hire a spitfire Mark IX
The Iconic-WW2Aircraft Spitfire is an early Mark 9 version of the aircraft that was introduced from July 1942 onwards as a stopgap measure to counter the threat from the Luftwaffe's Focke-Wulf FW 190A. To save time and resources, the early versions were built onto Mark 5 fuselages (with prominent rivets), and fitted with the Merlin 61 engine.
The fuselage of our aircraft is original, dating from late 1942 and is believed to have been acquired for an indoor museum in the late 1970s where it had fibreglass wings and a tail added. All of its cockpit interior had been stripped out.
The aircraft came up for sale in summer 2015, in a very poor condition with its frame weakened by age and the surviving parts of its fibreglass wings and tail in poor brittle condition which simply disintegrated when touched. Derbyshire born and bred brothers Steve and Mel Heappey bought the aircraft in August 2015 and commissioned its restoration. The first phase, which involved permanently fixing the (original) undercarriage to the fuselage to make it easier to move around, and replacing the fibreglass wings and tail section was completed in May 2016. The second phase, to fit out the cockpit with original instruments sourced from militaria collectors and sellers, was carried out during the summer of 2016. A further phase of restoration, mostly to the interior of the cockpit, was carried out during the winter of 2018.
The aircraft was purchased with the markings of the machine flown by ace pilot James Edgar “Johnnie” Johnson, the highest scoring RAF fighter pilot to survive the war with 34 aircraft claimed destroyed with a further seven shared destroyed. For the 2017 and 2018 seasons this colour scheme was restored and the aircraft displayed as a replica of Johnson's aircraft.
From 2019, the aircraft was given a new, refreshed paint scheme representing an aircraft from 601 Squadron, a little known amateur RAF squadron originally formed in 1939 in a London gentlemen's club and composed of aristocrats and adventurers. Through the battles of Britain, Malta, the African desert and Italy, the squadron's composition was transformed, and by war's end only a minority were British and none of the millionaires were left. The squadron existed beyond the war, flying DH Vampire and Gloster Meteor jets until disbandment in 1957.
Find out more about 601 squadron on Wikipedia.
To hire this aircraft, please contact us.
Spitfire for hire
