Scale Models - View Single Post - Scale-Models hall of fame-R.J.Mitchell.

jgrandgarcon · 29-11-2005

You do get into some interesting topics don't you.
I think one of the reasons Mitchell never received the recognition he deserved was that he died at about the time the Spitfire was coming into production and long before anyone realised the contribution it was going to make. In Sydney Camm's (see the separate post on his work on the Hurricane, Typhoon, Tempest, etc.) case it was some 7 - 8 years after the War before he was recognised. By then Mitchell had been dead more than 15 years.
However I must agree that he and his work deserve far greater recognition than they have received from what should be a grateful nation.
In a sense though Mitchell is honoured, perhaps in a way that may outlive many other types of honours - and that's through the movie 'Spitfire' (Leslie Howard and David Niven). I still enjoy that movie and you must admit there isn't a movie 'Hurricane', 'Typhoon' or 'Tempest' (unless they're about the weather). The other designer who's immortalised in a similar way is Barnes Wallis who designed the Dambusters' bomb (and I believe the Wellington) in the movie 'The Dambusters'.
Now whether the Hurricane was equally good is a matter of some dispute (see the opening lines of your Camm post). I tend to think the Spitfire was slightly better. It certainly had a longer service life with all its variations. The two had different strengths and it's interesting how they complimented each other at just the right time.
But some aircraft just look right and the Spitfire falls into that category (so does the Mosquito, the Whitley doesn't somehow). There is a grace and beauty to the design. It seems to me the Hurricane was a logical development of pre-War Hawker aircraft. If I look at the nose I see a strong family resemblance to the Hawker Hart for example. The Spitfire was more of an intuitive leap (I know there is a chain of development through the Schneider Trophy planes).
Anyway keep it up. I find your posts very interesting. How you have time to actually make any models, I don't know.

29-11-2005	#2 (permalink)
jgrandgarcon Hi I'm New Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Canada Real Name: Jeremy Visit jgrandgarcon's Gallery Posts: 6	Scale-Models hall of fame-R.J.Mitchell. You do get into some interesting topics don't you. I think one of the reasons Mitchell never received the recognition he deserved was that he died at about the time the Spitfire was coming into production and long before anyone realised the contribution it was going to make. In Sydney Camm's (see the separate post on his work on the Hurricane, Typhoon, Tempest, etc.) case it was some 7 - 8 years after the War before he was recognised. By then Mitchell had been dead more than 15 years. However I must agree that he and his work deserve far greater recognition than they have received from what should be a grateful nation. In a sense though Mitchell is honoured, perhaps in a way that may outlive many other types of honours - and that's through the movie 'Spitfire' (Leslie Howard and David Niven). I still enjoy that movie and you must admit there isn't a movie 'Hurricane', 'Typhoon' or 'Tempest' (unless they're about the weather). The other designer who's immortalised in a similar way is Barnes Wallis who designed the Dambusters' bomb (and I believe the Wellington) in the movie 'The Dambusters'. Now whether the Hurricane was equally good is a matter of some dispute (see the opening lines of your Camm post). I tend to think the Spitfire was slightly better. It certainly had a longer service life with all its variations. The two had different strengths and it's interesting how they complimented each other at just the right time. But some aircraft just look right and the Spitfire falls into that category (so does the Mosquito, the Whitley doesn't somehow). There is a grace and beauty to the design. It seems to me the Hurricane was a logical development of pre-War Hawker aircraft. If I look at the nose I see a strong family resemblance to the Hawker Hart for example. The Spitfire was more of an intuitive leap (I know there is a chain of development through the Schneider Trophy planes). Anyway keep it up. I find your posts very interesting. How you have time to actually make any models, I don't know.