MOST people know of the Spitfire, whether it be from watching one of their renowned displays, reading the British history books, or from personal memory, but what people may not know is the Powys connection to the esteemed aircraft.
For during the Second World War, it was a Knighton man who was credited with piloting the first Spitfire to shoot down a German aircraft attacking a target on British soil.
The late Air Commodore Paul Clifford Webb was one of a team of three pilots who took part in the RAF’s first successful fighter interception in UK airspace during World War Two.
On October 16, 1939, the Spitfires of No 602 Squadron were dispatched to Rosyth dockyard, near Dunfermline, Scotland, where enemy aircraft were attacking the Southampton and Edinburgh cruisers.
Commodore Webb was one of three fighter pilots who chased one of the bombers as it pulled out of its attack and was credited as being the one who damaged the bomber which caught fire and crashed into the sea.
Commodore Webb was born in Greenock in Scotland in 1918, and worked as an employee of the National Bank of Scotland before the war.
After the war he stayed on in the RAF and rose to senior rank, holding a number of posts such as assistant air adviser in Ottawa, Canada; air attaché in Ankara, Turkey; and British representative on the Nato intelligence committee.
He was appointed CBE in 1963 and retired 10 years later in 1973, making his home in Knighton.
During his retirement he farmed in the Welsh Marches and indulged his love of country sports, before passing away aged 89 on July 10, 2007.