The Spitfire wasn't the only plane developed at what is now Southampton Airport, as a new book shows.

The paperback, out this month, explains that a veritable squadron of aircraft have been made or test-flown at the former Eastleigh airport.

Among the most bizarre were reproductions of early canvas-and-wire biplanes, made in 1964 by Hampshire Aero Club for the comedy film Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines.

And the 220-page tome, with black and white photos on most pages, also describes the historic role in aircraft manufacture played by such unlikely places as the pretty riverside village of Hamble and the stately pile of Hursley Park.

Even Marwell zoo and the former Winchester race course apparently have places in the history of flight.

Up to now I've avoided mentioning the name of the book, which is a bit of a turn-off.

British Built Aircraft, Volume 2: South West and Central Southern England.

It's a labour of love by Ron Smith, an enthusiast who has been in the industry all his life and currently works for British Aerospace.

There is much to enjoy here, though finding your way around the book is not easy. The format is geographical, with the information set out alphabetically under headings which are place names, but there is no list of which places are included, and no map.

The Spitfire, with its powerful engine and easy handling, played a key role in enabling brave Allied pilots to defeat the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain, and the book records that the first prototype flew from Eastleigh in 1936.

In 1937, Spitfire production was rapidly expanded through use of sub-contractors, and those responsible for everything from the wing ribs to the engine mounting are listed.

Chaotic problems with coordinating the subcontractors led to the production of wings falling behind.

Supermarine, based in Southampton as well as Eastleigh, soon found itself with at least seven times as many fuselages as it had pairs of wings to fit on them.

Vickers-Armstrong, which owned Supermarine, also used Eastleigh to test the first production Wellington L4212 in 1938, and in the early 1950s parts of the Swift were built there, in a hangar subsequently converted into the terminal building.

When Supermarine's Southampton factories were bombed, Spitfire production was dispersed to places as far apart as Reading and Birmingham, Botley and Chilbolton. Design moved to Hursley Park, now a base for IBM, where prototypes were made in a camouflaged hangar in the grounds.

A series of unlikely-looking helicopters and gyrocopters were developed at Eastleigh, including the giant Air Horse, which had three rotors but fell by the wayside after the prototype crashed.

Long before the M27 was built, what is now the Ford Transit factory was part of the Eastleigh airfield. The original plant was a hangar built for Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft in 1939 and, during World War II, the company designed, built or repaired over 6,000 planes.

Cunliffe-Owen also modified American lend-lease aircraft at Marwell Park, which was then the home of its managing director.

Hamble, like other sheltered spots around Britain's coast, proved a favoured place for developing sea planes. Water slipways for launching planes have disappeared or fallen into disuse, as have the village's two airfields, but aviation work continues with components manufacture by Aerostructures Hamble, part of BAe.

The old Winchester racecourse at Worthy Down was used for test flying by Avro in 1927, and by Supermarine in 1927 and during World War II.

This second instalment in the British Built Aircraft series is published by Tempus at £16.99.