SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE XIV

RN201

Spitfire XIV RN201 (G-BSKP) is one of the most eye-catching Spitfires to be seen anywhere. The MkXIV was the first mass-produced mark of the type to be fitted with the gargantuan 37-litre Rolls-Royce Griffon engine which sounds so different to its Merlin predecessor. This late war variant of the type fared well with the increased horsepower the Griffon provided – not only did this mark down over 300 V1 flying bombs, in October 1944 a MkXIV claimed a kill of a Messerschmitt Me262 jet, a first for a Spitfire. 957 Spitfire XIVs were produced in total and can claim to be the only Griffon-powered mark of Spitfire to see a reasonable amount of wartime service. The XIV also equipped every 2nd Tactical Air Force Spitfire squadron on the continent between D-Day and VE Day, where its primary purpose was performing armed reconnaissance patrols.

RN201 was built at Keevil for the Royal Air Force in early 1945 and delivered to 9 Maintenance Unit at RAF Cosford, Shropshire. It remained in store until the war had ended – at that point the aircraft was allocated to 83 Group Support Unit and then in December 1945 the Spitfire was detached to Fassberg in Germany where it served with 350 (Belgium) Squadron. The aircraft returned to a UK maintenance unit after a few months service and re-entered storage before sale to the Belgian Air Force on 19th February 1948 as SG-31. The MkXIV operated between various squadrons during its service before suffering a heavy landing in February 1950. It was deemed uneconomical to repair the Spitfire at that point so instead found itself displayed on a pole in front of the officer’s mess at Beauvechain Airbase. A large amount of concrete was poured into the fuselage at this time to act as ballast which presented some challenges many years later. The aircraft stayed at Beauvechain until May 1990 when collector Guy Black acquired RN201 and had it repatriated to the UK in a Belgian Air Force C-130 Hercules.

After time in storage, the aircraft moved to Historic Flying’s premises at Audley End in 1998 for restoration back to flying condition. The aircraft moved to Duxford for completion some three years later once Historic Flying had been acquired by the Aircraft Restoration Company. The original Griffon 65 engine was totally rebuilt in the United States and returned to ‘zero hours’ condition and a modern data analysis system was fitted to monitor engine and control behaviour. Now registered G-BSKP, the Spitfire was painted in distinctive silver and red markings – authentic to the type, as a 41 Squadron Spitfire F21 received these colours in 1947 to participate in the Blackpool Air Races. RN201 returned to the air on April 24th 2002 in the hands of ARCo’s owner and chief pilot, John Romain. The aircraft made its first airshow appearance at that year’s Flying Legends event – the paint scheme on the Spitfire made it an immediate hit with enthusiasts and public alike. G-BSKP could be seen in many of the large Spitfire formations that occurred in the UK for several seasons, until in 2006 the aircraft was sold to a new owner and shipped to the USA at the end of that year. RN201 won the coveted ‘Grand Champion WWII’ trophy at the 2007 ‘Sun ‘n Fun’ fly-in at Lakeland Linder Airport, Florida such was the quality of the rebuild.

In 2019, RN201 was sold to a new owner, Aerial Speed Icons. Air Leasing shipped the Spitfire to their base at Sywell, Northamptonshire for reassembly and test flying which occurred in 2020. The following season the aircraft was ferried back to Duxford and the Aircraft Restoration Company, which it had left in a shipping container years earlier. RN201 made its first UK air display appearance in 16 years in September 2022, when John Romain flew the aircraft to great acclaim as the solo ‘joker’ aircraft whilst the main Spitfire formation assembled. With its growling Griffon engine and stunning paint scheme, G-BSKP is a one-of-a-kind Spitfire now operated by the Aircraft Restoration Company on behalf of its owner.