How they kept the Spitfires in the air: Fascinating archive shows the unsung heroes who designed, maintained and flew the RAF's most famous plane
- Incredible archives show Winston Churchill meeting with workers at Castle Bromwich factory in Birmingham
- The historical collection chronicles the creation, battles and legacy of the World War Two fighter plane
- From its first flight in 1939 to the factory workers keeping it in the air, the true story of the Spitfire is told
The fascinating true story behind the World War Two Spitfire has been revealed in a new book celebrating those who designed, maintained and flew the iconic plane.
The incredible archives shows Prime Minister Winston Churchill observing a female riveter working on the fighter plane at the Castle Bromwich factory in Birmingham, before delaying his return journey to sit with test pilot Alex Henshaw after a demonstration flight.
Ground staff are shown re-arming a Spitfire Mk 1 and the collection offers insight into how the Women's Auxiliary Air Force got to grips with barrage balloons.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill is pictured with test pilot Alex Henshaw following a demonstration flight at the Birmingham factory. He delayed his return trip to meet with workers behind the RAF's most iconic aircraft
Armourer Fred Roberts re-arming a Spitfire at the No 19 squadron in Cambridgeshire. This is just one of the incredible images that goes behind the scenes of the fighter plane's wartime history
The single-seat aircraft fly in starboard echelon formation. These Mark I planes were part of the No19 Squadron, which was based at Duxford
ENGINE: 1030hp Rolls-Royce Merlin
SPAN: 36ft 11
LENGTH: 29ft 11
TOP SPEED: 362mph
ARMAMENT: Eight 0.303" Browning machine guns; 350 rounds per gun
Images also show aircraft workers can be seen examining their aircraft as part of a wartime morale-booster to show factory employees the results of their labour.
The wartime photographs are revealed in Spitfire Stories by Jacky Hyams, who says the collection is an attempt to show the people behind the RAF's most famous aircraft, chronicling its first flight and aerial battles.
'As soon as war was declared in September 1939, the Spitfire was up in the sky: in October 1939 an enemy aircraft was intercepted over Britain for the very first time and the Spitfire dominated the front pages as the first ever plane to tangle with the enemy,' she writes in the book's introduction.
Flight Sergeant Grumpy Unwin, Flight Lieutenant Lawson and Sergeant Jennings of No 19 Squadron walking in Fowlmere, September 1940
Winston Churchill observes a female riveter working on a Spitfire at the Castle Bromwich factory in Birmingham. The prime minister visited the factory in 1941 and delayed his trip home to speak with workers
'Beneath the icon and its history, there remains another, equally fascinating story: that of the people behind the Spitfire.
'We tend to associate the Spitfire, quite naturally, with its wartime heroes: the RAF pilots from many countries who served through the war and beyond, flying the Spitfires and other planes, or "The Few" of the Battle of Britain whose valiant efforts will never be forgotten.
'Yet there are many others whose lives have been affected in some way by the Spitfire - the factory workers, the ground staff and the engineers, as well as the pilots and individuals whose love and passion for the Spitfire changed their lives. Such stories resonate down the years from wartime right to the present day.'
Spitfire Stories charts the birth of the iconic plane, how it was made and how it was maintained in tales told by those who were closest to the aircraft.
Ground staff re-arm a Spitfire Mk1 at Biggin Hill, Kent, in 1940. Jacky Hyams explores the people behind the fighter plane in a new book that opens up the archives to reveal the history of the RAF's most iconic vehicle
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force learn how to handle barrage balloons, which were used to defend against aircraft attacks. This picture was taken at the Cardington training station in Bedfordshire
From factory floor workers to the brave pilots who flew in the single-seat fighters, the book takes readers from its creation to the legacy we're familiar with today.
Ms Hyams writes: 'Thousands of Spitfire workers, many of them women who joined the "secret army" of Britain's munitions workers, toiled in these factories, in often difficult conditions, as the country struggled to survive and work through the frequent bombing raids overhead.
'Others were engaged in a wide range of Spitfire roles for the RAF and its wartime auxiliary organisation, the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), whose female ferry pilots were the first women in the world to fly brand new Spitfires and other planes from factory to RAF airfield.
Factory workers were invited to observe the final result of their labour as part of a morale-boosting exercise. Here, Spitfire workers were permitted to inspect the place at an RAF fighter station
'It is also a little acknowledged fact that it was the RAF ground crews, the "erks" as they were called, who worked through the night and in difficult conditions to get the fighting Spitfires back up into battle.
'Every one of these many thousands of workers and their families played some part in this story of the Spitfire.'
Spitfire Stories: True Tales from Those Who Designed, Maintained and Flew the Iconic Plane by Jacky Hyams is available now in hardback, priced £16.99 (Michael O'Mara Books).
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