"Baby Spit's" Spitfire Mk.Ia 'N3200' / Spitfire Mk Ia ‘P7308′ / 'Spitfire Mk Ia ‘P9374′ Spitfire's back in the air after 71 years.

N3200 Tom Kaplan & Simon Marsh (Mark One Partners LLC), IWM Duxford.

Restored to flying condition by the 'Aircraft Restoration Company'. First post-restoration flight at Duxford on Wednesday 26th March 2014.

 

P7308 (actually ‘AR213′) Tom Friedkin (Spitfire The One Ltd), IWM Duxford.

Built by Westland at Yeovil and delivered to 12 MU on July 24th 1941. To 57 OTU on July 31st and transferred to 53 OTU on February 20th 1943. To 8 MU for storage on August 17th 1944 until struck off charge on November 30th 1945. This aircraft was never used in a combat role and only served with Operational Training Units but did suffer at the hands of fledgling pilots. Sold to Gp Capt Allen Wheeler (who originally intended racing AR213 but this never happened) on March 10th 1947 and registered G-AIST but stored until 1967 when it was brought to flying condition for 'The Battle of Britain' film. Then flown by Allen Wheeler at Wycombe Air Park for several years before being sold to The Hon Patrick Lindsay in 1978. Following Lindsay's death on January 9th 1986, AR213 was sold in April 1989 to Victor Gauntlett, and Peter Livanos at PPS at Booker. Victor Gauntlett died in 2003 and AR213 underwent a major overhaul and reconstruction at PPS, Booker, High Wycombe and operated by Sheringham Aviation (Peter Livanos company). Its flying permit expired in 2002 and it was decided to completely rebuild AR213 to give it another 20 years of airworthy life. Underwent an intensive and costly restoration by Personal Plane Services (PPS) to bring the aircraft as close to its original build as possible. First post-restoration flight was on 12th November 2007 from Booker, High Wycombe, still in primer and awaiting a new paint scheme. Repainted in authentic 57 OTU colours, coded JZ-E. This was the the colour scheme when Flt Lt James Harry 'Ginger' Lacey, who had shot down more enemy aircraft then anyone else during the Battle of Britain, was posted to 57 OTU for a rest as an instructor and flew AR213 as his personal aircraft and which was coded JZ-E. Sold by Sheringham Aviation in 2011 to 'Spitfire The One Ltd', Tom Friedkin? and currently residing at the IWM Duxford. This Spitfire was repainted by the Aircraft Restoration Company in Duxford in 2013 to represent an aircraft of No.71 'Eagle' Squadron based at North weald in 1941 and flown by Pilot Officer William Dunn. It wears the 'Eagle' Squadron crest on the nose and XR-D markings of P7308.

 

P9374 Tom Kaplan & Simon Marsh (Mark One Partners LLC), IWM Duxford.

In May 1940 P9374 was shot down but managed to bellyflop onto the beach at Calais, France (marked as GR-J). The pilot was Flight Officer Peter Cazenove (92 Sqn) who escaped unhurt and joined up with a British regiment at Calais in an unsuccessful attempt to fight off the Germans. He was captured and taken to a series of Prisoner Of War camps including Stalag Luft III where he helped to organise the Great Escape. Unfortunately, he was too big to use a tunnel to escape but was released after the war was over. P9374 sank into the sands of Calais soon after it had crash-landed. 40 years later, the Spitfire emerged from the sand due to strong tides. It was torn apart by souvenir hunters and also during a salvage operation to bring it to the surface. It was cleaned up and went to the Musée de l’Air in Paris (1980). Billionaire American gold-trader Tom Kaplan and Simon Marsh bought P9374 from the museum in 2006. Stored in Isle of Wight before restoration work was to begin. The aircraft was restored by the Aircraft Restoration Company at Duxford, UK. It was registered as G-MKIA and made its first post-restoration flight at Duxford on 1st September 2011.

 

Done