THUNDERING above southern England, this majestic Spitfire had the people of Hampshire gazing skywards in amazement Saturday — repeating scenes of eight decades ago.

    Marking the 80th anniversary of the iconic plane’s maiden flight, the Spitfire took off from Southampton Airport to follow the route its prototype traveled in 1936.

    The plane, a converted Mk IX model, flew along the coast to Portsmouth and back and passed close to the resting place of chief designer, R. J. Mitchell, as well as the site of the former Supermarine factory where thousands were built.

    After the original journey, test pilot Joseph “Mutt” Summers was so impressed, he told engineers, “Don’t touch a single thing.”

    The plane went on to play a crucial role fighting the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain.

    Among Saturday’s onlookers was one of the engineers during its heyday, Gordon Monger, 90, who said, “It still looks as marvelous as it did all those years ago.”

    Members of the local 2428 (Hedge End) Air Cadet Squadron were also present to perform a guard of honor for the Spitfire as it was wheeled out of the hangar.

    Dave Lees, managing director of Southampton Airport, said, “Who would have thought that 80 years after the maiden flight from Southampton Airport of Spitfire K5054, this famous aircraft would still be inspiring new businesses and young people.

    “I am sure that R. J. Mitchell, the chief designer, would be very proud that the Spitfire continues to enthrall people today.”

    Jones, the co-founder of new venture Flying With Spitfires which has helped organize the event, said, “We are delighted to be launching our new business from the birthplace of the Spitfire on this very special day.”

    Originally designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor in 1931, the Supermarine Spitfire was flown by a single pilot and was armed with four machine guns.

    The aircraft was in production between 1938 and 1948 and in that time 20,351 were built — a great number of these were manufactured at Castle Bromwich Aerodrome in the West Midlands.

    The aircraft is best known for the role it played in the Battle of Britain, alongside the Hawker Hurricane, in defending an onslaught from the German Air Force.

    (SD-Agencies)