Airfix Advent Special - Historic Aircraft Collection Fleet Review
Image used courtesy of Spencer Harbar, via HAC.
As one of the stalwarts of the UK historic aviation scene, the beautiful aircraft of the Historic Aircraft Collection have been enthralling enthusiasts for many years now, as their team of pilots, engineers and volunteers do their level best to help preserve the legacy of several of the most important British aircraft types of the 20th century. With a collection of aircraft which spans arguably the most fascinating period in British aviation, from the early days of aerial warfare, through to the famous fighter aircraft of the Second World War, HAC own and operate a unique collection of aeroplanes, the like of which cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. With several of their magnificent aircraft having been absent from the Airshow scene for some year's now, we thought this might be a good opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with this stunning collection of aeroplanes, by way of a little pre-Christmas Airfix advent aviation treat.
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb BM597
An aircraft which must be regarded as one of the most popular performers on the UK Airshow scene, HAC's Spitfire is quite a rare example of a Mk.Vb variant of Britain's most famous fighting aeroplane and one which for many years, has paid tribute to the significant contribution made by Polish airmen during the Second World War. A combat veteran aircraft, BM597 was built at the famous Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory, delivered to No.37 MU at Burtonwood on 26th February 1942, before going on to serve with Nos. 315 and 317 Squadrons at RAF Woodvale. On the 1st February 1943, she was damaged following a ground accident, when she overturned as a result of losing brake pressure as the pilot taxied from the runway and whilst she was sent for repair, it would be late November before she returned to operational flying. Interestingly, this period also included a return to Vickers Armstrong, for reasons HAC researchers have not been able to ascertain to this point - if you could help the HAC team with information, please do get in touch with them.
Spitfire BM597 would spend the next few months being passed around various RAF Maintenance Units, even spending quite some time in storage, before finally being assigned to her final operational posting, that being with No.58 Operational Training Unit. The aircraft was retired on 16th October 1945 and sent to RAF St Athan, where she would be used as an instructional airframe for engineering apprentices.
This Spitfire's longest service role during its time with the RAF would be that of station gate guardian, a role which it would perform with distinction for almost forty years from 1950 onwards. She stood guard first at RAF Hednesford, before later serving in the same role at both Bridgenorth and Church Fenton, but not before she would play a significant role in one of the most famous war films ever produced. On 23rd January 1967, having temporarily moved from Church Fenton to RAF Henlow, BM597 was on the move once again, this time down to Pinewood Studios, where she was used as a master mould for the production of fibreglass replica Spitfires to be used during the filming of the classic ‘Battle of Britain’ film. Furthermore, it is thought that she appeared as a static airframe during filming, so quite the aviation star really.
It's going to be a blue Christmas! HAC's Spitfire received a temporary blue paint scheme for her historic return to the VC Island of Malta.
In 1989, BM597 was purchased by a leading figure in the historic aviation movement, who later sold it on to the Historic Aircraft Collection in 1993. In their care, the aircraft embarked on a meticulous restoration to flying condition, with the intention of returning the aircraft to as near to her original service specification as possible, around regulations at that time. Making her first post restoration flight on 18th July 1997, she has gone on to become a regular performer on the UK Airshow scene and a much loved sight to anyone making a visit to the Imperial War Museum's Duxford airfield.
For everyone connected with the Historic Aircraft Collection, perhaps the most significant display this Spitfire has ever performed was when she flew over the iconic surroundings of Malta's Grand Harbour, the triumphant culmination of their 'Merlins over Malta - the Defenders Return' project back in 2005. An incredible achievement for all concerned, this was the first time that a Spitfire had flown over the Island since the filming of ‘The Malta Story’ back in the early 1950s. For her Maltese excursion, BM597 wore a distinctive temporary blue livery, a stunning tribute to the aircraft which flew from the deck of the USS Wasp in an attempt to relieve the beleaguered Island in April 1942.
