Friday pictures: Supermarine Spitfire
Any collection of pictures that seeks to capture the beauty and grace of aircraft will eventually include a Spitfire. This plane is one of the most iconic machines ever built, with delicate lines that ensured recognition even by those whose eyes are never turned skyward.
This week’s specific Spitfire is a Mk. XVI owned by Vintage Wings of Canada. Built in August 1945, this plane is now 63 years old, and yet nothing about it seems antique. It and nearly 22,000 other Spitfires played a central role in England’s war effort, and came to embody much of the fighting spirit that defined the grim days of the Battle of Britain. To learn more about Spitfire development and employment, click here.
This week’s shot comes to us via Flickr’s Hawk eye 68, who captured this timeless portrait two weeks ago at the Canadian Aviation Museum in Ottawa. I do not know how many Spitfires remain in flying condition, but I can only trust that this one’s owners know what a significant piece of history they have and treat it with the requisite caution. These planes need to survive many generations to come.
Supermarine Spitfire
If you like this, I encourage you to check out this summary of all of the aviation photography I have featured here.
Explore posts in the same categories: AerospaceTags: aeroplane, aeroplanes, aircraft, airplane, airplanes, fighter, plane, planes, raf, spitfire, supermarine, warbird, warbirds, warplane
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2008.10.17 at 20:32
[...] pictures: Spitting fire I have highlighted a Spitfire in a previous Friday pictures installment, and truth be told that design is such a beauty I could run Spitfires every Friday, despite my [...]
2008.11.01 at 21:00
[...] in the last few months, I have turned to the Supermarine Spitfire as a subject for these posts (here and here). Today I am picking the Spitfire’s comrade in the Battle of Britain, the Hawker [...]