A SPITFIRE’S STORY: THE INVISIBLE THREAD: SPITFIRE R6644 AND THE PILOTS WHO FLEW IT

Book ID/图书代码： 10567026C00019

English Summary/英文概要： Public affection for the iconic Spitfire endures; indeed, if anything, it increases as more of these incredible aircraft are restored to airworthy condition. The Spitfire story, however, is one of people, designers, engineers, pilots, groundcrew, and more, whose lives were touched in some way by this extraordinary machine – and such stories are the inspiration for this book.

Spitfire Mk.IA R6644 was built by Supermarine at Woolston, and test-flown by the famous test pilot Jeffrey Quill on 30 May 1940. Thereafter, the aircraft was taken on charge by 5 Operational Training Unit at Aston Down. While there, it was flown by a number of The Few, new replacement pilots converting to type.

It is likely, for example, that R6644 was flown by Pilot Officer Richard Hillary, who, shot down and badly burned, became a member of the Guinea Pig Club. In his classic memoir The Last Enemy, Hillary described how 5 OTU’s young pilots would fly beneath the arches of the great railway bridge spanning the Severn estuary. This inspired the famous scene in the 1980s TV series Piece of Cake, when Ray Hanna flew Spitfire MH434 beneath a bridge for the cameras. Amongst the other pilots known to have flown R6644 at Aston Down are at least two aces.

On 26 February 1941, R6644 was handed on to 65 Squadron. One of the latter’s pilots who flew in R6644 was the great ace Flying Officer Brendan ‘Paddy’ Finucane DFC. In April, R6644 was taken on charge by the recently formed 308 (Polish) Squadron. On 11 May 1941, Pilot Officer Franciszek Surma was flying R6644 to investigate an unidentified radar plot, which transpired to be a friendly Blenheim, but was forced to abandon the Spitfire near Malvern, Worcestershire, owing to an engine fire. Surma, again one of The Few, descended safely by parachute; he was reported missing off Dunkirk during Circus 110 on 8 November 1941.

This book not only explores the men who flew R6674 throughout its wartime service, but also brings the story up to date by detailing the excavation of the Spitfire’s crash site in 1987.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 公众对这架标志性战机“喷火”的挚爱经久不衰；事实上，随着越来越多这类传奇战机被修复至适航状态，这份情感反而日益深厚。然而，“喷火”的故事本质上是人的故事：设计师、工程师、飞行员、地勤人员等等，他们的生命轨迹都曾以不同方式与这架非凡机器交织。正是这样的故事，成为本书创作的源泉。

喷火型战机R6644由伍尔斯顿的超级马林公司制造，于1940年5月30日由著名试飞员杰弗里·奎尔完成试飞。随后，该机被交付至阿斯顿唐的第5作战训练单位服役。在此期间，多名“少数精英”（指不列颠空战飞行员）中的新补充飞行员曾驾驶它进行机型转换训练。

例如，R6644很可能曾被飞行员理查德·希拉里驾驶。他在被击落后严重烧伤，后来成为“豚鼠俱乐部”（专门治疗严重烧伤飞行员的医疗组织）成员。在其经典回忆录《最后的敌人》中，希拉里描述过第5训练单位的年轻飞行员如何飞越塞文河口大铁路桥的拱洞，这一幕激发了1980年代电视剧《蛋糕一块》中的著名场景：雷·汉纳为拍摄镜头驾驶喷火战机MH434穿越桥洞。在已知于阿斯顿唐驾驶过R6644的飞行员中，至少包括两位王牌飞行员。

1941年2月26日，R6644移交至第65中队。其中一位驾驶该机的飞行员是杰出的王牌飞行员，荣获优异飞行十字勋章的布伦丹·“帕迪”·菲纽肯中尉。同年4月，这架战机被新组建的第308（波兰）中队接收。1941年5月11日，飞行员弗朗齐歇克·苏尔马驾驶R6644侦查一个不明雷达信号（后来证实是友军的布伦海姆轰炸机），但因引擎起火被迫在伍斯特郡莫尔文附近弃机。苏尔马，同样属于“少数精英”，安全跳伞生还；然而他在1941年11月8日“马戏团110号行动”中于敦刻尔克附近被报失踪。

本书不仅深入探寻了在R6644战时服役期间驾驶过的飞行员们，还通过详述1987年对该战机坠毁遗址的考古发掘，将这段历史与当下紧密相连。(ZY)

Awards/获奖情况：

About the Author/作者介绍： 迪利普·萨卡尔是一位著作等身的作家与历史学家，名下出版作品逾六十部，是国际公认的不列颠空战研究权威。他撰写了由不列颠空战纪念信托基金与“少数精英”国家纪念馆联合推出的八卷本、百万字官方史《不列颠空战全史》。该项目曾获安妮长公主及空军参谋长理查德·奈顿爵士上将等重量级人物支持。凭借与多位“少数精英”飞行员建立的深厚私人情谊，迪利普成为备受追捧的演讲者，其讲演与展览足迹遍布全球，并参与众多影视项目的前后期工作。2003年，他因对航空史的贡献获授大英帝国员佐勋章，2024年先后当选英国皇家历史学会会士及英国皇家航空学会会士，同时担任不列颠空战纪念信托基金名誉副主席。更多信息请访问 www.dilipsarkarmbe.com。

DILIP SARKAR is a prolific author and historian, with over 60 books to his name, and is an internationally recognised authority on the Battle of Britain; he is author of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust and National Memorial to The Few’s eight volume, one-million-word, official history of the Battle of Britain, a unique project endorsed by, amongst others, The Princess Royal and the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton. Having enjoyed a uniquely personal relationship with many of The Few, Dilip is a much sought after and engaging speaker, who has spoken and exhibited internationally in addition to working on numerous television and film projects, both on and off camera. Made an MBE for services to aviation history in 2003, he was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Historical Society, and to the Fellowship of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 2024, and is Honorary Vice-President of The Battle of Britain Memorial Trust CIO. For further information please see www.dilipsarkarmbe.com.

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