Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Ia • N3200 • Shuttleworth - Military Air Show скачать в хорошем качестве

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Ia • N3200 • Shuttleworth - Military Air Show

Built in early 1939 at Vickers Armstrong's Southampton factory, N3200 was an early Mk. Ia Spitfire, a fighter boasting eight .303 Browning machine guns, a significant leap in British aviation. Joining the RAF in December 1939, it went to 8 Maintenance Unit before being assigned to No. 19 Squadron at RAF Duxford in April 1940. This was the first RAF squadron to fly Spitfires. Bearing the code "QV," though without an individual aircraft letter, N3200 was flown by pilots experiencing this revolutionary aircraft, soon to be a symbol of British defense. As the Phoney War ended and the German Blitzkrieg surged, the British Expeditionary Force faced retreat towards Dunkirk in May 1940. During Operation Dynamo, the massive evacuation, the RAF provided crucial air cover. On May 26th, 1940, Squadron Leader Geoffrey Stephenson, 19 Squadron's CO, flew N3200 on its first and only operational mission. Leading his squadron over Northern France, Stephenson engaged the enemy to protect Allied ground forces. He successfully shot down a Ju 87 Stuka. However, N3200's radiator was hit by enemy fire. The Merlin III engine overheated and seized, forcing Stephenson to land on the beach near Sangatte, Calais. Stephenson escaped but was captured, spending the war as a POW, including time at Colditz. N3200 lay abandoned, gradually buried by tides and sand, a forgotten relic. Over four decades later, in 1986, shifting sands revealed N3200. French aviation enthusiasts excavated the wreckage. Though its form was largely intact, saltwater and sand had heavily corroded most parts. The remains were displayed at the V3 Museum in France, a silent witness to air battles. In 2000, Simon Marsh and Thomas Kaplan, passionate collectors, acquired N3200 with the aim of restoring it to flight. The airframe returned to the UK, and in 2007, restoration began at Historic Flying Ltd at Duxford, its original wartime base. The extensive restoration required detailed research into the Mk Ia's 1940 configuration. The Aircraft Restoration Company rebuilt the aircraft, using original parts where possible and crafting new ones to wartime specifications, including the hand-pumped undercarriage and flat canopy. In early 2014, Supermarine Spitfire N3200, now G-CFGJ, flew again, a remarkable achievement. Restored to its 1940 "QV" livery, it became a flying memorial. In 2015, Kaplan donated N3200 to the Imperial War Museum, to remain airworthy at Duxford. ✈️ Supermarine Spitfire Mk.1 • N3200 // G-CFGJ (QV) 📌 Shuttleworth - Military Air Show 📅 31st May, 2025 ▶▶ SUBSCRIBE!!    / biggsy   ◀◀ youtube.com/biggsy?sub_confirmation=1 ▶︎ Social Links!   / biggsytv     / biggsytv     / biggsytv     / biggsytv     / biggsy   ▶︎ Email : biggsytv@gmail.com Thanks for watching!!