Condition | Number |
---|---|
Airworthy | 77 |
Static display | 64 |
Restoration / stored | 63 |
Total | 204 |
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force along with many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War and afterwards into the 1950s as both a front-line fighter and also in secondary roles.
Many smaller countries purchased Spitfires as the major industrial nations phased out propeller-powered aircraft in favour of new jets. [1] When these smaller nations started to update their air forces, many of their Second World War aircraft were sold on the open market to individuals or for scrap. [2]
Museums and private collectors began to acquire these Spitfire and Seafire aircraft, and today many survive in these collections around the world.
This article lists surviving Spitfires and Seafires, according to their geographical location and the condition that they are in.
In 2012 a great deal of media attention was given to a claim that the RAF had buried a number of Spitfire Mk.XIV aircraft in Burma, unassembled and in their packing crates, during August 1945. However, no documentary or other evidence of the burial has been uncovered, and some have dismissed the story as implausible and apocryphal; military archaeologist Andy Brockman argued that for the RAF to prevent the Spitfires' misuse, it would have been far more expedient to burn them, destroy critical equipment, or crush them rather than painstakingly burying them intact. [76] Despite this, the Burmese government signed an agreement with David Cundall, a British farmer and aviation enthusiast who was leading the search along with his Burmese business partner Htoo Htoo Zaw, allowing them to begin excavations. [77]
Leeds University experts, and an academic from Rangoon, used sophisticated geophysical techniques to produce evidence consistent with buried metal at what is now Yangon International Airport, the former RAF Mingaladon airfield. In addition to the aircraft thought to be at this site, other sites with buried Spitfires were claimed, one with as many as 36 aircraft interred. [78] [79]
In January 2013, following investigations at both Yangon International Airport and Myitkyina, archaeologists led by Andy Brockman concluded that there were no aircraft buried at the sites. [80] Despite this, David Cundall continued his search. [81] Cundall's sponsors, Wargaming Ltd, no longer believed any Spitfires were ever buried and that any aircraft in the area had been re-exported in 1946 withdrew their funding. [82] Despite the withdrawal of the major sponsor, David Cundall said at that time that he remained confident and the search would continue. [83]
Aircraft on display contains several non-original parts: engine from another aircraft, Soviet-made camera, landing gear parts, re-manufactured instrument panel, standard RAF instruments and other parts from YAF or JAT stocks. [113]
Airworthy
A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAAF Museum Historic Flight, or the South African Air Force Museum Historic Flight.
No. 74 Squadron, also known as 'Tiger Squadron' from its tiger-head motif, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It operated fighter aircraft from 1917 to the 1990s, and then trainer aircraft until its disbandment in 2000. It was the Royal Air Force's member of the NATO Tiger Association from 1961 until the squadron's disbandment, it has since been replaced by No. 230 Squadron.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster heavy bomber and two fighters, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft are regularly seen at events commemorating the Second World War and upon British State occasions, notably Trooping the Colour, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday in 2006, and the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, and at air displays throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.
Number 56 Squadron, also known as No. 56 Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), nicknamed the Firebirds for their ability to always reappear intact regardless of the odds, is one of the oldest and most successful squadrons of the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of the significant air campaigns of both the First and Second World Wars.
Number 19 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to operate the Supermarine Spitfire. It currently operates the UK's Control and Reporting Centre from RAF Boulmer. No. 19 Squadron delivers persistent surveillance of UK airspace, and Tactical Control of RAF and NATO aircraft, including the UK's contribution to NATO's Quick Reaction Alert mission.
No. 312 Squadron RAF was a Czechoslovak-manned fighter squadron of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War.
Number 92 Squadron, also known as No. 92 Squadron and currently as No. 92 Tactics and Training Squadron, of the Royal Air Force is a test and evaluation squadron based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. It was formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps at London Colney as a fighter squadron on 1 September 1917. It deployed to France in July 1918 and saw action for just four months, until the end of the war. During the conflict it flew both air superiority and direct ground support missions. It was disbanded at Eil on 7 August 1919. Reformed on 10 October 1939,at Tangmere Airfield, the unit was supposed to be equipped with medium bombers but in the spring of 1940 it became one of the first RAF units to receive the Supermarine Spitfire, going on to fight in the Battle of Britain.
No. 609 Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, originally formed as a bomber squadron and in the Second World War active as fighter squadron, nowadays provides personnel to augment and support the operations of the Royal Air Force. The squadron is no longer a flying squadron, but instead has the role of Force Protection. It is currently based at RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire.
Duxford Aerodrome is located 8 nautical miles south of Cambridge, within the civil parish of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England and nearly 1-mile (1.6 km) west of the village. The airfield is owned by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and is the site of the Imperial War Museum Duxford and the American Air Museum.
The Percival Proctor is a British radio trainer and communications aircraft of the Second World War. The Proctor is a single-engined, low-wing monoplane with seating for three or four, depending on the model.
Jeffrey Kindersley Quill, was a British test pilot who served on secondment with the Royal Air Force and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War. He was also the second man to fly the Supermarine Spitfire after Vickers Aviation's chief test pilot, Joseph "Mutt" Summers. After succeeding Summers as Vickers' chief test pilot, Quill test-flew every mark of Spitfire. Quill's work on the aircraft aided its development from a promising but untried prototype to become, with the Hawker Hurricane, an instrument of the Royal Air Force's victory in the Battle of Britain. The Spitfire later played a leading role in gaining Allied air superiority over Europe. Quill later wrote two books about the Spitfire.
No. 225 Squadron RAF is a former Royal Air Force squadron.
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. The Spitfire remains popular among enthusiasts. Around 70 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world.
No. 485 (NZ) Squadron was a fighter squadron established for service during the Second World War. It was the first New Zealand squadron formed under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Plan. Although many of its flying personnel were largely drawn from the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the squadron served in Europe under the operational and administrative command of the Royal Air Force.
The Aircraft Restoration Company is a British company that specialises in the restoration and new-build of Supermarine Spitfires and other historic aircraft. It is based at the former RAF Duxford in Cambridgeshire, UK.
The Fighter Collection is a private operator of airworthy vintage military aircraft or warbirds. It is based in the United Kingdom at Duxford Aerodrome in Cambridgeshire, an airfield that is owned by the Imperial War Museum and is also the site of the Imperial War Museum Duxford. It is registered as a private limited company.
The CAC Mustang is an Australian variant of the North American P-51 Mustang. It was built under license by Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in the final stages of World War II, and though it was too late to see combat, it did participate in the Occupation of Japan after VJ-Day.
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