Hamble's Spitfire Connection
Aircraft production, the ATA women pilots, and wartime aviation
Hamble's connection to the Spitfire is one of the most significant and emotionally resonant chapters in the village's history. The story encompasses the aircraft factory, the airfield, and the remarkable women pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary who flew from Hamble during the Second World War.
The aviation industry arrived at Hamble in the 1930s, when aircraft companies established factories and testing facilities on the flat land of the peninsula. The Hamble airfield, with its runway and workshop buildings, provided the infrastructure for aircraft production and flight testing. Folland Aircraft was a major presence, and during the war the site became part of the dispersed Spitfire production network.
After the Supermarine factory at Woolston in Southampton was destroyed by German bombing in September 1940, with the loss of nearly one hundred lives, Spitfire production was scattered across Hampshire to prevent a single attack from halting the supply of these vital fighter aircraft. Hamble was one of the key assembly points where components from various dispersal sites were brought together, assembled into complete aircraft, and test-flown before delivery.
The all-women Number 15 Ferry Pool of the Air Transport Auxiliary operated from Hamble airfield. These pilots, drawn from Britain and several other countries, flew every type of aircraft in the RAF inventory. They flew without weapons, without radios for much of the war, and in all weather conditions, navigating by map and landmark. The ATA women at Hamble delivered thousands of aircraft during the war, including Spitfires, Hurricanes, Lancasters, and many other types.
Among the notable ATA pilots associated with Hamble were Lettice Curtis, the first woman to fly a four-engine bomber, and Diana Barnato Walker, who later became the first British woman to break the sound barrier. The ATA women faced the same risks as their male counterparts, and fifteen women lost their lives in the service.
The Spitfire connection and the ATA story are sources of considerable local pride. The airfield has been developed for housing, but the memory of what was achieved there is preserved in local commemorations, in the street names of the airfield development, and in the wider historical record.