On the afternoon of March 5, 1936, Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers climbed into the cockpit of a prototype designated K5054 at Eastleigh Aerodrome near Southampton. Eight minutes later, he landed, climbed out, and reportedly said: "Don't touch anything." The Supermarine Type 300 — soon to be named the Spitfire — had just completed its first flight. Ninety years later, at the bottom of the world, two of its descendants took to the sky together to celebrate the anniversary. Warbirds Over Wanaka 2026, held April 3–5 in New Zealand's Southern Alps, staged a Spitfire pairs display that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. One of only two airworthy Mk XI Spitfires in the world flew alongside New Zealand's sole airworthy Spitfire — a Mk IX — in a formation that connected the aircraft's wartime history to a community determined to keep it flying.

The Spy That Photographed the Dambusters

The Mk XI was not a fighter. It was a camera. Stripped of guns and armour, fitted with extra fuel tanks, a more powerful engine, and a pressurised cabin, the Mk XI was designed to fly higher, farther, and faster than any interceptor could follow. Its mission was photo reconnaissance — the most dangerous solo flying of the war, conducted unarmed over enemy territory. Over 470 Mk XI variants were built, entering service in the summer of 1943. They flew at altitudes above 30,000 feet and speeds exceeding 400 mph, carrying camera installations that could be swapped between F.52, F.24, and F.8 configurations depending on the mission. The USAAF's 14th Photographic Squadron flew Mk XIs from November 1943 through April 1945. The variant's most famous mission came on May 17, 1943 — the morning after Operation Chastise, the legendary Dambusters raid. Flying Officer Frank "Jerry" Fray of 542 Squadron took a Mk XI to 30,000 feet over Germany and photographed the breached Möhne and Eder dams. His images — showing a mile-wide torrent of floodwater gushing through the shattered dam walls — appeared on the front pages of British newspapers the next morning. They were the proof that the raid had worked. The aircraft that flew at Wanaka in April 2026 carries that heritage. It is one of only two Mk XI Spitfires still airworthy anywhere on Earth.

The World's Most Experienced Spitfire Pilot

The Mk XI was flown at Wanaka by John Romain, director of the Aircraft Restoration Company at the Imperial War Museum Duxford. Romain holds over 4,500 flight hours, including more than 1,000 on Spitfires alone — a figure that likely makes him the most experienced Spitfire pilot alive. He was awarded an MBE for his NHS Spitfire Project during the COVID-19 pandemic, which raised funds by flying a Spitfire over hospitals across Britain. Flying the Mk XI from Britain to New Zealand for a three-day airshow sounds like a logistical nightmare, and it was. But for Romain and the warbird community, the 90th anniversary demanded something extraordinary. Pairing a reconnaissance Spitfire with Brendon Deere's Mk IX fighter variant — New Zealand's only airworthy example, based at Ohakea — created a display that honoured both the aircraft's combat and intelligence-gathering roles.

20,351 Built. 60 Still Flying.

The Spitfire's production run is staggering by any standard. Between 1936 and 1948, Supermarine and its subcontractors built 20,351 Spitfires across more than 20 variants. Adding the naval Seafire pushes the total past 22,000 aircraft. The Spitfire fought in every theatre of the Second World War, from the Battle of Britain to the Pacific, and continued in front-line service into the 1950s. Of that vast fleet, approximately 240 are known to survive in any condition. Around 70 sit in museums as static displays. Over 110 are in storage or undergoing restoration. And roughly 60 are airworthy — a number that fluctuates year by year as restorations finish and airworthy examples suffer incidents or retire. The RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight still operates five airworthy Spitfires, keeping the type in military service more than 80 years after it entered combat. But the majority of flying Spitfires are in private hands, maintained by companies like Romain's Aircraft Restoration Company, funded by owners who spend millions to keep a 1940s fighter in the air.

Eight Minutes That Changed History

Mutt Summers' test flight lasted eight minutes. In that time, he assessed an aircraft that would become the most iconic fighter of the 20th century — the machine that held the line over southern England in 1940, that photographed the Dambusters' handiwork at 30,000 feet, that served with air forces on six continents, and that remains, nine decades later, the aircraft that makes crowds fall silent when its Merlin engine growls overhead. At Wanaka, in the crisp April air of the Southern Alps, two Spitfires — one a fighter, one a spy — flew together to mark the anniversary. They were outnumbered 20,349 to 2. But they were flying. And at 90 years old, that is the only thing that matters. Sources: Warbirds Over Wanaka, Vintage Aviation News, Aircraft Restoration Company, RAF Museum, Spitfires.com