There several artists with this name:
1. Ska-core band from St Peter… Read Full Bio ↴There several artists with this name:
1. Ska-core band from St Petersburg.
2. US Metalcore / mathcore quintet.
3. Heavy Metal band from Italy.
4. Early 90's Garage Rock band from Sussex.
5. 1999 Australian hardcore DJ & producer.
6. Jazz and funk trio from Asheville, North Carolina.
7. Duo from Norway.
8. Heavy Metal band from Greece.
9. 4 piece rock n' roll band from Burnley, Lancashire.
10. Japanese hardcore band from Sapporo.
11. Heavy metal band from Sweden.
12. Heavy/Speed Metal band from Germany-
1. At the beginning of 1993, Spitfire played as a garage rockabilly trio, whose music also included some elements of noise. Their first live gig took place during the St.Petersburg Psycho Festival in February '93. The summer '93 brought new ideas and Spitfire began to do more noise/garage, they decided to give up their double bass for an electric bass guitar. While searching for a new sound, they did a program based on covers of '60's garage music.
At the end of 1993, their music had turned into garage punk and finally into ska-core. Actually, ska had been one of their favourite styles and a big passion for a long time before they decided to play it themselves. A saxophonist and a trumpet player joined the band in the fall '93, and Spitfire transformed from an aggressive punk gang into jolly and humorous mini-orchestra playing punk-ska. The spring '94 brought both their first recording session and a new bassist. Since mastering that first demo, Spitfire has had a number of very successful concerts at various clubs. All these gigs were full of energy and enthusiasm.
In the spring '95 they released a song on the compilation called "United Colours of Ska", Volume II, on German "Pork Pie" label. A year later they recorded an album at St.Petersburg "Melodia" studio, which was then mixed in Berlin at Pork Pie. This album, called "Night Hunting", was released in the end of 1996. Spitfire has been touring regularly since that time.
In January 1999 Spitfire had made another recording session at Vielklang studio in Berlin, and the result came out in the spring with new album "The Coast Is Clear".
In the spring '01 a keyboard player joined the band making its sound even more powerful. At the same time Spitfire started a spinoff project St. Petersburg Ska-Jazz Review in collaboration with the members of St.Petersburg-based afro-caribbean-oriented band Markscheider Kunst. The initial idea was to make a single-show program comprised mostly of jazz standards such as "Sidewinder", "Corcovado", "Four" and original ska tunes ("St. Thomas", "Man in the street") to perform at Sergey Kuryokhin International Festival (SKIF) in April '01.
The line-up of this band included the bariton-sax and percussion players as well as all members of Spitfire. The show gained much interest and the band went on playing live gigs on Russian club scene. The debut album was recorded in March '02 at Dobrolet studio in St. Petersburg and put out in Russia in the fall '02 on small independent label Zvezda Records.
In November '01 Spitfire musicians were invited to participate in the recording session of the band Leningrad. This band was (and still is) one of the top acts on Russian music scene. The style of Leningrad music is hard to describe, since the regular play-list of their live show includes numbers stylistically varying from ska and reggae to punk and funky hip-hop. The Leningrad album "21st Century Pirates" was released in February '02 and the whole Spitfire line-up was invited to perform at Leningrad album release show at Yubileinyy Sports Palace in St. Petersburg. From that show on Spitfire musicians work together with Leningrad: recorded 4 albums - "For millions" (2003), "Second Magadan" (2003), "Babarobot" (2004), "Huinya" (2005, together with London-based cabaret trio Tiger Lillies) and played many gigs in Russia and Europe.
In November-December '02 Spitfire, St. Petersburg Ska-Jazz Review and Leningrad toured the United States. 15 gigs were performed all over the Atlantic coast from Boston to Miami. All events were of much interest for American audience. The second American tour of Leningrad and Spitfire was in the summer '03. The bands performed live in such cult venues as "Irving Plaza" and "CBGB's" (New York City), "Middle East" (Boston), "The Knitting Factory" (Los Angeles).
