Southampton is responsible for some of the most important inventions in history. A few are listed below some of which have contributed to our Heritage and History.
Spitfire
The single seat fighter plane, Spitfire, has become a British icon. The brainchild of aeronautical engineer R.J Mitchell, it took its first test flights in March of 1936.
Discover the incredible history of the production of the Spitfire by creator R. J. Mitchell.
Find out information on Reginald Joseph Mitchell who designed the Spitfire.
The Solent Sky Museum welcomes you to discover the Spitfire and all the other history of aviation in the Solent area.
The Spitfire Society’s purpose is to support the interest of the many aviation enthusiasts.
Further information about the Spitfire (PDF Document)
Fibre Optics
Professor David Payne, Inventor of Fibre Optics is Chairman and Director of Southampton Photonics Inc, an international spin-out company from the University of Southampton which manufactures several of his inventions. More information is available from the Centre for Enterprise and Innovation website.
Situated in the University of Southampton, the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) is one of the world’s leading institutes for photonics research, optical fibres and materials, lasers and waveguides.
View the history of the ORC from the birth of the Centre to its different projects.
Heliozincography
Heliozincography, A process developed to produce maps using Zinc printing plates was invented by Great Britain's national mapping agency, Ordnance Survey in 1893.
More information Ordnance Survey
Circular Saw
Invented in Southampton in 1780, the circular saw is used worldwide to cut masonry, plastics or even metal. It’s inventor, Walter Taylor, made first use of it in his factory in Weston, where he was making ships blocks.
Hovercraft
In 1959, Southampton resident Christopher Cokerell designed a vessel that over 600 million people have traveled by – the hovercraft. His initial experiment began as a pair of tin cans connected to a vacuum cleaner, which demonstrated that air could produce enough pressure to lift a vehicle off the ground.
View the BBC report on the Hovercraft. Newspaper article titled: Hovercraft marks new era in transport
View pictures and read vast amounts of information about the life of Christopher Cockrell and his inventions on a dedicated Hovercraft Museum site
See the Hovercraft design that highlights the main components of the Hovercraft - Propellers, Air, Fan and Flexible skirt