Spitfire Mk.XVIe

TE392 was originally part of an order placed in 1943 for 1,884 Mk. IX aircraft from Castle Bromwich. In production, cockpit C/N CBAF IX 4551 was assigned and an American Packard Merlin 266 engine was fitted, thus it rolled out the Factory as a Mk. XVIe. The aircraft was delivered to No. 9 M.U. RAF Cosford on 15th June 1945.

TE392 served with a number of Fighter and Army Co-operation squadrons including No. 126 Squadron, No. 65 Squadron, No. 164 Squadron at RAF Middle Wallop (which re-numbered the Squadron to No. 63 Squadron). Thereafter TE392 was transferred to an Army co-operation unit based in Wales, No. 595 Squadron. The Squadron moved to RAF Horsham and was renumbered as No. 34 Squadron. On August 31st, 1951 the aircraft moved to a very well known Civilian organization called Marshalls of Cambridge, operating under contract for Army co-operation duties. TE392 finally retired from military flying in September 1952 whereupon the aircraft was moved to its new role under the duties of ground instruction at RAF Church Lawford.

TE392 moved locations a few more times before changing duty one final time to a ‘gate guardian’, first at RAF Kemble in 1967 and then at RAF Credenhill, Hereford in 1970. The aircraft remained at Hereford until August 1984 when it was sold by the British Ministry of Defence to well known private collector, Mr. Doug Arnold.

Mr. Arnold commenced a restoration project in 1989 and elected to convert the original low back configuration (with bubble top cockpit) into a high back variant which was more traditionally associated with the type. This was done in accordance with the original manufacturer’s drawings.

The restoration was sadly not completed prior to Mr. Arnold’s death in 1992 so the aircraft was moved to Florida and subsequently sold and returned to flying status by Harry Stenger and test flown on Christmas Eve 1999. By this time the aircraft had been gifted to the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas. TE392 flew the air show circuit for many years until September 2008 whereupon Hurricane Ike blew through. A number of aircraft were flown out ahead of the storm but TE392 was in maintenance and therefore unable to escape in time.

Following the passing of the storm and subsequent flooding of the hangar, TE392 was moved to Ezell Aviation in North Texas to be dismantled, washed down, dried, inhibited and then placed into storage. In 2017, the aircraft was sold and shipped to Australia whereupon following its arrival in February 2018, TE392 underwent a complete overhaul. The wings were completely disassembled and replacement wingspars were fitted. Numerous skins were removed to provide complete and clear inspection of the frame and longerons. All non-standard US hardware and components were replaced with original British specification hardware. The engine was overhauled by Vintage V12  and the propeller (with new propeller hub) was overhauled by Skycraft Services in the UK.

Some fifteen thousand man hours were invested into the very detailed and thorough restoration of the aircraft. The presentation of the aircraft today is testament to the quality of workmanship that was invested into the aircraft. TE392 is proudly presented as one of the finest Spitfires flying in the world today.