In January '04 the third Spitfire album "Thrills And Kills" came out both in Europe on German Vielklang label and in Russia on recently opened independent Shnur'OK label. As the previous one "The Coast Is Clear", "Thrills And Kills" was also recorded and mastered at Vielklang studio in Berlin. This album was more diverse musically and included more tracks which style could be rather referred to as guitar rock with the horn section. The album release was supported by a 5-weeks-long tour: 27 gigs in Germany, Switzerland and Italy.
In the spring '04 some members of Spitfire were invited to take part in the project called "The Optymistica Orchestra". This initial aim of this project was to compose a live soundtrack for the short-cut movies compilation "10 minutes older: the violin". As it usually happens, the band went on playing live and even recorded the debut album at St. Petersburg Dobrolet studio. The album is supposed to be released in the spring '05.
At the moment Spitfire is making a new programme for their fourth album and preparing for a new European tour.
2. Spitfire is a metalcore / mathcore quintet. Originally, the band featured vocalist and guitarist Matt Beck, drummer Chris Raines, and bassist Jimmy Reeves. With this lineup, they released an EP called Straining Towards What's To Come on 2Jake Records and The Dead Next Door on Solid State Records in 1999. Later, having added new vocalist Jon Spencer, Spitfire released a second EP, called The Slideshow Whiplash, for Goodfellow Records. Soon after, in 2001, the band broke up.
In late 2004, Spitfire re-formed with new members. Reeves left the band, leaving Beck and Raines as the only original members. Spencer was again their vocalist, and they added guitarist Scottie Henry of Norma Jean, and bassist "Dr. Dan" Tulloh, formerly of Scarlet. They recorded a new album for Goodfellow Records, titled Self Help; it was released on February 28, 2006. After the recording of Self Help, Ian Sabo joined the band on bass, and Tulloh switched to guitar, giving the band three guitarists.
So far the bands present and future is unsure, however in mid 2008 the band released Cult Fiction on Goodfellow.
3. Spitfire were born in Verona, Italy, in 1981, following the New Wave of British Heavy Metal spreading all over Europe and America: they can boast the title of the first metal band in their city, and over the years to come they will be the most popular Veronese rock band in Italy.
The original composition of the group, vocals, two guitars, bass guitar and drums, have recorded a live demotape ("Spitfire", "Samurai", "Beyond Price") and also have made themselves known on a national scale thanks to radio programmes, interviews and reviews in fanzines and specialized magazines (the monthly "Rockerilla " presented the group as "the Italian Iron Maiden").
After many live concerts SPITFIRE reached in the spring of 1983 a stable line-up, featuring Giacomo Gigantelli on vocals and bass guitar, Stefano Pisani and Stefano Bianchini on guitars, Gaetano Avino on drums.
At the beginning of 1984 SPITFIRE released the 7’’ Blade Runner/A Quiet Man, published and distributed by Minotauro Records, Pavia, a new label interested in the Italian hard rock and heavy metal scene (Strana Officina, Paul Chain, Revenge).
The record was distributed in Italy, Belgium, Holland, France, England, U.S.A., and was positively welcomed by the official and underground press, radio networks and public. This led to a short Italian tour from May to July 1984 reaching Verona, Bergamo, Pavia, Naples (where SPITFIRE played together with Strana Officina and Vanadium in the Palatenda Partenope full of fans); the band played also in some metal festivals.
Currently the 7’’ is a rare piece for metal collectors; it was reissued on February 2009 by Minotauro Records.
New troubles slowed down the work of the group during 1985, until the ultimate trio line-up Giacomo Gigantelli (vocals and bass guitar), Stefano Pisani (guitar) and Gaetano Avino (drums).
During that year there were intense contacts with foreign labels interested in the Italian rock scene (Rave-On Records, Metal Blade, Axe Killer, Concret Warrior, King Classic).
