Monday 25th May: Supermarine Spitfire

Supermarine Spitfire

Step back into the thrilling days of Britain’s finest hour and witness a true legend of the skies!

A magnificent Spitfire will take pride of place on Foundry Green between North Road Station Museum and the Carriage Works. This is a rare chance to stand face to face with the very aircraft that helped defend our skies in the dark days of the 1940s.

While, for reasons of wartime prudence and modern safety, visitors will not be permitted to climb into the cockpit, you are warmly invited to pose for photographs beside this iconic machine. An RAF interpreter in authentic Second World War uniform will be on hand to bring the Spitfire’s remarkable story to life, sharing tales of courage, engineering brilliance, and the men who flew her into history.

Don’t miss this stirring encounter with aviation heroism... a sight that would have lifted spirits in the Blitz, and one that still inspires today.

The Spitfire is a reproduction modelled on World War 2 RAF pilot Adolph "Sailor" Malan's Spitfire.

Spitfire Facts

Make: Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I
Power Plant: 1030hp Rolls Royce Merlin III 12 cylinder liquid-cooled engine
Span: 36ft 11in
Length: 29ft 11in
Max Speed: 362mph at 19,000ft
Wing Design: A-Type
Guns: 8x .303 calibre Browning machine guns, with 300 rounds per gun (rpg)

Adolph Gysbert Malan, better known as Sailor Malan, was a South African fighter pilot and flying ace in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) who led No. 74 Squadron RAF, also known as 'Tiger Squadron', during the Battle of Britain. He finished his fighter career in 1941 with twenty-seven enemy aircraft destroyed, seven shared destroyed and two unconfirmed, three probable's and sixteen damaged. At the time he was the RAF's leading ace, and one of the highest-scoring pilots to have served wholly with RAF Fighter Command during World War 2.

The Spitfire appearance is sponsored by