Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk XIV
Registration: G-SXIV
Operator: W Aircollection
Year of Manufacture: 1944
Powered by: Rolls-Royce Griffon of 2050hp
Colour Scheme: Royal Air Force, No 430 Squadron based at Eindhoven, Holland G9-X RM927
Built in November 1944 with serial number: 6S-381758, Spitfire FR Mk XIV was delivered to the Royal Air Force in January 1945 and assigned to Canadian No 430 Squadron based at Eindhoven in Holland where she flew under code G9-X. Engaged in the Second Tactical Air Force, the RM927 is one of the rare Griffon-powered Spitfire to have been engaged on the European front in combat and reconnaissance missions. On March 9, 1945, while being piloted by Flight Lieutenant Stevens, she was damaged by flak just behind the cockpit, causing her to be withdrawn from the front.
She was stored then sold and delivered in flight to Brussels-Evere on November 13, 1947 before being transferred to the Koksijde Hunting School for the fight training of young pilots.
Damaged in 1952, RM927 was stored before being finally retired in 1954.
She was sold in 1957 to a scrap dealer in Ostend, the RM927 and left exposed to the elements. Between 1967 and 2005, she changed American owners several times. The English collector Paul Andrews became her new owner in 2005. On May 12, 2005, the fuselage was transferred to the Spitfire specialists where the restoration began: "At the request of the owner it was decided to keep the originality of the Spitfire. The fuselage was dismantled, most of the structure was found to be in good condition but a lot of stripping and cleaning work was necessary. The RM927 is therefore one of the most “original” Spitfire in existence and we estimate that we have kept around 85% of the structure. »
The restoration of the fuselage was completed in February 2009. She was again put into storage and finally transferred by road in November 2015 to Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar. She was finally acquired by W Aircollection at the end of 2020. Restored in the workshops of Richard Grace in Sywell in early 2021, she changed registration to become the G-SXIV. and made her first post-restoration flight in 2022.
First image credit: Frédérick Vandentorren
Second image credit: David Whitworth
