The Spitfire was the end product of many years of design development at the Supermarine works at Woolston, England. There, Reginald J. Mitchell designed racers to enter in the Schneider Trophy Races, with the British government subsidizing the project. Mitchell designed every British winner after World War I, and on September 13, 1931, his S.6B brought the Schneider Cup permanently home to Britain by winning the third consecutive race.