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Over the weekend, events have been held all over the country to commemorate the centenary of the Royal Air Force.

The RAF was created in 1918, towards the end of World War One , and amalgamated the army and the navy’s flying teams but it was in the Second World War where the RAF really came into its own.

But it is a little known fact that a Hull pilot played an integral part in the RAF’s war effort, being the first person to fly perhaps the air force’s most iconic plane.

Here, Dr Robb Robinson, who has been researching the life of Captain Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers with leading East Riding historian Peter Chapman, talks about Capt. Summers' life.

It is quite widely known that ‘Mutt’ Summers flew the first Spitfire but few people know he came from Hull. He was one of many people who made a global impact from this unique port city, of whom we should probably have made more of in 2017 .

His real name was Joseph Summers and was born in 1904. Born in Hull, his parents lived in Russell Street at the time of his birth and he attended St Charles Primary School and Hull Grammar.

St Charles was then in Pryme Street - the current school buildings are some way to the north of Freetown Way. His father, a former musician was, by then, steward of the Central Hull Conservative Club. His parents later lived in Naval Cottage, Newbiggin in Hornsea.

His brother, Maurice Summers, also from Hull, was also a one-time RAF test pilot and also RAF wing commander.

He had served on active duty in the air force until 1934 and also had his own claim to fame. In March 1941, Maurice piloted the first B-24 Liberator to England, in doing so, setting the then Trans-Atlantic speed record of 7.5 hours. He later became a member of the New York Stock Exchange and then a real estate developer in Florida.

In 1924, Joseph received a short service commission in the RAF and trained as a pilot at RAF Duxford. He was assigned to No 29 Fighter Squadron and was thought to be an exceptional pilot.

When he had six months operational experience, he was made test pilot at the Aircraft and Armaments Engineering Establishment at RAF Martlesham Heath, a former RAF station near Woodbridge in Suffolk, and stayed there for rest of his time in the military.

In June 1929, he became test pilot for Vickers Ltd (Aviation Department) and became the company's chief test pilot three years later. He also competed in the famous King’s Cup air race in around 1928, winning a prize for the fastest time.

He flew the Vickers-Supermarine Type 300 on its first flight on March 5, 1936 over Hampshire. This was the first Spitfire and came only a few months before the death of its designer, R.J.Mitchell.

During his career he made the first flights of 54 prototype aircraft, including the Spitfire, and later the Vickers Viscount turboprop airliner and also the Valiant, a four engine jet bomber.

He flew more than 5600 hours in 366 different aircraft types. He also flew the Wellington bomber.

If that was not enough, he was a friend of Barnes Wallis, the man behind the Bouncing Bomb and flew its first trials in a Wellington bomber in trials off Dorset. In the film the Dam Busters, his part was apparently played by the actor Patrick Barr.

He is another of these Hull people who have made such an important global impact. His story is really remarkable, the Spitfire is probably the RAF's most iconic plane and a Hull-born man took it on its first flight.

The story of the first man to fly a Spitfire being from Hull, is yet another nugget we could make much more of, and even more so given his involvement with Barnes Wallis.

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