Spitfire T.9 TE308 in 2007 (Photo D. Miller (CC BY 2.0))
Flyaspitfire.com has announced on its Facebook page that it has received approval to start passenger flights with their new twin-seat Spitfire, Spitfire TE308, which has received a new paint scheme in honor of No 457 Squadron “Grey Nurse” of the Royal Australian Air Force.
TE308 was built as a Spitfire Mk IX and did not see active service in World War II. It was converted to the T.9 twin-seat standard by Vickers-Armstrong Ltd and served with the Irish Air Corps from 1951 to 1968. It was used for the shooting of the movie “The Battle of Britain” and was later flown in Canada and the USA. It was damaged in a ground collision in 2008 in Texas and was extensively repaired since.
More information on TE308 can be found on Flyaspitfire.com.
1 comments
I helped strip and paint this aircraft in the early 1979s as a lad, in Goderich ON (a former BCATP airfield; also home at the time to Canada’s Lanc, then a gate guardian). It was painted in faux Battle of Britain markings as RA-F (registry CF-RAF). The artist/painter was John Edwards who was famous for the quality of his work. I also crewed a couple of summers, one at Oshkosh. Plumb also owned a P51D (CF-USA) and a pair of P40s in Flying Tigers colours.
Would love to see her again, nearly 50yrs later.