PICTURES: Famous Stoke Spitfire brought back to it's former glory
Stoke's Spitfire has returned home after three years of restoration
Last updated 24th Jun 2021
After spending three years at Medway Aircraft Preservation Society’s workshop in Kent, undergoing a painstaking first-class refurbishment, the landmark plane is back in Stoke-on-Trent.
Aircraft restoration experts have spent a total of 9,417 hours working on the plane, which was transported back to the city on Tuesday, June 22 in two lorries – one with the fuselage and the other with the two wings.
Since arriving back, experts from RAF Museum Cosford are reassembling the plane, which will take pride of place in a new multi-million pound glass fronted extension at The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, in Hanley.
The story behind our Spitfire
RW388 was one of a batch of 1,500 Spitfire XVI's manufactured at Castle Bromwich in 1945, too late to see any war service.
First taken on charge by No. 6 MU at RAF Brize Norton on July 18, 1945 a month later it was issued to No. 667 Squadron where it sustained damage in a flying accident. Taken to No. 411 Repair and Salvage Unit on December 30 for repair, in 1946 it was sent to High Ercall for storage before returning to RAF Brize Norton on January 12, 1949.
By 1951, RW388 had been allocated to No. 612 Squadron where it remained for six months before going to the Fighter Command Control and Reporting School.
After being damaged a second time, it was retired and installed as a display aircraft ‘gate guardian’ at RAF Benson and RAF Andover, finishing up as a showpiece at the Royal Tournament and Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
In 1972 the Spitfire was presented to Stoke-on-Trent
It was donated by Air Chief Marshall Sir Neil Wheeler in memory of its designer, Reginald Mitchell, who was educated and lived in the city, this was a low altitude fighter with clipped wings and powered by a Packard Merlin 266 engine.
The journey back home to the City
The Spitfire will sit in a new specially-made £6.5 million extension and be advertised as one of the region’s top tourist attractions. The 3,800 sq ft gallery features glass walls at the front and back, so the public can see the plane lit up at night, and will not only showcase the plane itself, but also feature a simulator, allowing visitors to experience what it would have been like to pilot the aircraft.
The museum also has a statue of R.J.Mitchell just outside the main building. Part of the gallery will also be used to project images about the plane and its designer.
Unfortunately, much of the interior of this aircraft was stripped before it was presented to the city, however, many parts have been procured or replicas have been made as part of its restoration.
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