With the roar of its Rolls Royce Merlin engine, its sleek lines and its eight .303 machine guns, the Supermarine Spitfire has come to symbolise British defiance during the Battle of Britain in 1940.

The Spitfire first entered RAF service at Duxford in 1938, and was the first all-metal, stressed-skin fighter produced in Britain.

When Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, RAF Fighter Command fielded 187 Spitfires in front-line units. During the six years of WW2 the Spitfire's performance was massively improved: engine power doubled, maximum speed increased by 100 mph and rate of climb was raised by over 80%.

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With its thin elliptical wings, stressed metal skin, split flaps, hydraulics, pneumatics and electrics, the Spitfire was at the forefront of aviation technology. What's more it was a totally British product - from the mind of designer Reginald Mitchell, also responsible for the Schneider Trophy-winning Supermarine S6B seaplane.