A full-size composite replica of the Spitfire fighter aircraft was built using Scott Bader materials.
The Spitfire Heritage Trust recently completed a major project, successfully building an exact, full-sized all-fiberglass replica of the iconic WWII Battle of Britain Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB (Type 359) from scratch. Designed by Reginald Mitchell and produced from 1938-1948 at Supermarine Aviation where Mitchell was employed as an engineer, the original Spitfire fighter-interceptor was the first all-metal stressed-skin aircraft. All of the glass reinforced plastic (GRP) aircraft body parts manufactured for this replica plane were molded using laminating resins and structural adhesive materials supplied by the project’s principal sponsor, Scott Bader, which donated the majority of the composite materials used to construct the Lesotho replica Spitfire.
This authentic, GRP replica Spitfire has been specially built in the UK for the Kingdom of Lesotho (formerly Basutoland) in southern Africa by volunteers from The Spitfire Heritage Trust. The Lesotho replica Spitfire project was intended to recognize and pay tribute to the generous Gift of War given in June 1940 by the people of Basutoland, with a population of only 400,000 at the time. The response to the war funds appeal was overwhelming, raising sufficient money from donations to pay for the (then) costs of manufacturing 24 Spitfires, thus providing much-needed new fighter-aircraft for two full-strength Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfire fighter squadrons. From this Gift of War donation, No. 72 (Basutoland) Squadron was created in 1940 and continues today as an active RAF training squadron. Trainee pilots now fly the RAF’s advanced trainer, the Tucano T1, built under license by Shorts of Belfast, before going on to fast-jet training.