Please join us on Monday, November 30 to welcome our guest speaker Dennis Molnar. He will address our Society on “The Supermarine Spitfire: Genesis, WWII, and its Evolution into an Icon.” Dennis Molnar enjoys Military History, is a past Director of the Churchill Society and, has presented five lectures including The Dambusters, D-Day, The Falklands War, The Enigma Machine and The Sinking of the Bismarck.
Its design was far ahead of its time. Production was extremely difficult and very slow. Less than 300 Spitfires had been delivered by July 1939 so the Air Force decided it was “stopgap” and concluded that the Beaufighter the better of the two. But three key decisions were made in 1938, 1939 and 1940 that that affected the outcome of the war and enabled the Spitfire to become the decisive Air Force Fighter.
Join us for this lecture and find out:
- What really motivated Reginald Mitchell of Supermarine to design the Spitfire.
- What happened in late 1939 that pushed the Spitfire back into first place, dethroning the Beaufighter.
- What were the three key decisions in 1938, 1939 and 1940 that made all the difference.
- What Air Chief Marshall Keith Park did that gave the edge in The Battle of Britain and why he lost his job.
- How Spitfire production went from 40 a month to 300 a month in just 4 months.
- What technology allowed the Spitfire to finish the war with an engine 1000HP more than when it started.
- Why the Spitfire was so difficult to taxi on the ground.
- What catastrophe was guaranteed to every Spitfire if it did not take off minutes after starting the engine.
- Why it was impossible to use the Spitfire as a night fighter.
Date: Monday, November 30, 2015
Location: Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, 3811 Point Grey Road, Vancouver, B.C.
Time: Reception and cash bar starts at 11:30 am; Lunch at 12:00 pm (includes a glass of wine)
Cost: $55 for a Member, spouse or a family member; $65 each for a non-Member
Dress is business attire
Please inform our Administrator online at www.winstonchurchillbc.org.