The man who had a Spitfire fuselage in his garage

The fuselage of a Spitfire that had been kept in a garage for more than two decades has been sold at auction for more than £20,000.

The Supermarine Spitfire F Mk. XXII, serial number PK519, was the final project of the late renowned aviation enthusiast Peter Arnold, who lived in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire.

Arnold, who was known as "Mr Spitfire" wheeled the plane out from time to time for all to see. He died, aged 83, in 2025.

His commitment to researching and documenting surviving Spitfires saw him travel around the world to see each of the more than 260 examples of the planes.

The auctioned fuselage was Arnold's seventh project. It was made of replacement panels from other original Spitfires, built on the original wooden formers, a cockpit window assemblage and Perspex canopy.

Henry Meadows, from Dominic Winter Auctioneers, said it was one of the "more unusual lots" they have sold over the years.

John Sanderson, who worked with Arnold on a book about the history of two-seat Spitfires, credited him with saving "numerous projects which would otherwise have been lost to time".

He said through his research and doggedness Arnold revealed the true identity of many previously unknown or misidentified Spitfire airframes.

Arnold grew up in South Harrow, London, within 1.2 miles (2km) of the end of the runway at RAF Northolt.

He told a documentary, produced by the Living Archive MK, that he had become interested in aeroplanes at "an early age".

He would cycle 100 miles (160km) with his friend, Trevor Tew, to photograph Spitfires being used as gate guardians - historic or replica aircraft displayed at base entrances.

In 1972, Arnold lived near RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire, which was being used for the Battle of Britain epic starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine. He became a regular, watching the aircraft being prepared for the film.

Arnold's life-changing moment came when he met Canadian businessman Don Plumb, who asked him to find a Spitfire to send to Canada for him to fly. He was successful, and, years later, the aircraft was worth millions of pounds.

But it was in 1973 when his name became associated with Spitfires after he appeared on BBC teatime news programme Nationwide.

Arnold told the Living Archive MK that presenter Sue Lawley went to his home in Redbourn, Hertfordshire, to film his restoration of a Seafire F Mk. XLVI.

It was the naval version of the Spitfire and one of only two dozen built in the mid-40s.

The project was the culmination of a five-year search for spare parts from museums, stores and crash sites all over the world.

"I never got the airplanes to fly. That was way beyond my pay grade, " he said.

Alongside all of this, Arnold worked in the automotive industry.

Following a spell at Aston Martin, he worked at General Motors as a development engineer for Vauxhall cars and then Bedford military vehicles. Later, he worked as chief chassis engineer at Aston Martin subsidiary Tickford, until taking early retirement in 2002.

During retirement he travelled the world documenting Spitfires, with only one exception - "The Seafire Mk. XV PR422 at Meiktila Air Force base, Myanmar. It was one he always wanted to 'tick' off," said Sanderson.

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