Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire was built in Great Britain and first flew in 1936. It became the most famous Commonwealth fighter of the Second World War and the only British warplane produced from the war’s beginning to its end. Production began in 1938 and ended in 1947, and over that period the aircraft passed through twenty-four versions for specific duties and to take advantage of continuing improvements to the Rolls-Royce Merlin and later Griffon engines. About 20,334 Spitfires and 1,220 Seafires were produced in those nine years, and during the war Spitfires served in every major theater. Although the aircraft was not produced in Canada, the Royal Canadian Air Force used it extensively. The RCAF had fourteen Spitfire squadrons, and many more Canadians flew the aircraft with the Royal Air Force. After the war, the RCAF kept the Spitfire in service until 1950. Number 403 Squadron was the first RCAF unit to fly Spitfires on Canadian operations, and although Canadians flew many of the aircraft operationally, only a few actually belonged to the RCAF. Those few were primarily unarmed reconnaissance aircraft used for test and photographic missions. The first Spitfire in Canada was used in 1940 to test the first G suit, which was invented in Canada.

Ontario · Canada