Supermarine Spitfire MV268 FR XIV G-SPIT | The Fighter Collection
- STATUS: Airworthy
- LOCATION: Duxford
- OWNER: The Fighter Collection
- ROLE: Fighter
- BUILT: 1944
- LENGTH: 9.95 m/32 ft 8 in
- WINGSPAN: 11.23 m/36 ft 10 in
- ENGINE: Rolls-Royce Griffon 65
- MAXIMUM SPEED: 446mph
- RANGE: 740 km/460 miles
- ARMAMENT: 2 × 20 mm Hispano II cannon; 120 rpg, 2 × 0.50 in Browning M2 machine guns; 250 rpg
Built at the end of 1944 at Keevil, this Mk XIV Spitfire MV268 was stored by the RAF until early 1945. It was sent, from 33MU at RAF Lyneham, to India where details of whatever service she saw have been lost in the mists of time – and the Royal Indian Air Force records system. She was recovered to Blackbushe, in England, by Doug Arnold in the early seventies and formed part of his Warbirds of Great Britain collection. The Fighter Collection engineers took over the restoration when Spitfire MV268 changed hands and were able to complete the work in August of 1992. MV293 as she was originally registered was the first example of its mark to be flying in Europe at that time and was painted in the all silver colours of the post war RAF. In 2000, the aircraft was repainted in the colours of Johnnie Johnson, the highest scoring RAF fighter pilot to survive the war, as a surprise for his attendance at Flying Legends and as a tribute to his last war service Spitfire.
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