Squadron Leader Tony Martindale, was a big, powerful six-footer. One day he dived to 0.92, at which point he was pulling about 100lb on the control column to recover, when the over-speeding propeller became detached, together with its reduction gear. The resultant loss of weight at the front end made the Spitfire tail-heavy and it zoomed almost vertically upwards, blacking out the pilot under a force of 11‘g’. When he recovered his sight again Marty found himself back up at about 40,000 feet with his straight-winged aeroplane now having acquired a very slightly swept-back look. It speaks volumes both for the pilot and the Spitfire that Marty somehow managed to land it back at Farnborough on its wheels, with the valuable camera records intact. The speed he reached in that dive is still the highest ever registered by a piston-engined aircraft.

— Wings on My Sleeve by Captain Eric Brown (Page 74)