ALL eyes will be on the sky this weekend as a Spitfire will fly over Southampton. 

The event, on Sunday, will mark 87 years to the day since the first flight of the prototype of the legendary aircraft, synonymous with Southampton. 

A spokesman for organisers Solent Sky Museum told the Daily Echo that the Spitfire will take off from the Heritage Hangar at Biggin Hill in Kent in time to carry out a low pass along the runway at Southampton Airport, where the first Spitfire took off in 1936, at approximately 4pm.

The aircraft will then follow the River Itchen towards Southampton Docks, passing over many of the sites where the Spitfire was built during the Second World War.

It will give a final nod to designer R.J.Mitchell, who is buried at South Stoneham Cemetery, before returning to the Battle of Britain airfield.

The Spitfire will only be seen in the skies above Southampton for a few minutes.

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Designed by Portswood’s R J Mitchell, tested at the airport in Eastleigh and mass-produced at a factory in Woolston, the Spitfire is the most famous of any World War Two aircraft.

Known for its distinctive Merlin engine, it is also hailed for its major role in Britain’s efforts to fight off the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain.

Daily Echo:

It was 83 years ago that Southampton and the south coast felt the full force of the German onslaught on the UK from the air.

The Supermarine factory in the city, where the plane was being built, suffered a major hit before production of the iconic fighter aircraft was hastily switched to other locations across the south.

Following the demise of the factory, the Spitfire was produced locally in any location where aircraft could be built. Laundries, bus stations, garages, and other businesses were requisitioned and within weeks the aircraft was back in production all over Southampton and beyond.

At this time, the Spitfire would have touched the lives of almost every family in Southampton.

Hundreds were killed, thousands injured and countless buildings destroyed and damaged during the continuous bombing raids on our region before the Luftwaffe were defeated by the RAF and Hitler abandoned his plan to invade the UK.