wikipedia :

The Supermarine Spitfire (in English spitfire, but also figuratively milk soup or shrew, hence also dragon) was one of the single-seat fighters most used by the RAF and by the Allies during the Second World War. It gave rise to a diversification and a multiplicity of versions never reached before in the history of aviation. The Spitfire's elliptical wings gave it a very recognizable appearance; their thin cross-section gave it impressive speed; the brilliant design of chief designer Reginald Mitchell and his successors (he died in 1937), made the Spitfire an aircraft appreciated by pilots. It served throughout the Second World War and, with all its variants, was in all combat. Over 20,351 aircraft were built3 and Spitfires remained in service well into the 1950s.