In the late 1970s, I was fortunate enough to spend some one-on-one time with Royal Air Force Battle of Britain hero Robert Stanford Tuck. I had worn out the pages of his biography “Fly For Your Life,” and was awed by the chance to have a face-to-face conversation about flying Spitfires and Hurricanes while engaging the Luftwaffe over the British homeland and the English Channel.
While I think all (or nearly all) airplanes are things of beauty in flight, the Spitfire tops my list. What a work of art! And if you haven’t seen the ‘Spitfire’ documentary, it’s well worth the $5 or so to stream it on a large screen. The love the interviewees had for this classic is both evident and touching.
Many years ago (early '80s, I think) I was on a layover at the Dorchester Hotel in London. I got into a crowded elevator to go to dinner, and realized that it was packed with blazered, silver-haired, incredibly handsome men, their chests bedecked with RAF wings and medals. I spoke to the man next to me, and he replied, “Battle of Britain reunion.” Speechless with awe, I reached out and shook his hand. What a group! The “few” that Churchill so eloquently refered to.
Cool, thank you. Since you’re mimicking German with the aircraft name, thought I’d add that a German would spell the name “Schpitfeuer”, as “feuer” is how the German word for “fire” is spelled.