© Richard Paver
Spitfire Mk XVI TE311
Spitfire Mk XVI TE311 was built at Castle Bromwich as a lowback / bubble-canopy Spitfire with‘ clipped’ wing tips. She was taken on charge by the Air Ministry on 8th June 1945 and delivered to No 39 Maintenance Unit at Colerne, where she was placed in storage. From October 1945 to February 1946, TE311 was flown by the Handling Sqn of the Empire Central Flying School at Hullavington. After a period in storage, in 1951 she was allocated to No 1689 Ferry Pilot Training Flight at Aston Down. She was subsequently allocated to the Ferry Training Unit at RAF Benson and then, in early 1954, TE311 served briefly with No 2 Civilian Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit at Langham, Norfolk. In December 1954, TE311 was officially grounded and transferred to non-effective stock. For the next 12 years the aircraft was a‘ gate guardian’ at RAF Tangmere. In 1968, TE311 was loaned to Spitfire Productions Ltd, who temporarily modified it with a false rear fuselage to resemble a Mk 1 Spitfire and restored it to taxying condition so that it could be used during filming of ground sequences for the epic film‘ Battle of Britain’. When filming was completed, an RAF working party restored the Spitfire to its original configuration and it was then allocated to the RAF Exhibition Flight. For over 30 years, from 1968 to 1999, TE311 was displayed as a static exhibit at many air shows, regularly being dismantled and reassembled for transportation by road. In January 2000 TE311 was delivered to RAF Coningsby for‘ spares recovery’. The BBMF decided that the aircraft merited a re-build to flying condition. In 2001 a small team of engineers started working on the aircraft in their own time, until official approval was received from the Ministry of Defence in 2007 to return TE311 to flying condition as part of the Flight. After a painstaking re-build lasting 11 years, the aircraft was returned to an immaculate and extremely authentic standard, and took to the air again, for the first time in 58 years, on 19th October 2012. TE311 is now painted on her port side to represent Spitfire Mk XVIe TD322‘ 3W-M’, of 322( Dutch) Sqn. 322( Dutch) Sqn is the oldest of the operational Dutch sqns within the RAF during the Second World War, and TE311 carries nose art representing the squadron’ s mascot, a red-tailed parrot named Polly Grey. On the starboard side, TE311 wears a special tribute to Squadron Leader Mark Long, following the tragic accident on the 25th May, 2024.