History of Aviation in the Solent Area - 3

In the mid thirties the Air Ministry issued a specification for a single seat day or night fighter. The specification was F7/30. Supermarine took up the challenge and produced the Type 224 which was a cranked wing single-engined all metal monoplane. Although the design embodied the experience gained by Supermarine in the Schneider Trophy it was soon realised that the aircraft was not successful. Mitchell went back to the drawing board and the company as a private venture designed a prototype K5054 which was to become known as the Spitfire.

The Prototype took to the air at Eastleigh Airport north of Southampton on 5th March 1936 · it was instantly declared a thoroughbred with clean spectacular lines. With the powerful Rolls Royce Merlin engine and eight machine guns it was a formidable fighting aircraft, sadly Mitchell was to die before seeing the aircraft go into operational use. The Air Ministry soon ordered 310 Spitfires to be produced at the Supermarine factory in Southampton. This was a major task for the company being an all metal aircraft, not easy to build and prior to this the company had only received an order for 12 aircraft at any one time. However by 15th May 1938 the first Spitfires were delivered to 19 Squadron at RAF Duxford and by the outbreak of War in September 1939 over 300 aircraft had been delivered.

By the outbreak of the First World War many other companies had set up in the area, mainly attracted in the early days by the wealth of boat building experience and easy access to the water for flying boats and seaplanes. Companies such as Moonbeam, Gosport Aviation, May Harden and May, Hamble River Luke & Company, Sopwith, Saunders, Fairey and A.V Roe. These were joined in the 1930s by Cievra, Follands, Airspeed and others. Eventually over 26 aircraft manufacturers operated in and around the Solent area.

A.V. Roe set up at Hamble to build their 504 aircraft of which 8,000 were built, an aircraft which became the standard basic trainer for the many years and was in service up until the Second World War. The aircraft also held the height record at 10,000 ft and was the first British aircraft to drop a bomb in anger. A.V. Roe's intention was to build an enormous factory at Hamble, being so confident of the future he bought land to build a housing estate for his men. The outbreak of hostilities however meant that a ban was put on the use of strategic materials for this purpose and only a couple of streets were completed. After the War orders for the aircraft dried up and as there was such a surplus of aircraft in the world he decided to concentrate production in Manchester although development work remained at Hamble until the 1930's.

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