The Spitfire was a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force mainly during the Second World War. It was first flown in 1938, and finally retired in the 1950s. The Spitfire was built in greater numbers than any other British aircraft.

The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance fighter aircraft to intercept incoming bombers and their escort fighters. The unusually-shaped wing was exceptionally thin, and that gave it a top speed higher than the enemy fighters.

Its most famous battle was in the months of the air-fight known as the Battle of Britain (July–October 1940). In that battle there were more Hawker Hurricane aircraft than Spitfires. But because of its shape and speed, people generally thought the Spitfire was the main fighter plane. In fact, the greater speed and manoeuvrability meant that the Spitfire had a higher victory-to-loss ratio than those flying Hurricanes.

The Spitfire had only come into service just before the war, and as the numbers built increased, so it became the main RAF Fighter Command plane.