The Spitfire Story by Alfred Price

Haynes publishes book in the 70th anniversary year of the Battle of Britain

Plenty of books have been written about the Spitfire, an extraordinary aircraft produced during an extraordinary period in world history. But few, if any, tell the story of its conception, development and evolution in quite as much detail as Alfred Price’s The Spitfire Story, published by Haynes.

Price’s narrative is impressively authoritative, and tells the story of the Spitfire at a level of technical complexity that will be appreciated by engineers. The words are back up by more than 250 photographs and illustrations which provide a visual progression of the plane’s design.

The book was actually first printed in 1982. The latest version is a fully revised edition that features a host of new documentary material, much of which was previously not known to exist. That includes fascinating memoranda between Reginald Mitchell, Spitfire’s designer, and his chief assistant Harold Payn, which showed how the two men swapped comment and criticism to help develop simple solutions to design problems.

In one polite exchange in 1935, recounted in the formal language of the time, the detailed design of the F.37/34 is debated at length. Payn expresses his concern that the new fighter’s high centre of gravity in relation to the equivalent mean chord meant it might not be manoeuvrable enough. He also had concerns over the weight of the aileron design at top speed and the pilot’s view over the nose. In his reply, written a week later, Mitchell goes carefully though Payn’s comments in turn, illustrating his complete grasp and understanding of every aspect of the design.

This new material provides a fascinating insight into the day-to-day working of the designers and engineers on the Spitfire project. What shines through is how the team managed to apply sound technical know-how with common sense and pragmatism to create an aircraft that would become an international legend in its service history and beyond. 

• The Spitfire Story is published by Haynes Publishing, priced £25.