Hawker Hurricane Mk XIIa - 5711
The other aircraft which took part in the historic Merlins over Malta project, Hawker Hurricane Mk.XIIa - 5711 G-HURI has been owned and operated by Duxford based Historic Aircraft Collection since they acquired the aircraft in 2002, regularly appearing at displays up and down the country either by itself, or as a pair with its HAC sister ship, Supermarine Spitfire Vb BM597. A Canadian built example of the Hurricane, this aircraft was essentially a Mk.II variant of the fighter constructed by the Canadian Car and Foundry Company, at Fort William, Ontario, powered by a Packard Merlin XXIX engine. Some of the Hurricanes built in Canada featured an impressive twelve 0.303 machine gun armament and if you look at the leading edge of this particular aircraft’s wing, you can clearly see the red fabric gun patches covering six gun ports in each wing - these Hurricanes packed a real offensive punch.
Serving mainly in a training capacity during its wartime RCAF career, this Hurricane was eventually struck off charge in 1947, when it was bought by a farmer who removed the wings and engine, storing the aircraft in one of his outbuildings and stripping the Merlin engine for parts. That is where it remained until purchased by a group of aircraft preservation enthusiasts in 1964 and later coming under the ownership of a Canadian Aviation Museum. The aircraft underwent a lengthy restoration to flying condition in Canada, which culminated in a triumphant first post restoration flight in 1989, where it was finished in the wartime markings of a Hurricane which served with RAF No.71 ‘Eagle’ Squadron aircraft.
Purchased by the Historic Aircraft Collection in 2002, their new Hurricane immediately underwent a further period of maintenance and renovation, before being unleashed on the UK historic aviation scene eighteen months later, where she went on to become a much loved addition to Britain’s Warbird community and an Airshow regular. The aircraft’s new scheme presented her as Gloster built Hurricane IIB Z5140, an aircraft which was delivered to RAF units on Malta in June 1941, flying off HMS Ark Royal as part of ‘Operation Rocket’. Once on the Island, the Hurricane flew operationally from RAF Takali in the markings of RAF No.126 Squadron, whose fuselage codes were HA - as this was aircraft ‘C’, the HA-C codes were likely selected as they were an acronym of her new owners. Famously, this Malta connection was further enhanced in September 2005 when the ‘Merlins over Malta’ project took this aircraft and HAC’s Spitfire BM597 back to Malta, the first time a Hurricane had been seen over the Island since the end of the Second World War.
A further scheme change was unveiled in 2015, in order to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and continuing HAC’s proud association with Polish airmen fighting in the Royal Air Force during WWII. This time, the aircraft was posing as Hurricane Mk.I P3700 RF-E, a fighter flown by pilot Sgt Kazimierz Wunsche of No.303 (Polish) Squadron on 9th September 1940, which was damaged in combat with a Messerschmitt Bf 109E over Beachy Head. Although the aircraft was destroyed when crashing on to farmland in Kent, the pilot managed to escape by parachute, sustaining only superficial injuries.
To mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 2020, the aircraft was presented in the scheme pictured above, intended to commemorate the wartime contribution of ace pilot Josef František, a Czech national who flew with the Polish airmen of RAF No.303 Squadron.
Hawker Fury Mk I - K5674
An aircraft which many enthusiasts regard as not only the pride of the HAC fleet, but also one of the most impressive historic aircraft in the world today, Hawker Fury Mk.I K5674 is as beautiful to look at as she is significant in British aviation history, an aircraft which has been described as the ‘Ultimate biplane fighter’. When the Hawker Fury entered RAF service with No.43 Squadron ‘The Fighting Cocks' in 1931, the aircraft was regarded as a thoroughbred fighting machine, one which could only be tamed by the very best pilots in the Royal Air Force at that time. As a consequence, some of the elite RAF fighter squadrons of the day would be linked with the Hawker Fury, as it also went on to serve with Nos.1 and 25 Squadrons. Indeed, whilst serving with No.1 Squadron, the unit was to gain a reputation for aerobatic prowess in their gleaming Hawker biplane fighters, giving displays at venues all over the world and promoting the skill and professionalism of the modern Royal Air Force.
This particular Hawker Fury Mk.I was taken on charge with the RAF in 1935 and given the serial number K5674. She was transferred to No.2 Aircraft Storage Unit at Cardington, Bedfordshire, before moving on to its first operational squadron, No.43 Squadron, at Tangmere, Sussex. Whilst at Tangmere, the fighter became the personal aircraft of Flying Officer Frederick Rosier, who noted it in his log book as being his machine whilst he was Officer Commanding ‘B Flight’ from December 1936 until January 1939. It was discovered that the aircraft carried the name ‘Queen of the North and South’, although this could simply have been the name by which Rosier referred to it, as there is no photographic evidence to confirm that it carried any fuselage artwork to this effect.