This was the period of SPITFIRE’s full creative maturity: they played live up to the end of 1986 and left as a last inheritance the demo "Heroes in the Storm" ("Hurricane - I'm Free", "Merchants of Death", "Shadow of the Axe", "Stones of Venice", "Heroes in the Storm"), including the sessions for an album that should have been published for the King Classic label, which was never released due to the sudden band’s break-up.
In the meantime, irony of fate, the American magazine "Aardshock" defined SPITFIRE as a future star of the metal universe and two months after the break-up they received a proposal to include one of their tracks in an American metal compilation and the album contract from King Classic ready for signing…
In 2002 the independent label Andromeda releases the cd "Heroes in the Storm", a collection of all the songs recorded by the band; in 2004 there is a one-night SPITFIRE reunion (Giacomo Gigantelli, Stefano Pisani, Gaetano Avino) for an unique concert on the occasion of the 80's Italian Metal Legion Festival in Domegliara (VR - Italy).
From that concert was issued in the same year the cd "Live Reunion".
At the beginning of 2008 SPITFIRE join again for the pre-production of "Time and Eternity", the next band's release for the label My Graveyard Productions, featuring songs composed between 1982 and 1985, and never recorded.
4. Spitfire were an early 90's Garage Rock band from Sussex, signed to Paperhouse Records. They were a 6 piece comprising members, Jeff and Nick Pitcher, Steve Walker, Matt Wise, Justin Welch, and Scott Kenny. The band released a handful of singles, most notably Minimal Love and an album Sex Bomb in 1993.
5. In 1999 Australian hardcore DJ & producer DJ Daydream released Move and Feel This Way as a "double A-sided" single under the alias Spitfire. Feel This Way had previously appeared on the 1997 compilation "Bonkers 3: A Journey Into Madness".
6) Spitfire is a jazz and funk trio from Asheville, North Carolina. The band members are Nick Stubblefield, Jordan Harris, and Heath Towson.
7) Spitfire is also a duo from Norway. They are mainly composing music for commercials and TV shows, but they also do everything from small jingles for radio stations to full sized symphonic scores. The duos members are the brothers Audun Skau Hansen and Vegard Dahlin Skau Hansen, and they have been working together on this project since 2000.
8) Heavy Metal band from Greece.
Spitfire was the first greek band reviewed by Kerrang Magazine. They got 3/5 which was maybe the best review that a Greek band got from Kerrang.The journalist started his review with "A greek Heavy Metal band??, it is like trying to find a virgin in the tour bus of Motley Crue..." NOT MUCH TO SAY!
Line up:
Elias Logginides (guitars)
Hannibal (vox)
Panos Hatziioanides (guitars)
Nikos Michalakakos (bass)
Manos Matsos (drums)
Herc (keyboards)
9) Spitfire is a 4 piece rock n' roll band from Burnley, Lancashire in the North West of England.
10) Spitfire Japanese hardcore band from Sapporo. Played from 1986-1989.
11) Heavy metal band from Sweden. Appeared with two tracks on the legendary 'Scandinavian Metal Attack' sampler, in 1983.
12) A three-piece Speed Metal band from Karlsruhe, Germany. Founded in 2013, self-released s/t-EP in 2014.
1. Ska-core band from St Peter… Read Full Bio ↴There several artists with this name:
1. Ska-core band from St Petersburg.
2. US Metalcore / mathcore quintet.
3. Heavy Metal band from Italy.
4. Early 90's Garage Rock band from Sussex.
5. 1999 Australian hardcore DJ & producer.
6. Jazz and funk trio from Asheville, North Carolina.
7. Duo from Norway.
8. Heavy Metal band from Greece.
9. 4 piece rock n' roll band from Burnley, Lancashire.
10. Japanese hardcore band from Sapporo.
11. Heavy metal band from Sweden.
12. Heavy/Speed Metal band from Germany-
1. At the beginning of 1993, Spitfire played as a garage rockabilly trio, whose music also included some elements of noise. Their first live gig took place during the St.Petersburg Psycho Festival in February '93. The summer '93 brought new ideas and Spitfire began to do more noise/garage, they decided to give up their double bass for an electric bass guitar. While searching for a new sound, they did a program based on covers of '60's garage music.
