A BLUE plaque was unveiled on Tuesday to mark the key part the city played in the production of Spitfires during the Second World War.

The memorial, which was placed on the wall of the Capita building on Castle Street, pays tribute the 2,000 planes which were assembled in three factories around the city.

The Civic Society plaque was unveiled by the Mayor of Salisbury Andrew Roberts and Norman Parker, who worked on the final assembly of the Spitfires at High Post and is an archivist for the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection.

Prior to being recommissioned as a Spitfire factory in 1940, after sites in Southampton were bombed, the building was an engine garage for the Wilts and Dorset bus company.

Mr Parker said: "[After the bombings] they decided to build it in the South of England within a 50 mile radius of Southampton because they had to spread out the factories.

"Salisbury was the first one to be done, then Reading and Newbury, then finally Trowbridge.

"Each one had their own production line and their own airfield. The whole plane was built from nothing to first flight here in Salisbury. Here they built wings and assembled fuselages. Across the road they at the waterworks they assembled engines and the fuselages were built in Wessex Motors in New Street.

"Then were all put together at High Post or Chattis Hill and from there flown to Airforce bases."

The plaque was unveiled as part of celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.