The last time that F.O Rosier flew Hawker Fury K5674 was on 22nd February 1939 and his log book entry for this day read ‘Last fling in Queen of the North and South - Perfect!’ It is also thought that just before he ended his association with this particular aircraft, he had to endure the distressing sight of the beautifully flamboyant No.43 squadron ‘Fighting Cocks’ paint scheme, being replaced with the standard green and brown fighter camouflage of the immediate post Second World War years, a real sign of things to come! Following periods with RAF maintenance units at Kemble and Sealand, the Fury was eventually struck off charge in August 1940.
Following the end of her RAF career, Fury 5674 was loaded aboard the cargo ship M.V. Clan Mathieso bound for South Africa, however, her time operating in African skies would prove to be very short. As a highly advanced aircraft type, the Fury could be a bit of a handful and on 31st March 1941, SAAF pilot 2nd/Lt. Peter M Hedley misjudged his fuel consumption during a training flight and had to make a forced landing at Pitsani, near Krugerdorp. Fortunately the pilot was unhurt, however his new fighter suffered Cat 2 damage and was transported to No.2 Air Depot, Kimberley, where it was later scrapped.
From this date, little is known about the aircraft's history, that is until its remains were discovered and identified on farmland in South Africa in 1992 and it became the subject of one of the most ambitious restoration projects ever undertaken. Would this beautiful and extremely rare aircraft ever make it back into the air again?
In the hands of specialist historic aviation restoration company Retrotec Ltd, the restoration of the Hawker Fury was going to be a challenge even their impressive credentials, a rare and highly complex aeroplane which would need long forgotten manufacturing processes to be resurrected. She would remain in their workshops for the next eighteen years, but what emerged at the end of this time was truly magnificent, a project which in historic aviation circles was regarded as something of a restoration masterpiece. Further maintaining the authentic nature of the entire restoration, the aircraft was finished in the colours she wore whilst it was the personal aircraft of Flying Officer Frederick Rosier of No.43 Squadron at Tangmere during the 1930’s. The restoration team were in contact with the pilot's son, who was able to provide them with period photographs of the aircraft, ensuring the accuracy of the finish and markings.
Hawker Fury Mk.I K5674 made its first post restoration flight from the grass runway at Goodwood in the hands of experienced Warbird pilot Flt. Lt. Charlie Brown on 30th July 2012, the culmination of a project which must be described as one of the most ambitious ever attempted in historic aviation. The decision to fly from Goodwood was a significant one and a further continuation of the authentic nature of this project. Goodwood was the airfield closest to the aircraft's original home base at RAF Tangmere, so she would be flying in the same skies where she had been flown with such affection over 72 years earlier.
Since that date, HAC's Hawker Fury Mk.I has been a much loved, if relatively rare performer on the UK Airshow circuit, but wherever she performs, she always managed to captivate a new army of admirers who are left spellbound by its stunning good looks and the sound of its aggressive Rolls Royce Kestrel engine. Unfortunately, the aircraft has not flown at a UK Airshow for some time, but we can only hope that as one of the most attractive historic aircraft in the world today, she will soon be allowed to captivate a new generation of aviation admirers.
De Haviland DH9 - E-8894
You might think that having safely negotiated the monumental restoration of the Hawker fury that HAC and Retrotec Ltd would have had their full off unique historic aviation projects, but that was not to be the case. This time going back to the early years of British military aviation, the de Havilland DH9 was historically one of the first British aircraft designed specifically to perform a strategic bombing role, a development of the highly regarded Airco DH4 which was already in Royal Flying Corps service. The DH9 was an aircraft designed to wreak havoc on German positions on the Western Front. Capable of carrying either two 230lb or four 112lb bombs under the aircraft’s wings, the DH9 also boasted impressive defensive armament, with a forward firing Vickers machine gun operated by the pilot and either one or two Lewis guns mounted on a scarf ring and fired by the observer.
Although the aircraft was championed as a significant technological improvement over its predecessor, the DH9 would be plagued by persistent engine reliability issues and even though numerous different engine combinations were tried during its service career, the aircraft is still regarded as something of a disappointment. Despite this, as the DH9 occupies such a significant position in the history of the Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force, the chance to restore one proved just too appealing to the Retrotec team.