At the end of 1993, their music had turned into garage punk and finally into ska-core. Actually, ska had been one of their favourite styles and a big passion for a long time before they decided to play it themselves. A saxophonist and a trumpet player joined the band in the fall '93, and Spitfire transformed from an aggressive punk gang into jolly and humorous mini-orchestra playing punk-ska. The spring '94 brought both their first recording session and a new bassist. Since mastering that first demo, Spitfire has had a number of very successful concerts at various clubs. All these gigs were full of energy and enthusiasm.
In the spring '95 they released a song on the compilation called "United Colours of Ska", Volume II, on German "Pork Pie" label. A year later they recorded an album at St.Petersburg "Melodia" studio, which was then mixed in Berlin at Pork Pie. This album, called "Night Hunting", was released in the end of 1996. Spitfire has been touring regularly since that time.
In January 1999 Spitfire had made another recording session at Vielklang studio in Berlin, and the result came out in the spring with new album "The Coast Is Clear".
In the spring '01 a keyboard player joined the band making its sound even more powerful. At the same time Spitfire started a spinoff project St. Petersburg Ska-Jazz Review in collaboration with the members of St.Petersburg-based afro-caribbean-oriented band Markscheider Kunst. The initial idea was to make a single-show program comprised mostly of jazz standards such as "Sidewinder", "Corcovado", "Four" and original ska tunes ("St. Thomas", "Man in the street") to perform at Sergey Kuryokhin International Festival (SKIF) in April '01.
The line-up of this band included the bariton-sax and percussion players as well as all members of Spitfire. The show gained much interest and the band went on playing live gigs on Russian club scene. The debut album was recorded in March '02 at Dobrolet studio in St. Petersburg and put out in Russia in the fall '02 on small independent label Zvezda Records.
In November '01 Spitfire musicians were invited to participate in the recording session of the band Leningrad. This band was (and still is) one of the top acts on Russian music scene. The style of Leningrad music is hard to describe, since the regular play-list of their live show includes numbers stylistically varying from ska and reggae to punk and funky hip-hop. The Leningrad album "21st Century Pirates" was released in February '02 and the whole Spitfire line-up was invited to perform at Leningrad album release show at Yubileinyy Sports Palace in St. Petersburg. From that show on Spitfire musicians work together with Leningrad: recorded 4 albums - "For millions" (2003), "Second Magadan" (2003), "Babarobot" (2004), "Huinya" (2005, together with London-based cabaret trio Tiger Lillies) and played many gigs in Russia and Europe.
In November-December '02 Spitfire, St. Petersburg Ska-Jazz Review and Leningrad toured the United States. 15 gigs were performed all over the Atlantic coast from Boston to Miami. All events were of much interest for American audience. The second American tour of Leningrad and Spitfire was in the summer '03. The bands performed live in such cult venues as "Irving Plaza" and "CBGB's" (New York City), "Middle East" (Boston), "The Knitting Factory" (Los Angeles).
In January '04 the third Spitfire album "Thrills And Kills" came out both in Europe on German Vielklang label and in Russia on recently opened independent Shnur'OK label. As the previous one "The Coast Is Clear", "Thrills And Kills" was also recorded and mastered at Vielklang studio in Berlin. This album was more diverse musically and included more tracks which style could be rather referred to as guitar rock with the horn section. The album release was supported by a 5-weeks-long tour: 27 gigs in Germany, Switzerland and Italy.
In the spring '04 some members of Spitfire were invited to take part in the project called "The Optymistica Orchestra". This initial aim of this project was to compose a live soundtrack for the short-cut movies compilation "10 minutes older: the violin". As it usually happens, the band went on playing live and even recorded the debut album at St. Petersburg Dobrolet studio. The album is supposed to be released in the spring '05.
At the moment Spitfire is making a new programme for their fourth album and preparing for a new European tour.
