Mike Roussel - Spitfires Forgotten Designer: The Career of Supermarines Joe Smith

This book, dedicated to all who worked for Supermarine, tells
the story of the famous design team and their inspirational and
innovative chief designers, R.J. Mitchell and Joseph Smith.

By Captain Eric Brown CBE, DSC, AFC,
QCVSA, MA, Hon. FRAeS, Hon. FSETP, RN

Chief Naval Test Pilot, RAE Farnborough, 194449

This is a book that just had to be written about a man who made a huge contribution to British aviation in the Second World War but was so self-effacing that he got little recognition for his demanding work, crucial to our war effort.

Stepping into the shoes of an inspirational chief designer at Supermarine would have daunted most men, but Joe Smith took it in his stride and without fuss while keeping the Spitfire in the forefront of fighter excellence. At the same time, he took a deep interest in adapting the Supermarine masterpiece to the naval environment, and so inevitably he and I came into close contact.

Joe took to carrier life like a duck to water and loved to attend deck landing trials of his products, and many an evening we would chat over a horses neck (brandy and ginger ale) in the wardroom. He was a good listener and an innovative designer, so he kept the Seafire up with the performance hunt while making it safer and more robust for carrier operations.

By the end of the Second World War, I could see that it had taken its toll on Joe just as a new lease of life was needed to cope with the advent of the jet age. The jet aircraft coming from his drawing board showed his star was on the wane, but I shall always associate his name with the thunderous Seafire 47, which I loved to fly. This book is a tribute to a fine aircraft designer and a great man, whom I shall always remember with respect and affection, for he gave his all to his country, to his company, to the Fleet Air Arm, and to the RAF with scant reward.

Whenever the Spitfire is mentioned, the name of its famous designer R.J. Mitchell comes to mind, but few have heard of the man who led the development of the Spitfire throughout the war to become the deadly fighter that the Luftwaffe pilots feared. That man was Joe Smith. Reginald Mitchell sadly died of terminal cancer in June 1937 and was not able to see his prototype design progress into becoming perhaps one of the most famous fighter aircraft of the Second World War. Working under Mitchell as chief draughtsman was Joseph (Joe) Smith who was very involved with the early design of the Spitfire. After Mitchells death in 1937, Smith first became manager of the Design Department, and then later chief designer.

There is a British wartime propaganda feature film about the Spitfire called The First of the Few (1942), directed by Leslie Howard, who takes the part of Mitchell in the film. The film is about him working alone to design and build a fighter for the defence of Britain in a future war, and does not refer to any other members of his design team, especially Joe Smith, who worked alongside him on all the design work of the Spitfire right from the beginning.

My own interest in the Spitfire goes back to the war years. When living near Yeovil, Somerset, I remember the searchlights criss-crossing the sky at night, the bombing and the dogfights high up in the sky. For some time I lived with my uncle in Westland Road, close to Westland Aircraft Works where he worked. I would spend many hours near the main gates, watching the aircraft taking off and landing, and remember vividly the sounds of the engines as they were tested. My uncle could see how interested I was and bought a model kit, and together we made and flew my first model aircraft.

The idea for a Supermarine book came after talking to Dave Whatley, chief archivist at Solent Sky Aviation Museum, Southampton, who had loaned me some photographs from their collection to use in one of my books. He asked me what I was going to write next, and when I explained that I had not yet made up my mind, said, Why dont you write about Joe Smith and his work on the Spitfire during the war years? I knew that Mitchell had designed the Spitfire, but was unaware of Smith and his leadership in the development of the Spitfire during the war. Dave Whatley told me that for many who knew Joe Smith and had worked within his design team, it was a great concern that there was very little written about his work on the Spitfire, and that credit for his leadership and dedication was long overdue.

I decided to undertake some initial research which confirmed to me that this was an interesting project that I would like to take on. I was able to gain the help of an ex-Supermarine apprentice who introduced me to other apprentices and this led to contact with the sons and daughters of the senior members who had already passed away, and so the list grew. My next task was to undertake the taped interviews, but I heard that Smith had a surviving daughter, Barbara, and after quite some time we made contact and so the story unfolds. All the interviews were recorded with the interviewees permission and later transcribed. As quite a few of the interviewees still lived in the local area, I was able to meet them in person. Others, however, were further away, including some in Australia and the USA. These interviews were carried out over the telephone, but were still recorded and transcribed.

Experiences fifty or more years ago are understandably not always recalled accurately in every detail, so dates of events may not always be correct. It was necessary for me to check the factual and historical accuracy, but I was very surprised how accurate many of the interviews were. Furthermore, I wanted to capture and record their experiences in their own words for authenticity, and many of these interviews were backed up by documentary evidence, such as reports, test pilots log books, and photographs. Furthermore, I was fortunate to be introduced to a number of people who had worked on the shop floor. Their interviews were very illuminating with regard to what it was like working in the various sheds, their experiences of the Luftwaffe bombing of works, and dispersal after the factory was destroyed.

I am deeply indebted to Barrie Bryant, who lives in Australia, and Murry White, who lives in the USA, for the amount of time and help they have given me over the years for my research. Barrie Bryant loaned me correspondence that he had with ex-Supermariners living in Australia and the UK, and with the permission of their relatives, I have been able to add interesting accounts of their experiences of working for Supermarine during the 1920s and 30s. Murry White has been a fount of all knowledge with his experiences of working for Mitchell as his runner, and later as Smiths technical assistant, and was able to describe vividly his personal experiences at Supermarine.

However, it was not possible to write the book without looking at the development of Supermarine and how the chief designer, Mitchell, started to build his young and talented design team in the 1920s. It was important to also look at how the team grew from small beginnings and the development of the company through to the 1930s when the prototype Spitfire flew for the first time, on 5 March 1936. After Mitchell died in 1937, the design team was seen as a closely knit family, which did not change after Smith took over as chief designer, successfully leading the team into the jet age until his death in 1956.