Nothing has ever come close to for former RAF pilot Sid Cleaver.

This beautiful aircraft was simply 鈥減erfect鈥 for the now 92-year-old, who first climbed inside the cockpit when he was just 20.

It鈥檚 a moment the father of three, from Evesham, who got his pilot wings in February 1943, has never forgotten.

He clocked up 246 hours at the controls of a .

鈥淚 was in Cairo in 1944 at Fayed Air Base鈥檚 Operational Training Unit, near the Bitter Lakes, at the start of my advanced flying course when I first saw the Spitfires and I remember thinking 鈥榃ow, I鈥檝e made it鈥,鈥 he said.

鈥淚t was quite a walk from the railway line, where my group had arrived, to the airfield but when we got to the first hangar we saw the door was slightly ajar and we all rushed to look inside.

鈥淚t was full of Spitfires 鈥 oh my, what a sight.鈥

After being called up in January 1942 and completing his advanced pilot training, he was sent to India.

Joining 607 Squadron he found himself facing the Japanese.

Mr Cleaver said: 鈥淚 arrived at my base in the Info Valley, in Odisha, at night, so it wasn鈥檛 until the morning that I first saw the airstrip.

鈥淚 explained that I鈥檇 just arrived and I was replacement pilot. He asked me if I was Cleaver, and I confirmed I was. The chap replied 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to be my Number Two then鈥.

鈥淲hen I asked who he was he said: 鈥業鈥檓 Flight Lieutenant Noble, I鈥檓 a flight commander鈥. I thought golly, I鈥檓 going to be a Number Two to a flight leader, I鈥檓 going to be leading the whole of the team.

鈥淭he Spitfires I flew at . It was a bigger engine, about nine inches longer, which is why they had to lengthen the nose to accommodate it.

鈥淭he sound of the engine was a little gruffer, whereas the V鈥檚 was a lot smoother, but it was still a Spitfire and the sound was still like music to your ears. It鈥檚 right when they say you never forget that sound.鈥

During his time in India he would have more than one brush with death.

Mr Cleaver explained: 鈥淚 remember one day we were given a ground target where it had been reported was full of Japanese.

鈥淲e had to keep circling around the area, like the old Red Indians, and every now and then we were to fly down towards them to draw their fire, taking it in turns to divert their fire.

鈥淎s we were going down all the fire was coming on and on right at you, but that was our job. We鈥檇 go down from different directions each time, never from the same spot otherwise those firing on the ground would have been ready to fire on us.

鈥淏ut oh, my goodness, that first time I had to go down and all I could see was that fire coming straight for me. A few minutes after I鈥檇 done it a second group of pilots came and one lad got shot down. He crashed almost right in the village below.鈥

He added: 鈥淔lying the Spitfires was terrific. I was very proud to have been the moon to be a Spitfire pilot 鈥 well they were British machines.

鈥淭he Spitfires had such a reputation right from the start, ask any pilot whose flown one, they would say that there is just nothing like it. The Spitfire was the best of them all.鈥