Supermarine Spitfire HF Mk.IX RR232 | Boultbee Flight Academy
- STATUS: Airworthy
- LOCATION: Goodwood Aerodrome
- OWNER: Martin Phillips
- ROLE: Fighter
- BUILT: 1944
- LENGTH: 9.58 m/31 ft 5 in
- WINGSPAN: 11.23 m/36 ft 10 in
- ENGINE: V12 Rolls Royce Merlin 70 ‘high altitude’ engine
- MAXIMUM SPEED: 400mph/644km/h
- RANGE: 724 km/450 miles
- ARMAMENT: 2 × 20 mm Hispano II cannon; 120 rpg, 2 × 0.50 in Browning M2 machine guns; 250 rpg
Supermarine Spitfire RR232 was built in Castle Bromwich by Vickers Armstrong and delivered to the RAF in October 1944 as an ‘HF.IX’ high altitude fighter where it was allocated to an anti-aircraft co-operation Squadron. After the war she was sold to the South African Air Force (SAAF) before being stored derelict at Salt River after being ‘ground looped’ in 1954.
In 1976 RR232 was bought by Australian collector Peter Sledge and restored to static display standard.
In 1986 Supermarine Spitfire RR232 was returned to the UK when she was purchased by Charles Church. After passing through several owners she was bought by her current owner Martin Phillips in 2001 who began a full restoration lasting nearly 13 years.
In December 2012 Spitfire RR232 took to the skies again, becoming the last aircraft to be assembled at Filton Aerodrome before its closure for redevelopment.
RR232 is now known as the ‘City of Exeter’ in honour of a presentation Spitfire donated to the war effort as a result of local fundraising and is operated by Boultbee Flight Academy at Goodwood aerodrome.
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