Alex Henshaw, who sadly died in February 2007, has often been described as Britain’s greatest aviator. Henshaw is best known as the Spitfire chief test pilot during the Second World War. However, he was also an air race champion – he set long distance solo records which still stand today.

In this enthralling programme, we return to the golden age of flying to chart the incredible life of ‘extraordinary Mr Spitfire’. Superbly skilled, he survived numerous crashes and airborne emergencies. Indeed, today’s test pilots suggest that the lessons Henshaw learned nearly seventy years ago have helped to make flying safer today.

In 1940, Henshaw became chief test pilot at the Castle Bromwich factory in Birmingham. The factory built more than half of the total output of Spitfires ever constructed, as well as 350 Lancaster heavy bombers.

Henshaw led a team of 25 aviation daredevils. They tested both Lancasters and Spitfires, ensuring that faults were detected before aircraft were delivered to the frontline. It is estimated that Henshaw flew roughly ten percent of all Spitfires and Seafires. He frequently tested twenty aircraft per day, flying the machines in perilously foggy conditions.

Henshaw also demonstrated the Spitfire to visiting dignitaries such as Prime Minister Winston Churchill. He once flew the entire length of Broad Street in Birmingham at low level, and was the only known pilot to perform a barrel roll in a Lancaster bomber.

Yet the job was not without its dangers. Two of the team members were killed testing the planes, while Henshaw himself survived many forced landings. In July 1942, the fearless flying ace also survived a catastrophic crash between two houses in Willenhall.

This programme provides a comprehensive and compelling insight into the life of ‘extraordinary Mr Spitfire’, and pertinently demonstrates that the people who built and tested the Spitfire were just as vital to the war effort as those who flew it in combat.