In April, one of the few surviving women to have flown a Spitfire for the RAF during World War II took off again in the iconic plane for the first time in 70 years. Joy Lofthouse, now 92 years old, took controls of the plan from her co-pilot after leaving the tarmac at Boultbee Flight Academy in Chichester.

Lofthouse and her sister signed up to the Air Transport Auxiliary in 1943, becoming two of the 164 female pilots, known as ‘Attagirls’, whose assistance to the British war effort saw them transporting planes to and from the front. The Attagirls were often given the unenviable task of flying aircraft for which they had rarely received proper training. Frequently they had only 30 minutes to get to grips with unfamiliar aircraft before taking off. According to The Daily Mail, “losses were considerable, with one in six becoming a casualty at one stage.”

Joy Lofthouse during her 'Attagirl' days [BBC]

Speaking in 2009, Lofthouse revealed what drew her to enlisting right in the middle of WWII: “When the war broke out all our boyfriends would talk about was flying,” she said.

“So when we saw the advert we both decided to apply. Once we were there, there was no sex discrimination. In fact, I don’t think those words had been invented back then. It really was the best job to have during the war because it was exciting, and we could help the war effort. In many ways we were trailblazers for female pilots in the RAF.”

The 92-year-old described her recent flight as “lovely” and the vintage aircraft as being “the nearest things to having wings of your own that I’ve known.”

Check out the video of her taking to the skies below: