Supermarine Aircraft Spitfire Supermarine Aircraft Spitfire The Supermarine Aircraft Spitfire is an Australian homebuilt aircraft produced in kit form by Supermarine Aircraft. A replica of the famous British Supermarine Spitfire World War II fighter, it was originally produced to 75% scale. Subsequent models have increased the scale of the fuselage and added a second seat. Australian pilot and aviation engineer Mike O'Sullivan had always wanted a Spitfire and built a replica for his own use in 1991. This was followed by a , Rotax-powered prototype in 1994. The next year, in 1995, he joined with business partner John McCarron to form the Supermarine
Royal Aircraft Establishment MOD, resulting in two separate organisations, the state-owned Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), and the privatised company QinetiQ. Between 1911 and 1918 the Royal Aircraft Factory produced a number of aircraft designs. Most of these were essentially research aircraft, but a few actually went into mass production, especially during the war period. Some orders were met by the factory itself, but the bulk of production was by private British companies, some of which had not previously built aircraft. Up to about 1913 the designation letters referred to the general layout of the aircraft, derived from a French manufacturer or