The 20p stamp below, from June 1997, shows the British aircraft designer Reginald Mitchell, and his most famous creation, the Supermarine Spitfire (the example shown is a MkIIA). Each stamp in the British Aircraft Designers set featured a different aeroplane, with the face of its designer picked out in cloud shapes behind.

The Spitfire remains undoubtedly the most famous British fighter plane of World War 2. Mitchell – who died in 1937 - actually disliked the Spitfire name, calling it "bloody silly". The now-iconic name was actually chosen by Sir Robert MacLean, the head of Vickers Aviation, which had owned Supermarine since 1928.

Nevertheless, the design Mitchell had started was developed in wartime to the peak of propeller plane technology. The Spitfire pilots loved flying the machine, largely due to its elliptical wings and their ability to cope with a stall and spin, allowing pilots to fly the machine at the edge of its abilities.

Illustration

Supermarine Spitfire stamp, 1997