Spitfire: The People’s Plane Podcast
1) Scramble
15th September 1940 was the moment the Germans chose to drive the Spitfire from the battlefield. The people on the ground, guiding the Spitfires - spotters, plotters and fitters- will play a vital rol...Show More
2) Teenage pilots
How does it feel to fly the plane that won the war? Two Spitfire pilots - one 18 year old from the Battle of Britain, one from today’s RAF - compare their experiences of unparalleled ecstasy and paral...Show More
3) Faster and higher
It wasn’t just Spitfire production that needed to escape the bombs; the designers of the plane also need to find a safe place to improve the Spitfire to deal with Germany’s latest fighter developments...Show More
4) New planes, new rules
Ramping up Spitfire production requires another new factory. Bigger, better, full of cutting-edge machinery and the best workers in the business. But it’s a catastrophe – one that nearly costs Britain...Show More
5) The Shilling factor
As brilliant as the Spitfire is, it has one major flaw. Take her into a steep dive and fuel can’t reach the engine. A solution is urgently needed. That’s a job for the fastest woman in Britain: champi...Show More
6) Women take control
The new Spitfires need to be flown to RAF bases desperate for reinforcements. That’s the job of the ATA Girls - the female flyers of World War Two, some of the first women in Britain to receive the sa...Show More
7) Makeshift wedding
Spitfire production is getting back on track, but the search for locations continues. Out into the surrounding countryside, from brickworks to country manors to empty fields, the dispersal continues. ...Show More
8) Makeshift factories
Amid the smouldering ruins of the Spitfire factory, a new strategy emerges: instead of building the plane in one factory, it will be built piece by piece in garages, workshops and laundries. Presente...Show More
9) Crowdfunding
The struggle against the Nazis has to be fought by ordinary people as much as by the army and air force. Communities across Britain are enlisted to raise funds for Spitfires. Villages, sports clubs, t...Show More
10) Phoenix
The Spitfire factory was a priority target for German bombers. The workers endured raid after raid. If vital Spitfires are going to continue to be built, then a plan is desperately needed. Presenter:...Show More