2. Spitfire is a metalcore / mathcore quintet. Originally, the band featured vocalist and guitarist Matt Beck, drummer Chris Raines, and bassist Jimmy Reeves. With this lineup, they released an EP called Straining Towards What's To Come on 2Jake Records and The Dead Next Door on Solid State Records in 1999. Later, having added new vocalist Jon Spencer, Spitfire released a second EP, called The Slideshow Whiplash, for Goodfellow Records. Soon after, in 2001, the band broke up.
In late 2004, Spitfire re-formed with new members. Reeves left the band, leaving Beck and Raines as the only original members. Spencer was again their vocalist, and they added guitarist Scottie Henry of Norma Jean, and bassist "Dr. Dan" Tulloh, formerly of Scarlet. They recorded a new album for Goodfellow Records, titled Self Help; it was released on February 28, 2006. After the recording of Self Help, Ian Sabo joined the band on bass, and Tulloh switched to guitar, giving the band three guitarists.
So far the bands present and future is unsure, however in mid 2008 the band released Cult Fiction on Goodfellow.
3. Spitfire were born in Verona, Italy, in 1981, following the New Wave of British Heavy Metal spreading all over Europe and America: they can boast the title of the first metal band in their city, and over the years to come they will be the most popular Veronese rock band in Italy.
The original composition of the group, vocals, two guitars, bass guitar and drums, have recorded a live demotape ("Spitfire", "Samurai", "Beyond Price") and also have made themselves known on a national scale thanks to radio programmes, interviews and reviews in fanzines and specialized magazines (the monthly "Rockerilla " presented the group as "the Italian Iron Maiden").
After many live concerts SPITFIRE reached in the spring of 1983 a stable line-up, featuring Giacomo Gigantelli on vocals and bass guitar, Stefano Pisani and Stefano Bianchini on guitars, Gaetano Avino on drums.
At the beginning of 1984 SPITFIRE released the 7’’ Blade Runner/A Quiet Man, published and distributed by Minotauro Records, Pavia, a new label interested in the Italian hard rock and heavy metal scene (Strana Officina, Paul Chain, Revenge).
The record was distributed in Italy, Belgium, Holland, France, England, U.S.A., and was positively welcomed by the official and underground press, radio networks and public. This led to a short Italian tour from May to July 1984 reaching Verona, Bergamo, Pavia, Naples (where SPITFIRE played together with Strana Officina and Vanadium in the Palatenda Partenope full of fans); the band played also in some metal festivals.
Currently the 7’’ is a rare piece for metal collectors; it was reissued on February 2009 by Minotauro Records.
New troubles slowed down the work of the group during 1985, until the ultimate trio line-up Giacomo Gigantelli (vocals and bass guitar), Stefano Pisani (guitar) and Gaetano Avino (drums).
During that year there were intense contacts with foreign labels interested in the Italian rock scene (Rave-On Records, Metal Blade, Axe Killer, Concret Warrior, King Classic).
This was the period of SPITFIRE’s full creative maturity: they played live up to the end of 1986 and left as a last inheritance the demo "Heroes in the Storm" ("Hurricane - I'm Free", "Merchants of Death", "Shadow of the Axe", "Stones of Venice", "Heroes in the Storm"), including the sessions for an album that should have been published for the King Classic label, which was never released due to the sudden band’s break-up.
In the meantime, irony of fate, the American magazine "Aardshock" defined SPITFIRE as a future star of the metal universe and two months after the break-up they received a proposal to include one of their tracks in an American metal compilation and the album contract from King Classic ready for signing…
In 2002 the independent label Andromeda releases the cd "Heroes in the Storm", a collection of all the songs recorded by the band; in 2004 there is a one-night SPITFIRE reunion (Giacomo Gigantelli, Stefano Pisani, Gaetano Avino) for an unique concert on the occasion of the 80's Italian Metal Legion Festival in Domegliara (VR - Italy).
From that concert was issued in the same year the cd "Live Reunion".
