2017 Warbirds in Review - Supermarine Spitfire MK.IX - Collings Foundation

Warbirds in Review - 24 July 2017, 10:00am, Warbird Alley, AirVenture OSH. Supermarine Spitfire MK.IX - Collings Foundation. There is no other Spitfire in the world that has such an incredible history as this aircraft recently acquired by the Collings Foundation. Legendary pilots and aces flew this Spitfire MK IX BR601 confronting scores of Luftwaffe fighters while flying escort for B-17 and B-24 bombers. A true Allied combat veteran aircraft is very rare, and Spitfire Mk. IX BR601, with its history of 116 combat missions, flown by two Aces, is arguably the most significant surviving Allied fighter aircraft in the world. This Spitfire was flown by Tony Gaze, who was the commander of the No.64 Squadron RAF and was a decorated Australian World War II flying ace credited with 12.5 confirmed victories (11 plus 3 shared). Rob Collings has been involved with the Collings Foundation for 24 years as a pilot, Chief Pilot and more recently as Executive Director since 2008. The Collings Foundation was founded in 1979 to preserve rare historical artifacts and present living history events. Today, the Collings Foundation has three distinct activities, the “Wings of Freedom” tour, the “Vietnam Memorial Flight” and open house events and recreations at their facility in Stow, MA. Over the past few years the Foundation has restored more historically significant aircraft than the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum. Rob has been overseeing the restorations of aircraft like the Oshkosh Grand Champion winning F4U Corsair and A-36 Apache and most recently the very rare Supermarine Spitfire MK.IX with a history of 116 combat missions during WWII.