We have been seeking wartime photos of the WWII era machines for some time now, and sadly had no response. so if you can help us please contact us via our usual email address. Thank you.

Spitfire T Mk IX ML407 (The Grace Spitfire)

The Grace Spitfire is one of the few current warbirds to have a very colourful wartime history. The Spitfire ML407 was built as an LF IXc at Castle Bromwich in 1944, and was delivered to 485 New Zealand Squadron on the 29th of April 1944 by Jackie Moggridge, one of the ATA's top female pilots. ML407 completed 137 missions with 485 Sqn. 

ML407 served with many nationalities during its wartime service, 341 (Free French) Squadron, then 308 (Polish) Squadron, 349 (Belgium) Squadron. In February 1945 ML407 returned to 485 Squadron, before being sent to 345 Squadron (Free French). In April 1945, ML407 moved on to 332 (Norwegian) Squadron.  

Between 1944 and the end of hostilities, ML407s pilots claimed several kills, including one Junkers Ju88, a half-share in another Ju88, two Bf109G's and damaged one Bf109. Whilst being flown by six kill ace Flying Officer Johnnie Houlton DFC, ML407 claimed the first air to air kill by a Spitfire (the Ju-88) just south of the infamous Omaha beach head on D Day June 6th 1944. In total ML407 flew 176 wartime sorties cumulating in over 200 combat flying hours.

In 1950 ML407 returned to its manufacturers, and was converted to a two seat configuration for service with the Irish Air Corps. The aircraft served as '162' until its retirement in 1960. Like many Spitfires, ML407 soon found itself involved with the film "The Battle of Britain" and after filming she was sold to the Strathallan Museum. It was here that engineer Nick Grace found her in a total of seventeen tea chests, and acquired her in 1979. 

Nick spent five years meticulously restoring ML407 to an airworthy state at St Merryn in Cornwall, and on the 16th April 1985, ML407 now registered as G-LFIX, once again took to the skies with Nick Grace at the controls.

The Grace Spitfire as she now known, is painted in her original 485 Squadron markings as OU-V, and still performs on the air display circuit each year both at public and private shows flown by Carolyn Grace.

Spitfire IXb MH434 (The Old Flying Machine Company)

Construction No. CBAF-IX-552 was built in 1943 as MH434, and upon entry into the RAF served with 222 (Natal) Squadron at Hornchurch. Within three weeks of its arrival, MH434 was responsible for the downing of four German fighter aircraft. MH434 later served with 349 Squadron. During WWII, MH434 claimed five kills, flew a total of 74 missions, and at one point was the personal aircraft of Henry Lardner-Burke an eight kill ace. In 1944 MH434 was transferred to 350 Sqn at Hornchurch, before being returned to 222 Sqn. After 79 operational sorties, MH434 was retired in March 1945.

After her actions during WWII, she was bought by the Royal Netherlands Air Force in 1947, and would again see action. Serving first as H-68 with 332 Sqn and later with 322 Sqn as H-105,  she was mainly involved in ground strafing and light bombing missions before crash-landing in Semarang, in Java. After spending some time in storage, MH434 was repaired and flew again in Holland on the 10 March 1953.

Now surplus to RNethAF requirements, in October 1953 she was handed over to the Belgian AF as SM-41, and flew with the Advanced Pilot School at Koksijde and with 13 Wing at Brustem.

MH434 was put up for sale on 26th March 1956 and bought by COGEA serving as a target tug and given the identity OO-ARA.  MH434 was subsequently purchased and returned to Britain by airline pilot Tim Davies. The Spitfire was registered with the CAA as G-ASJV and  moved to Stansted then Elstree and given a full overhaul. Although flown purely for the owners pleasure, the aircraft was given its first movie role in the film, "Operation Crossbow".

Spitfire Productions Ltd was created by Group Captain Hamish Mahaddie for the film Battle of Britain, and saw MH434 join the cast of many spitfires in November 1967. It was after this film that MH434 was once again up for sale and was purchased by Sir Adrian Swire, Chairman of Cathay Pacific Airways. She was once again painted in a grey green camouflage scheme and had in initials "AC-S" painted on the fuselage as squadron codes. More film and TV appearances were to follow including the all star "Bridge Too Far".

In April 1983, MH434 was sold at auction to Ray Hanna (Nalfire Aviation Ltd) and became one of the OFMC's founding aircraft. MH434 had been flying continuously since its construction in1943, a rare thing in warbird circles as many are recovered as wrecks and rebuilt, so she received her first major rebuild in the winter of 1994-95. She is currently in her original WWII RAF colour scheme, resplendent in the 222 (Natal) Sqn codes she wore during her wartime service.

Spitfire Mk Vb EP120 (The Fighter Collection)

Many Spitfires in the UK have some sort of wartime combat record, however Spitfire Mk Vb EP120, at seven kills represents a real combat proven fighter. EP120 is currently one of only four Mk V Spitfires in the world with airworthy status, though more are currently under restoration to flying condition. 