At the beginning of 2008 SPITFIRE join again for the pre-production of "Time and Eternity", the next band's release for the label My Graveyard Productions, featuring songs composed between 1982 and 1985, and never recorded.
4. Spitfire were an early 90's Garage Rock band from Sussex, signed to Paperhouse Records. They were a 6 piece comprising members, Jeff and Nick Pitcher, Steve Walker, Matt Wise, Justin Welch, and Scott Kenny. The band released a handful of singles, most notably Minimal Love and an album Sex Bomb in 1993.
5. In 1999 Australian hardcore DJ & producer DJ Daydream released Move and Feel This Way as a "double A-sided" single under the alias Spitfire. Feel This Way had previously appeared on the 1997 compilation "Bonkers 3: A Journey Into Madness".
6) Spitfire is a jazz and funk trio from Asheville, North Carolina. The band members are Nick Stubblefield, Jordan Harris, and Heath Towson.
7) Spitfire is also a duo from Norway. They are mainly composing music for commercials and TV shows, but they also do everything from small jingles for radio stations to full sized symphonic scores. The duos members are the brothers Audun Skau Hansen and Vegard Dahlin Skau Hansen, and they have been working together on this project since 2000.
8) Heavy Metal band from Greece.
Spitfire was the first greek band reviewed by Kerrang Magazine. They got 3/5 which was maybe the best review that a Greek band got from Kerrang.The journalist started his review with "A greek Heavy Metal band??, it is like trying to find a virgin in the tour bus of Motley Crue..." NOT MUCH TO SAY!
Line up:
Elias Logginides (guitars)
Hannibal (vox)
Panos Hatziioanides (guitars)
Nikos Michalakakos (bass)
Manos Matsos (drums)
Herc (keyboards)
9) Spitfire is a 4 piece rock n' roll band from Burnley, Lancashire in the North West of England.
10) Spitfire Japanese hardcore band from Sapporo. Played from 1986-1989.
11) Heavy metal band from Sweden. Appeared with two tracks on the legendary 'Scandinavian Metal Attack' sampler, in 1983.
12) A three-piece Speed Metal band from Karlsruhe, Germany. Founded in 2013, self-released s/t-EP in 2014.
Struck
Spitfire Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Struck' by these artists:
Joe Henry I've been having wicked thoughts Terribly wicked, selfish an…
Joe Henry (LocoStavos) I've been having wicked thoughts Terribly wicked, selfish a…
Madeyelo We ain't here for a long time and that's been…
Porpoise Spit Baby's hair it pricks up fast I'm the one who saw…
Tyler Levs Summer nights Winter days Falling leaves Budding spring Talk…
Yellowcard If I'm high on a hill She'd still been looking down…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Spitfire:
A Glance At Quintessence Manifest love absent of hindrance Desire strips me of direct…
Bell Ask me how do I feel, Now that we're cosy and…
Bulletproof And Tall As Jesus Your mascara is running doll Bulletproof and tall as Jesus…
Comfort Brothers and sisters Desperation is a faithful friend of min…
Crossed Cold metal, hard lead. Kneeling to the cock of a rifle…
Dear John Dear john Someday you're gonna be somebody But not today …
Do or Die It's do or die Ain't no second try You either going for…
Go Ape When this hypodermic life gets under your skin And it's ane…
Good Cop Bad Cop Excuse my solecism (But it′s nothing unknown) Looking back M…
Good Cop, Bad Cop Excuse my solecism (But it's nothing unknown) Looking back M…
Heroin I am the shrieking in the back of your head…
I Wanna See You Each time I look at you is like the first…
In Vitro We freebased the world like a challenger explosion. And lit…
Kings Of The Food Chain To the kings of the food chain Who walk upright on…
Lead Me On You′re the one to induce me to carry on And when…
Leap Of Faith I believe in the power of self-help I believe in the…
Life And Limb She gives me stilts to walk tall as jesus And feathers…
Love Lover Love Midnight love, love and seduction. I'm trying to take her…
Marasmus If there is a God Then i want to know…
Meat Maker The dull thud of packing meat. It's my bare fist beating…
Meat Market Come join us pigs on th butcher's block Where our divisions…
