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Haynes Owners' Workshop Manual
Supermarine Spitfire
The legendary Supermarine Spitfire receives the famous Haynes manual treatment with the full co-operation and authorisation of the Royal Air Force. Here is a unique perspective on what it takes to own, restore and operate a Spitfire, as well as an insight into the engineering and construction of this remarkable fighter aircraft. This highly detailed book is based around the Spitfire Mk IX at RAF Coningsby.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2007
About the author
Alfred Price
125 books19 followersAlfred Price seved for 16 years as an aircrew officer in the Royal air Force where he specialised in electronic warfare and air fighting tactics.
He left the RAF in 1974 and thereafter he worked full time as a writer on aviation subjects.
He holds a PhD in history from Loughborough University and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
He left the RAF in 1974 and thereafter he worked full time as a writer on aviation subjects.
He holds a PhD in history from Loughborough University and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 27, 2011
Since a Spitfire flown by the brother of one of our class buzzed our school during the battle of Britain, I have been fascinated by this aeroplane. I appreciate this may not be shared by others, but nonetheless this is a book to inspire. The designer, Mitchell, never lived to see its triumph along with the less glamorous Hurricane. The book is set out on the lines of the successful Haynes car manuals, essential for amateur mechanics and it is an official product of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. It is tongue- in- cheek in suggesting that it is essential for the Spitfire owner! You need £1,4 million to purchase one of the remaining airworthy 70 Spifires and the book dissects the other trivial costs like insurance at £50,000pa. Personally, servicing a 27 litre Merlin sounds particularly daunting. Everything is in the book, including an excellent introductory history. This is followed by sections from the points of view of owners, pilots and engineers. It concludes with an appendix giving a selection of survivors from the thousands produced. In all, a great book for a unique aeroplane.
July 31, 2026
Review from my old blog.
You might think it's a bit of a gimmick, but this book does actually fill an interesting space in the literature. It does have sections on the history of the machine, as another aeroplane book might have, but it also has sections on the systems of the plane (brakes, controls, wing structure, fuel and so on), discusses how you might go about finding and restoring or rebuilding one, what parts are hard to find, and where you might go (in the UK) to get various jobs done. I mean, you won't be able to use this one to actually repair the plane in detail - it is not the Spitfire equivalent of a real workshop manual like you would get for a car, so I guess that is a small criticism given the title (and if you are a very literal-minded person).
Cutaway diagrams of the plane and of its engine are highlights. Procedures for preflight checks are provided, and a little box to explain how nondestructive testing is used to look for tiny cracks in the airframe.
Pilots who fly them for display talk about how to treat the aircraft to show it off without stressing it.
In sum, it provides details that are missing from most books. It would be a great resource for anyone looking to write fiction involving the plane, because it provides things like cockpit layouts and flying approach.
Nice book with some great pictures, diagrams and drawings. Now to read the one about the Hurricane!
You might think it's a bit of a gimmick, but this book does actually fill an interesting space in the literature. It does have sections on the history of the machine, as another aeroplane book might have, but it also has sections on the systems of the plane (brakes, controls, wing structure, fuel and so on), discusses how you might go about finding and restoring or rebuilding one, what parts are hard to find, and where you might go (in the UK) to get various jobs done. I mean, you won't be able to use this one to actually repair the plane in detail - it is not the Spitfire equivalent of a real workshop manual like you would get for a car, so I guess that is a small criticism given the title (and if you are a very literal-minded person).
Cutaway diagrams of the plane and of its engine are highlights. Procedures for preflight checks are provided, and a little box to explain how nondestructive testing is used to look for tiny cracks in the airframe.
Pilots who fly them for display talk about how to treat the aircraft to show it off without stressing it.
In sum, it provides details that are missing from most books. It would be a great resource for anyone looking to write fiction involving the plane, because it provides things like cockpit layouts and flying approach.
Nice book with some great pictures, diagrams and drawings. Now to read the one about the Hurricane!
September 26, 2019
This is another excellent book in the Haynes series. Compared to other books by Haynes that I have so far read, the Spitfire manual has a closer feel to the traditional car manuals. Bear in mind it is a general interest book and not a technical repair book. Other reviews have suggested that it is useful for modal builders. My interest came after searching for remnants of the Spitfire factory in Swindon. By comparison with the towns railway heritage, its aeroplane history appears to have entered obscurity. This book helped me to understand the development of the Spitfire and further my research.
September 8, 2022
The original version great, but the icon version not so good, as the print is to small. Thats unless you are a young person with better eye site than us old guys ! I wrote to Jonathan Falconer about this and he agreed !
August 24, 2013
This is an insight into rather than a true nuts and bolts guide to restoring the WWII fighters we all have in our tool sheds - but it's still a good read for geeks like me.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews