A Story of Fighter Development is a short film, narrated by Anthony Kimmins, that gives viewers a brief history of British development of fighter aircraft from the 1920s through the years following World War II. The film begins with a Supermarine Attacker fighter plane moving out onto a runway at a Supermarine facility. Pilot Jeffrey Quill demonstrates flying the Attacker, flying the plane above a crowd of spectators at the airfield facility. A type 510, a high-speed version of the Attacker, taxis out on the runway (02:14). Lt. Mike Lithgow sits in the aircraft’s cockpit; the 510 (later known as the Supermarine Swift) flies over the airfield on display. It then smoothly completes an approach and landing. The film then takes viewers back to 1925 and the development of Supermarine’s racing seaplanes, starting with one of Supermarine’s earliest planes—the S.4 (04:00). Two years later, Supermarine develops the S.5 (04:20); an S.5 takes off from the sea just off the coast of Italy. Pilot D’Arcy Greig is carried ashore in celebration after making a record flight with the S.5. The next step in fighter development is the S.6 (05:03). Crowds watch the S.6 as it takes off in an attempt to set a new speed record. An Italian Macchi M.52 takes off from the water. The film shows the British team from the 1929 race (most likely the Schneider Trophy race). During the 1931 contest, an S.6B fires up its engine and is moved out onto the water (06:26). The aircraft takes off from the water. In 1936, a Spitfire prototype taxis out on a runway and takes off (07:27); the aircraft makes its first public appearance in July of that year. Shortly after, the first production Spitfire takes off (08:08). The film shows members of the Royal Air Force standing in front of a squadron of Spitfires. Footage shows a German plane being shot down by a Spitfire during the Battle of Britain (08:57). A Spitfire takes off from an airfield during the war. A squadron of Spitfires flies above the English Channel (10:00). A Spitfire lands on the deck of the HMS Victorious (10:15). Footage shows Seafires (modified Spitfires) take off from the deck of a Royal Navy aircraft carrier. The film then shows the production of Spitfires (11:02): women assemble parts of the plane at a Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. plant. A Spitfire is towed out of a hanger. Aerial footage shows viewers Spitfires flying during D-day (11:38) and in what appears to be other operations—all from the point of view of the Spitfire—as the planes fire on railroads and German war ships (12:08). A modified Spitfire takes off at a test research site, testing a new type of high-speed wing (12:18). There is a good shot of three Spitfires flying over the countryside (13:11). A Seafire 47 flies through the sky (13:30)—the film tells viewers that it is the last of the Spitfire line to be produced. The film then shows an Attacker taking off from the deck of an aircraft carrier (14:08). The Attacker lands back on the carrier with virtually no bounce. The film returns to one of its earlier shots as pilot Mike Lithgow takes off in an Attacker from Supermarine’s airfield (15:05). At the South Marston facility where Attackers are produced, men sit at draft tables in a large building working on designs for Attacker aircraft (15:50). The film shows some of Supermarine’s top design men for the company. Next, viewers are treated to some of the tests that Supermarine aircraft undergo. An apparatus is used to test fighter fuel systems (16:16); the film also shows undercarriage testing, chemical and metallurgy testing, and a wing that is being prepared for a strength test in the mechanical test department. Chief designer Joseph Smith chats with colleagues (16:52). The film ends with footage of a Supermarine 510 as it flies by a crowd at an airfield during speed tests (17:30).