£6m appeal for Spitfire monument
A£6 MILLION public appeal has been launched for a national monument to a great British icon – the Supermarine Spitfire – most of which were built in Birmingham.
The appeal was launched to coincide with the 77th anniversary of VE Day with the aim of commemorating all the men and women from more than 30 allied countries who designed, built, flew and maintained the aircraft during the Second World War
The Spitfire has special significance to Birmingham, given they were made at country’s largest, purposebuilt aircraft factory in Castle Bromwich.
Construction works for Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory took place in challenging conditions and in record time. The factory proved vital to the war effort when both the Hampshire factories at Woolston and Itchen were devastated by air raids.
The National Spitfire Monument will appear to soar into the skies over Southampton.
The Hampshire location was chosen because the aircraft was first built at Supermarine Aviation Works at Woolston, and because its maiden flight was from Southampton Municipal Airport in Eastleigh (now Southampton Airport) on March 5 , 1936.
Standing 40m tall – on a par with the scale of the Statue of Liberty – the monument will be a gleaming stainless-steel structure – one and a half times the size of the original aircraft.
Roundels and emblems in the base will be interactive and educational, and the monument is expected to be seen by more than seven million people every year.
The monument has official backing at national and local levels – with £3 million match funding promised by the Government.
John M Hannides, chairman of the National Spitfire Project, the charity behind the monument, said: “The Spitfire is a great British icon. It embodies courage and hope against adversity, it is the epitome of engineering excellence and innovation, and it represents the spirit of collaboration too – diversity and unity, coming together for a common cause.
“During the Second World War, men and women from all over the world helped raised funds to ‘build a Spitfire’ for the war effort. Some people paid a few pennies ‘for a spark plug’; some towns and companies ‘paid for a wing’ or ‘an engine’ – or even funded a whole aircraft.
“Fundraising for the new National Spitfire Monument continues to draw on that same public goodwill, alongside the UK Government’s match funding.”
Royston Smith GM MP, one of the trustees of the National Spitfire Project, said: “The iconic Spitfire was instrumental in defending our country during the Second World War but particularly during the Battle of Britain.
“Men and women of many nations devoted themselves to the Spitfire’s testing and construction, its delivery, its maintenance, and the flights that it made.
‘‘The engineering of the Spitfire gave the aircraft better turns of speed, better aerobatic abilities, and an impressive turning circle – all needed to help outmanoeuvre enemy aircraft. Pilots loved it. The people were inspired by it.
‘‘The National Spitfire Monument will commemorate all those who were involved, and the monument’s plinth will be interactive too, so that visitors can learn more about the aircraft, its heritage and its pivotal role in the Battle of Britain.
“The Spitfire is never forgotten, but we have never had a national monument to this aircraft as a fitting tribute to all those who helped build it, fly and maintain it – and protected our skies with it. The Spitfire has great international importance, with a silhouette that inspires hope and a sound that inspires awe.”