire.com, including the last remaining Spitfire prototype Mk VIII MT818, helping to keep this incredible history alive for future generations to learn from.
Happy 90th Birthday to the Supermarine Spitfire.
You can fly in the last remaining Spitfire Prototype with us, see more about our Spitfire Prototype here: https://flyaspitfire.com/aircraft/1944-viii-trainer-mt818/