Meth Monster You're only free when you're rabid. You're only rabid when …
More %26 More Each time I look at you is like the first…
Mother Earth In Labour 26 years in an aborting world. Mother Earth in labor.…
Night Flying Sometimes I get strange felings I feel so bad with you Somet…
No Compromise You want it all, you want it all (No compromise, no…
Not for Radio Old man sunshine listen you Never tell me dreams come true J…
Ohm Driver We bathe in the moonlight When the tide is high and…
Please Don't Go Out Tonight My heart is breaking in two I'm never good enough…
Pro-Life What do you have to be angry about? I rack your…
Render Quench Create What is it worth when all my life's posessions are…
Running Down The kid holding hands with an adult man And everything is…
The Burgundy Room Looking out the corner of my eye (Silence was golden) The sh…
The Great White Noise Sit back Relax And enter the transient state of a scatterb…
The Suicide Cult Is Dead You're so crazy Just blame it on a synapse that's lazy Jus…
The Two Forty Eight Lie The 2: 48 lie Get up Start up Strut up Walk up Put on your…
This Ain't Vegas And You Ain't Elvis These elvis impersonators make your trigger finger itch Ki…
Track Marxist We greased our pockets with oil. Then lined those pockets w…
U.V. I.V. I will love you until the day you die I will…
Walk Alone Let me hold your hand I′ll drive ya to the place…
Настроение Я талантливый бездельник, пол-второго, понедельник Глаз откр…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
@paulbradford8240
I was born in 1958, 13 years after the end of the War. Growing up, it was so close in time. Many of my friends fathers had fought. Mine was too young. My Grandfather had been a POW, captured in 1940 at the Siege of Calais. The other Grandfather was an ARP Warden, having been a soldier in WW1.
The reminders of War were everywhere as a child. Going to play in the bomb craters in nearby woods. We were not far from Hornchurch Airfield.
Going to school in London and passing houses where railings had been removed for the War effort. Passing bomb sites or which there were many. Later on, working in the City of London as a Telephone Engineer and going into the basement of a bank that had been an ARP Station in the War and had just been left like it with all the signs and equipment. (In the 1980's).
I recall my Mum buying me some reprinted WW2 issue newspapers. In one was a recruiting poster for the RAF. The entrance requirements to be a fighter pilot were pretty simple. Grammar School (which I'd gone to) would have got me in. That to me was a sort of fantasy. But now, at my age, knowing that many of those young men that fought and gave their lives were in their teens or just out of them, is quite a sobering thought.
Douglas Bader, whom I once met when he signed a book for me, was quite old to be a BoB pilot.
I've loved the sound of a Merlin engine. My Mum grew up quite close to Hornchurch Airfield and I recalled stories of when she was a child going to the air raid shelter in the garden.
At her funeral in Upminster in 2010, I came outside to look at the flowers. It was quiet and for a short while, I was on my own. Suddenly, there was that unmistakable sound of a Merlin. I looked up to see a Spitfire flying overhead. It was a poignant moment.
I mentioned it that evening to the friends with whom I was staying as I live in France. They told me it might well have been Carolyn Grace, who was a Spitfire owner in Essex.
This video has evoked lots of memories for someone who was not even 'there!'
@stevetheduck1425
Spitfire was cutting edge in 1936, Mustang cutting edge in 1942.
Spitfire and Mustang were both updated, revised, improved continouosly into the 1950s, when jet aircraft began to overtake them in range and reliability.
Some planes, such as the Skyraider, were cutting edge in 1943 and went on well into the 1970s.
It's how a plane is improved and IF it can be improved.
Another measure is how many roles (and new roles) it could take on successfully.
@douglaspealing5608
So many comments about the Hurricane being the more important or successful fighter in the BOB, and I'd like to just put my 2 cents in.
