Sigh for a Merlin: Testing the Spitfire - Tapa dura

The Spitfire airplane will be forever linked with the Battle of Britain, although its active service life spanned the Second World War. When the Supermarine Spitfire factory in Southampton was bombed in September 1940, it was imperative that the enormous factory at Castle Bromwich should be immediately brought into production. With this dispersal of aircraft production, Alex Henshaw was appointed Chief Test Pilot at Castle Bromwich. Powered by the mighty Merlin engine, Spitfires were tested and manufactured at this site throughout the war, by the end of which 37,000 test flights had been made, with more than 12,000 aircraft delivered. For a time, Castle Bromwich was the largest production center for Spitfires in the U.K.