FLIGHTPATH|Ground Instruction with RAF Church Law-
ford in Warwickshire. Over the next few
yearsitworeanumberofdifferentschemes
andmovedbetweennumerousbasesinclud-
ingWellesbourneMountford,RAFWater-
beach, Castle Bromwich, RAF Credenhill
andbecameapylonmountedgateguardat
RAF Kemble.
ItsfinalmilitaryrolewasatRAFHere-
ford, but on 21 August 1984 it was delivered
to Doug Arnold of Warbirds of Great Britain,
whoexchangeditforB-25JMitchellN9115Z
(nowattheRAFMuseum).Theprojectwas
movedinJuly1989toAerofabatThruxton
where its restoration to airworthy status
commencedandthedecisiontoconvertthe
fuselagetoahighbackwasmade.Thefuse-
lage structures were disassembled and new
quarterframesfabricated,asperthemanu-
alforaccidentandbattledamage,tochange
thefuselageprofile.
However, following Arnold’s death in
1992,itwasshippedtotheUSalongwith
SpitfireBR601andagainwentintostorage.
ItwaslaterreportedasbeingsoldtoMike
Araldi,onbehalfofJetCapAviationCorp,
andtransportedtoHenrySteger’sfacilityat
Bartow, Florida, where the restoration con-
tinued. ‘Buddy’ Hunter of Houston, Texas,
acquiredtheaircraftin1996anddonatedit
totheLSFMinGalveston.Registeredas
N97RW,itwasfinallytestflownbyElliot
Crosson24December1999.
TheSpitfirewasrepaintedinthemark-
ings of an aircraft flown by Texan ace
LanceC.WadeDSO,DFC**,aveteranof
the Desert Air Force in North Africa and
Italy. Wade flew with the RAF from 1940 to
1944 before his death in a flying accident.
LoneStarhadflowntheSpitfireforamere
seventyhoursbeforeitwaspartiallysub-
merged in floodwaters caused by Hurri-
caneIkewhichdevastatedGalvestonand
surrounding areas in September 2008. All
ofthemuseum’sairworthyaircraftwere
flowntosafety,butTE392andaGrumman
F3F had to be left behind. The Spitfire was
subsequently recovered and was moved
intostorageatEzellAviationinBrecken-
ridgewhereitwastreatedandinhibited.
Someconservationworkwasalsoper-
formed. Further restoration to return the
aircraft to flying status was begun. On 19
December 2017, Platinum Fighter Sales, on
behalf of the LSFM, brokered the sale to
Bishopp Aviation.
Areturntoflightisstillsometimeoff,
and the Archerfield-based fleet is kept busy,buttherebuildofTE392isalreadypro-
gressing well in its new home. Brad Bishopp
didn’t let any dust settle on the new arrival.
“When the Spitfire arrived at Archerfield on
1March,itwasfullyinspectedandanas-
sessment and inventory taken. The spar
boomshavebeenremovedfromthemain-
planestobefinishedandtohavefurther
treatment. To restore its originality work
has begun to remove all the non-original
(American) hardware used in its restoration
in the USA. We will do most of the restora-
tion in house, but the aircraft’s Packard
MerliniswithVintageV-12sintheUSAand
thepropellerhasbeensenttotheUKfor
overhaul. Currently we are researching its
historyindetailasourcurrentplanistore-
turn it to the squadron colours it wore in
RAF service.”
TheBishoppAviationfleetatArcherfield
includestheP-51DMustangVH-FST,North
AmericanSNJ-5VH-USNand,inconjunc-
tion with The Fighter Pilot, the group also
operatesaYakovlevYak-52,AeroVodochody
L-39 Albatros, Yakovlev Yak-3 (‘SteadFast’)
andaWacoClassicYMF-5.Theacquisition
of TE392 brings the remarkable possibility
of five examples of the type being airworthy
in the country in the near future.Rob FoxTE392wearingthesquadroncodesofaSpitire
lownbyLanceWadeduringhistimewith
SquadronRAF,basedinMaltaandItaly,in1943.
Theoriginalaircraft,eitheraMk.VIIIoraMk.IX,
would probably not have worn a dark green/
ocean grey scheme.[Brian Silcox]ABOVE:The aircraft,
on arrival at Aerofab in
Thruxton in April 1989,
ready for restoration.
The wings, however,
were subcontracted out
to Airframe Assemblies
at Sandown.
[Peter Arnold Collection]LEFT:With the cowls
removed, TE392 is seen
on display at the LSFM
on 14 May 2008, just
four months before
Hurricane Ike’s arrival.
[LSFM]