Main content
Faster and higher
Episode 8 of 10
The Spitfire's designers struggle to find a safe place to improve their plane to deal with Germany’s latest fighter developments.
It wasn’t just Spitfire production that needed to escape the bombs; the designers of the plane also need to find a safe place to improve the Spitfire to deal with Germany’s latest fighter developments.
Presenter: Tuppence Middleton
Producers: Alasdair Cross and Emily Knight
Editors: Chris Ledgard and Kirsten Lass
Last on
Mon 5 Jul 202109:32GMT
BBC World Service
Image credit
A designer at work (Credit: The Supermariners)
Broadcasts
- Sat 27 Jun 202017:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 28 Jun 202001:32GMTBBC World Service
- Sun 28 Jun 202005:32GMTBBC World Service
- Sun 28 Jun 202022:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sat 3 Jul 202104:32GMTBBC World Service
- Sat 3 Jul 202117:32GMTBBC World Service News Internet & Online only
- Sat 3 Jul 202122:32GMTBBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean
- Sat 3 Jul 202123:32GMTBBC World Service UK DAB/Freeview, News Internet, Online & Europe and the Middle East only
- Sun 4 Jul 202100:32GMTBBC World Service South Asia & East Asia only
- Sun 4 Jul 202118:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Mon 5 Jul 202109:32GMTBBC World Service
Podcast
![]()
Spitfire: The People’s Plane
Before a plane could save a country, the people had to build it

