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War StoriesYou are in: Stoke & Staffordshire > History > War Stories > The Spitfire of the Potteries...  The Potteries Spitfire The Spitfire of the Potteries...Stoke-on-Trent has its own piece of wartime history, in the shape of a Vickers Spitfire Mk LF XVI which is stored at the Potteries Museum in Hanley. However, it's in a bit of a bad way - and thankfully, plans are afoot to restore it... Stoke-on-Trent has its own piece of wartime history, in the shape of a Vickers Spitfire Mk LF XVI which is stored at the Potteries Museum in Hanley. However, it's in a bit of a bad way - and thankfully, plans are afoot to restore it...  The scourge of latter-Spits - FW190 The Spitfire that currently sits in the Potteries museum has seen quite a busy life, from its active service right the way through to its current situation. It flew for the first time in the summer of 1945, suffering wear-and-tear damage throughout its life, but remained in service until 1968 - some thirty years after the early 'Spits' had been inaugurated into the RAF! It was then placed on gate guard at a number of RAF bases, including Bicester near Oxford, before being presented to the city in 1969. On arrival...Here it was mounted on a pole, and stored in a glass house. However, the airframe of the Spitfire was prone to deterioration and it was moved inside the Potteries Museum in 1986. Unfortunately, the decision to properly restore the aircraft has taken a little longer to materialise, which is why the plane is in the state it currently is... What's being done?Thankfully for the old girl, there's a dedicated team of people who want to see her back to her old self, even if flying again is out of the question. For the last decade or so, efforts to restore the plane have been made, in particular by a group of enthusiasts called Friends of the Spitfire. The group was formed when it became clear that the restoration of the spitfire was going to take longer than expected. Bits and bobs...The Supermarine Aero company in Burslem specialises in manufacturing Spitfire parts, and their mechanics are also part of the restoration team. Some of their parts are used by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight to help maintain the aircraft which fly in their unit. Important for the cityThe Spitfire has a significance to Stoke-on-Trent because of Reginald Mitchell. Mitchell was the brains behind this graceful flying machine, and was a local lad (born in Talke), so it seems quite fitting that the Potteries should have a restored Spitfire to call its own. last updated: 08/08/2008 at 07:16 Have Your SayWhat are your memories of the Spitfire? Did you fly it? Have you seen the Potteries Spitfire? Let us know your memories and thoughts... Jamie Simmons Alma Green Montgomery SETH HARDACRE Elaine Chaney gerald bailey greensmith arun paul Matt Newsum Jase Matt - BBC Staffordshire Brian Cooper Sue Booth Elizabeth Bell Tuck SEE ALSOYou are in: Stoke & Staffordshire > History > War Stories > The Spitfire of the Potteries... |
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