This aircraft was discovered lying abandoned in India along with two other DH9 airframes and the deal to secure the three aircraft involved negotiations taking place between the Indian Government and the Imperial War Museum, taking three long years to come to fruition. With all three airframes safely transported back to the UK, Retrotec Ltd, the restoration arm of the Historic Aircraft Collection, embarked on an ambitious programme to restore two of the aircraft. One was to be completed to static display standard for the Imperial War Museum, with the other earmarked for possible restoration to flying condition. As an interesting aside, both of these aircraft now reside at Duxford, an airfield which can now claim to be the world’s most significant location for complete examples of the De Havilland DH9 bomber.
A fascinating picture which shows the pilot's rather basic bomb sight in the cockpit floor of this early RAF bomber.
The first completed restoration project to be unveiled was D-5649, the aircraft which is now on display in the huge AirSpace building, near the entrance to the IWM Duxford and is displayed in close proximity to such other classic British bombers as the Avro Lancaster and the Avro Vulcan. The second aircraft, E-8894 (G-CDLI), continued with its restoration into 2018 and throughout a year which marked both the Centenary of the Royal Air Force and 100 years since the end of the First World War, news began to circulate that a historic first flight of this unique aircraft may not be too far away.
In the end, even though the aircraft was seen out on the airfield at Duxford, only engine tests were conducted during 2018 and it would be 2019 before this first post restoration flight could take place. Nevertheless, the world now had an airworthy de Havilland DH-9, the only airworthy example of its kind anywhere in the world. Since that date, the DH-9 has only been seen on a few occasions on the display line at Duxford, even though this airfield is the only one where you can see two restored examples of this rare aircraft type. Another of the HAC fleet which is not currently on the UK Airshow scene, we can only hope that it won't be too long before this unique aircraft graces the skies of Cambridgeshire once more.
Hawker Nimrod II - K3661
If historic Hawker biplanes are your aircraft of choice, then you will certainly be aware of the Historic Aircraft Collection and the world renowned restoration projects they have been connected with. Their Hawker Nimrod is a magnificent example of this prowess, an extremely powerful and capable inter-war naval fighter, and one of the highly advanced Hawker biplane types which saw British service during that period. This particular aircraft was discovered almost buried on a scrap dump at Ashford in Kent, suffering from corrosion, but relatively complete. The parts were recovered and donated to the RAF Museum, who kept them in storage until that storage facility was earmarked for closure, a development which stimulate the sale of the fuselage to a private buyer.
In August 1991, the fuselage was acquired by Aero Vintage Limited, who were looking to embark on the restoration of this rare aircraft and had been scouring the world for original parts for some time. Already having quite a collection of parts to hand, the Kent Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge would prove crucial in providing definitive provenance for the project, as they had components, photographs and a data plate which confirmed this aircraft once carried the tail number K3661.
Restoration began in earnest in 1992 and as you might well imagine, brought with it a multitude of problems and challenges, not least of which was the fact that a great many of the components they would need would have to be re-manufactured to original standards, using skills and machinery that had not been used since the 1930s. The discovery of a comprehensive collection of original drawings in Denmark would prove a significant help to the project and allowed the restoration to continue apace, also helping to propel Retrotec to a position of being world leaders in the restoration of historic Hawker biplane types.
The Nimrod made its first post restoration flight from Duxford on 16th November 2006 and since that date, has become a rare, but incredibly popular addition to many an Airshow display program. An extremely cultured aeroplane, the development of these Hawker biplanes coincided with a period of huge advancement in aero engine design, with Rolls Royce producing ever more powerful engines for use in the latest aircraft designs. Anyone lucky enough to have seen the Nimrod in the air will no doubt recall that despite its cultured and graceful appearance, the fearsome growl of its Kestrel engine is a real attention grabber and something which underlines the Nimrod's credentials as one of the most potent aviation performers of its day.
This eclectic collection of historic aeroplanes is unmatched in the world today and UK based aviation enthusiasts really must count themselves extremely fortunate to be able to see these magnificent aircraft on any visit to the Imperial War Museum's Duxford site. It would be a real New Year’s treat for us all if we could look forward to seeing all five aircraft on a display line up during the coming year, even if it is just a static display - what a late Christmas treat that would be for us all!