Yes. It shot down more aircraft. If you look purely at numbers it was more successful. What people tend to leave out is the strategy used to allow this.
The Hurricane was a better, more stable gun platform, with the guns themselves being tightly spaced to give a bigger punch. It was a worse dogfighter as it lost energy more quickly than the Spitfire. (in initial contact I believe it could actually out-turn the Spitfire) This pointed it towards being the bomber-hunter of the two.
The Spitfire, as mentioned, was a better dogfighter. It could sustain turns for longer and keep pace & altitude up better during those turns. It wasn't as stable, and didn't have as concentrated firepower as the Hurricane. These attributes made it more suited to taking on the 109's than the Hurricanes
It's much harder to shoot down a maneuvering fighter than it is a level bomber, no matter what aircraft your in, so it's really no wonder the kill ratio between the two was the way it was. But the Spit pilots did succeed in occupying the 109 pilots for long enough to allow the Hurricanes at the bombers.
Both aircraft were pivotal in the BOB. Saying one did more damage than the other is like saying a striker scored more goals than the goalie. They deployed their aircraft into positions where they would be the most useful to the fight and it wasn't a competition to see which plane would shoot down more aircraft (tho the pilots made it so) it was merely a total stat.
@HistoryHit
Was the P-51 more iconic than the Spitfire? Have you got any personal/family Spitfire stories? Let us know in the comments! 👇
@coldlakealta4043
My uncle in the RCAF flew Hurricanes for a while and proclaimed them an excellent gun platform, while their cloth covering absorbed more battle damage than all-metal aircraft. However, he and many others hated them for their propensity to throw sheets of flame back at the pilots, many of whom were lost or horribly disfigured. Many of the pilots in the infamous "Guinea Pig" experimental skin grafting hospital were victims of this trait. In achieving more victories in the Battle of Britain that the Spitfires, however, it proved itself an excellent weapon of home defense in the early war years.
@otterspocket2826
@@coldlakealta4043 - For the reasons of stability and durability that Coldlake Alta mentioned, the Hurricane seems to have had the edge for attacking bombers, while the Spitfire's speed and agility made it a better dogfighter (although both the Hurricane and Bf109 technically had a tighter turn radius, the Spitfire's pre-stall buffet meant even relatively novice pilots could outturn highly experienced 109 pilots wary of instant high-speed stalls without warning). The Hurricane's less complex and labour intensive construction and repair would've made it a better use of resources if production had ever fallen below the loss rate.
Overall I think it's a matter of horses for courses. Both were effective in both roles (against fighter and bombers) when necessary, but having a type specialising in each role when there were sufficient numbers of each in the air to split them was probably better than having a fighter force entirely made up of either.
@fastfreddy80
I had a book by Alfred Price, (I gave it to my brother), that had a comparison made by British test pilots comparing the Spit MK XIV and a P51B (Mustang MK III I think). In their report they said the two planes were so close in performance that there was little to choose between them. And that it came down to pilot preference. They are both incredible planes but I usually go with the P51 as being more important for one reason, Range. I think it was General Doolittle that said "anything a Spitfire could do over Belgium the Mustang could over Berlin".
@kilianortmann9979
I think both were incredibly iconic and both had good timing, taking over from their predecessors, the Hurricane and the P-47, who fought a less glamorous, but maybe even harder fight.
@dulls8475
No.
@phillipdavies6548
My Uncle Phil died flying a Spitfire so every time i see these videos and see the pictures of a Spitfire it always reminds me of him. I never met him as I was born in 1947 but I think I have missed not knowing him. RIP Sgt Pilot Philip D. Seaborne
@samthomas9389
Profound respect for your Uncle. The Finest Generation of Brits who sacrificed everything & who won, everything.
@paulbradford8240
He was 242 Squadron which had been at Duxford, but was at RAF Ouston at the time of his death. RAF Commands are a great source of information if you want to know more. His service record is a good start if you don't have it already. His service number was 526010.
@touristguy87
i miss Jesus even though i never knew him personally