The Shuttleworth Collection's Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk. Vc, AR501, G-AWII, flying at Old Warden during the Shuttleworth Flying Festival of Britain Airshow 2021, together with Hawker Hurricane Mk.II, P3717, G-HITT. Willy Hackett is flying the Spitfire, with Stu Goldspink at the controls of the Hurricane.

Spitfire AR501 was built in 1942 by Westland Aircraft of Yeovil, Somerset.

By 1940 the Mark V Spitfire had been developed around a Mark II airframe, strengthened to receive the latest Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 and 46 engines. More were produced than any other variant of the Spitfire.

The Mark V was designed to improve the flying characteristics of the Mark II. Some were designed for ground attack with bombs, machine guns and cannon, and some with all cannon armament.

The Mk. VC had a 'universal wing' enabling it to be armed with three different sets of armaments. The Mk. VC served mainly in overseas theatres, especially in the Middle East. First production models were delivered in late 1941.

This aircraft was built as an F. Mk. VC - a general altitude fighter. It had the universal armament wing and a Rolls Royce Merlin 46 engine, developing a maximum of 1415 horsepower, with an altitude rating of 19000 feet.
Initially going to RAF 8 Maintenance Unit (MU) at Little Rissington (22/6/42), it then went to 6 MU Brize Norton (7/7/42) before issue to 310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron at Exeter (19/7/42).
On 15/3/43 AR501 was severely damaged on the ground at RAF Exeter, when a Mosquito collided with her. Repairs to AR501 were completed off site at 67 MU, Taunton and Westlands at Yeovil.
It then went to 33 MU, Lyneham (17/7/43) and 3501 Servicing Unit, Cranfield (6/8/43) before issue to 504 (City of Nottingham) Squadron at Church Stanton (Culmhead), Somerset (18/8/43).
AR501 then went to 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron (10/10/43). The squadron was engaged on bomber escort duties protecting raids across the English Channel against V-1 rocket launch sites.

Post war it became an instructional airframe at Loughborough College. It was acquired by the Shuttleworth Collection in 1961 and was displayed for many years in the clipped wing configuration wearing the 1942-43 livery of No.310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron.

Returned to flight for the Battle of Britain film, a major overhaul was then carried out in the early 1970s. She was airworthy from 1977-2005, then removed from service for another overhaul.

In mid 2000 the elliptical wingtips were refitted when the aircraft took part in the filming of the movie 'Pearl Harbor'.

Between 2005 and 2018 a complete strip down and rebuild to original specification was completed.

Today, Spitfire AR501, appears in the livery that it wore when serving with 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron in 1943.

Hawker Hurricane P3717, G-HITT, was built in 1940 as one of 544 Hurricanes built as part of the 3rd production batch. She was delivered to 253 Squadron at Kirton in Lindsey on the 13th of July 1940 and was flown by Pilot Officer W M C Samolinski. The unit then transferred to its new base of operations, RAF Kenley, on the 29th August 1940

P3717’s Battle of Britain was brief. After landing and refuelling at Kenley on the 29th the aircraft of 253 were scrambled at 16.00 for a standing patrol. This however proved uneventful. 10.50 am the following day saw a squadron scramble to counter the 3 incoming waves of Albert Kesselring’s Luftflotte 2. Samolinski and P3717 were in the thick of the action and a running fight developed across the south of England. This culminated in Samolinksi and P3717 being credited with the destruction of a Bf110 over Redhill in Surrey. P3717 however was so badly damaged in this action that she had to be returned to Hawkers for significant repairs.

After rebuild at Hawkers she was sent to Russia. It was from here that she was recovered on the late 1990’s and the long road to returning to airworthiness started.

Both of these iconic British aircraft serve as a poignant reminder of the nerve, bravery and skill of the young men who flew them and that the Hurricane force destroyed more than twice as many enemy aircraft during The Battle of Britain as all of our other defences combined.

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