Soviet Spitfire Sunset
The sun sets over MK.IX Spitfire PT879, one of around 1300 Spitfires consigned to Russia as part of a wartime Lend-Lease program. Constructed at the Vickers Armstrong factory in Castle Bromwich in August 1944, PT879 was shipped via Murmansk to the 2nd Squadron, 767th regiment, 122nd Division of the Russian airforce. PT879 crashed during a dogfight over the Kola peninsula in spring 1945 with just 29 hours on the airframe and was abandoned. The freezing environment preserved the aircraft well, and PT879 was recovered to the UK in 1998, the only Spitfire transferred to Russia to have returned. Much of the original aircraft has been salvaged despite the high speed crash and hundreds of the original parts including the wings reused in the restoration to flying condition making this one of the most original Spitfires from WW2.
An absolute gem and a pleasure to photograph.
Soviet Spitfire Sunset
The sun sets over MK.IX Spitfire PT879, one of around 1300 Spitfires consigned to Russia as part of a wartime Lend-Lease program. Constructed at the Vickers Armstrong factory in Castle Bromwich in August 1944, PT879 was shipped via Murmansk to the 2nd Squadron, 767th regiment, 122nd Division of the Russian airforce. PT879 crashed during a dogfight over the Kola peninsula in spring 1945 with just 29 hours on the airframe and was abandoned. The freezing environment preserved the aircraft well, and PT879 was recovered to the UK in 1998, the only Spitfire transferred to Russia to have returned. Much of the original aircraft has been salvaged despite the high speed crash and hundreds of the original parts including the wings reused in the restoration to flying condition making this one of the most original Spitfires from WW2.
An absolute gem and a pleasure to photograph.