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The hidden Spitfire makers

Everyone knows the Battle of Britain was fought in the skies. What's much less well known is that it was fought in the back streets of Southampton as well.

When the Luftwaffe destroyed the factory making Spitfires in the city in 1940, Lord Beaverbrook, the Minister of Aircraft Production, decided to commandeer small industrial sites around the city to continue making the planes.

The story is told in 鈥楾he Shadow Factory鈥�, a new play by Howard Brenton which opens at the NST City theatre in Southampton in February.

91-year-old Don Smith worked in one of them. He tells us how, at the age of 14, he went from working on car repairs to making jettison tanks for Spitfires.

Release date:

Duration:

2 minutes