It was the marquee fighter of WW II. The plane that for all four years went toe to toe, propeller to propeller, with the best the Germans had – and often beat them – began, amazingly enough, as a monoplane. All metal, and with an open cockpit no less. Not surprisingly, that original design was completely scrapped and a new version incorporating more lightweight materials and a more aerodynamic form, the signature Spitfire silhouette, was born.

On this day, March 5, in 1936, the first Spitfire prototype completes its maiden test flight. It lasted just a few minutes, but the test pilot reported being very happy, encountering no problems at all. “Don’t touch anything,” he told his ground crew. He would make several more test flights in following days.

The Spitfires proved enormously versatile: they were stripped of armaments for long-range reconnaissance missions; given supplemental droppable fuel tanks for long range combat; and revamped for carrier takeoffs and landings when appropriate. Beloved by its pilots, the Spitfire was the only plane that was in production from the beginning of the war to its end.