Spitfire in city as part of museum celebration
AIRCRAFT IS ON TOUR OF THE MIDLANDS
ICONIC FIGHTER
A RARE Spitfire aircraft will be on display in Leicester city centre this weekend - and visitors will have the chance to see the legendary fighter plane up close.
The opportunity is being made possible by the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands, with the rare blue reconnaissance Spitfire PR XIX touring the Midlands this summer as part of the Museum’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
The iconic aircraft will be on view in four locations across the area at some of the region’s popular landmarks, highlighting and celebrating the area’s rich RAF heritage.
It will be parked in Leicester’s Jubilee Square today and tomorrow.
The aircraft is also stopping off in Coventry, Shrewsbury and Telford, to be admired at a central location in each.
Visitors will be able to get up close to the aircraft and enjoy hands-on interactive activities – including dressing up in RAF battledress complete with wartime flying jacket, pilot helmet and goggles – before taking a seat inside a replica cockpit.
Museum ground crew will show off a collection of wartime props, while sharing local RAF stories and details of the displays, experiences and events visitors can find at the museum.
A free ticket for the Spitfire virtual reality experience at the RAF Museum Midlands will be available for pick up for those going to see the plane.
The museum is near RAF Cosford, between Birmingham and Telford in the West Midlands.
Barry Smith, from the museum, said: “This year the RAF Museum Midlands is celebrating 50 years of sharing RAF stories, and what better way to celebrate this than to take one of our most iconic aircraft out on tour.
“The RAF has a long history in the Midlands, and we’re excited to share these stories within the community, and with new audiences who may not have visited the museum.
“The Midlands is steeped in RAF history. During the Second World War it was home to the largest Spitfire factory in the UK at RAF Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, which produced 11,939 Spitfires by 1945 - more than half of the 20,000 produced across the UK.
“Thousands of people from across the Midlands have a connection with the RAF story, from the men and women who served to members of the public who supported the war effort through Spitfire Funds.”