Birmingham dates added to Spitfire tour
A SPITFIRE from the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands at Cosford is heading to Birmingham in July, as extra dates are added to the Spitfire’s tour of the Midlands.
In celebration of the Museum’s 50th anniversary, the Spitfire will visit regional towns and cities highlighting the area’s rich RAF heritage. The iconic aircraft will go on display outside Birmingham New Street Station from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 July.
The Supermarine Spitfire PR.XIX PM651 is the last of the specialised photo reconnaissance Spitfires. The much more modern PR.XIX has a number of differences to the Mk1 on display at the Cosford museum, fitted with the Griffon engine as opposed to the Merlin engine used in earlier models, and was notably faster than its predecessor. The PR.XIX had extra fuel tanks in place of the machine guns, a retractable tail wheel making its profile more streamlined, and a pressurised cabin critical for the high-altitude reconnaissance flights. Before heading to Birmingham, the rare blue reconnaissance Spitfire PR. XIX will visit Coventry on 18-19 June and Shrewsbury on 25-26 June. Following five days of engagement with people in Birmingham, the aircraft will finish the tour in Leicester on 16-17 July.
The Spitfire received a warm welcome from the people of Telford on the first tour date in May, and the returned to base for the Cosford Air Show last weekend.
If you go along to see the Spitfire on its tour you will be able to try on some of real RAF uniforms, flying jackets and hats. Alongside the genuine Spitfire is a replica cockpit section to climb inside for an authentic Spitfire experience.
Birmingham’s workers produced more Spitfires than anywhere else in the UK, making it a fitting venue for the tour.
During the Second World War the British people contributed to the war efforts through Fighter Funds. These funds were set up to encourage the public to donate money to buy aircraft and brought communities and Allied countries together. The aircraft bought were named after that individual town, country or business. £5,000, approximately equivalent to £175,000 today, bought one aircraft.
The Lord Mayor of Birmingham’s Spitfire Fund collected £23,500, enough to buy four Spitfires, all made at Castle Bromwich. The Vickersarmstrong
aircraft factory at Castle Bromwich was one of the largest producers of aircraft during the Second World War. It produced 11,939 Spitfires and 305 Avro Lancasters. The factory closed in December 1945 and the Castle Vale housing estate was built on the site.
You can see the Spitfire on the following dates:
Coventry on 18–19 June, Millennium Place (Coventry Food Festival).
Shrewsbury on 25–26 June, Quarry Park (Shrewsbury Food Festival).
Birmingham on 6–10 July, New Street Station.
Leicester on 16–17 July, Jubilee Square.