"...an absolutely marvellous aircraft."
- anonymous RAF Wing Leader, a few weeks before all Swift F.1s were grounded because of various accidents and crashes.

Swift FR.5 XD953; MoD - Crown Copyright

Supermarine was surely one of the most famous of all British aircraft manufacturers, purely because of the incredible Spitfire. However, post-war, Supermarine did not do quite so well. The Swift was partly to blame - an eventually successful aircraft which never managed to fully overcome the bad reputation that arose because of big problems with early versions.