One of the most famous British WWII fighter aircraft was the Spitfire developed by R.J. Mitchell. Its maiden flight was March 5, 1936. The Mk.VIII was an adaptation of the Mk.VII without the pressurized cabin and it was intended to be the main production model. This variant served almost exclusively overseas in the Mediterranean with the Desert Air Force and the USAAF, in the Pacific with the Royal Australian Air Force and with the RAF in the China-Burma-India theatre. After the Mk.IX and Mk.V, the Mk.VIII was the third most numerous operational variant with 1658 produced in total.