EP120 was built at Castle Bromwich, and entered RAF service in May 1942 with 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron at Ibsely in Hampshire. Whilst in the hands of the Ibsley Wing Leader,  Wing Commander 'Pat' Gibbs, she claimed her first kill; a Do17.  

The aircraft was badly damaged on the 16th July 1942 after a ground collision as was very nearly written off. After repairs, EP120 returned to 501 Sqn in time to provide air cover for the withdrawal of forces involved in Operation 'Jubilee', the disastrous Dieppe raid, flying three sorties over the beach head to protect the the shipping convoy taking troops and equipment off the beach at Dieppe. The third sortie was flown by Wg Cdr Gibbs, which saw a number of skirmishes with marauding FW190's before three Dornier Do-217's were sighted south of the convoy. Gibbs was able to bring EP120 onto the tail of one of the Dornier's and open fire with cannon and machine guns before himself being attacked by an FW190. Gibbs shook the '190, dived to sea level and met the rest of Yellow Section before heading home. Unsure that the Do-217 had been shot down, this was later verified by two other pilots Sqn Ldr Sing (Yellow 1) and Fg Off Scott (Yellow 2), so Gibbs was credited with the kill.

EP120 was damaged again later in July 1942, but after repair she was allocated to 19 Sqn at RAF Perranporth, part of 10 Group in Cornwall. At this time, the RAF's Spitfire Mk Vb fleet was being upgraded in an effort to combat the new Focke Wulf FW190, which was superior to the RAF's Spitfire V. EP120 was modified having her wings clipped and the Supercharger impeller blades cropped to improve the performance of the engine. At this time the Spitfire Mk IX was entering service as a counter to the FW190 problem, and the older Mk Vb was generally seen as "clapped out" by fighter pilots. These modifications lead to the name "Clipped, Cropped and Clapped". EP120 flew a total of 61 combat sorties with 19 Sqn over a seven month period, most of these being channel shipping protection patrols, though she scored no kills. 

The squadron flew to Digby and exchanged it's Spitfire Vb's on the 22nd April 1943 with the Canadian 402 (City of Winnipeg) Sqn, and it was here that EP120 was re-coded AE-A. As EP120 arrived, so did a new squadron commander, Malta veteran Sqn Ldr Geoffrey Wilson  Northcott DSO, DFC and he adopted EP120 as his own personal machine, although other pilots were to fly her. 

Northcott scored his first victory after five days as 402 Sqn's CO.  Flying EP120, Northcott made his first kill against a Bf109 which was defending a German convoy from attack by Beaufighters off the Dutch coast. The '109 was struck by fire from EP120 and crashed into the sea, and although initially claimed as probable, it was later confirmed. 

After minor modifications at 3501 Servicing Unit at Cranfield between 1st and 6th July, the Squadron returned to Digby. The 2nd of August proved to be another eventful day both for EP120, and Northcott, when 402 Sqn was tasked with providing cover for another Beaufighter strike against German convoy's operating around Den Helder. After refuelling at Coltishall, the squadron flew across at low level under thick cloud, arriving at around 11:00hrs to take up station. Six Bf109's were spotted to the north east; 402 Sqn and sister unit 412 Sqn, turned to engage. Northcott flying "his" EP120 was able to bring down two Bf109's in this action using 30 rounds of cannon ammunition and 300 machine gun rounds. This action earned Sqn Ldr Northcott a bar to his DFC.

Apart from providing cover for RAF Beaufighters, the squadron also flew escort missions for USAAF B26 Marauders. On 22nd August 1943 402 Sqn was ordered to provide top cover for an attack on Beaumont Le Roget, in which the bomber formation came under attack by 15 plus FW190's. Eight more rose to attack and it was 402 Sqn who met this force head on. In the following mêlée, Northcott latched onto the leader and shot him down with a short burst of combined cannon and machine gun fire. 

On another B26 escort mission over Lille on 4th September, a mixed force of Bf109's and FW190's  rose to attack the bombers, although largely driven off by 402 Sqn, though some were able to attack the bombers. The formation was attacked again over Le Touquet by FW190's, but they were once again engaged by the escorting Spitfires with Northcott flying EP120 attacking another FW190 tearing off it's port wing in the process, one of four FW190's shot down with another claimed as damaged.

The last two victories claimed by Northcott in EP120 were another Bf109 on 3rd October 1943, and the last on the 3rd November while escorting 72 B26's on a raid over Schiphol with 412 Sqn.  The wing sighted a formation of Bf109's en route to the target and engaged, the wing brought down a total of nine enemy aircraft with Northcott claiming one destroyed.

On the 12 February1944 EP120 suffered another accident and was transferred to 33 MU, after which she was allocated to 53 Operational Training Unit at Kirton-in-Lindsey, until May 1945. Her flying service ended on 2nd June 1945 when she was transferred to No 4 School of Technical Training at RAF St Athan as 5377M to assist in the education of RAF mechanics.

After this duty she was to take on gate guardian duties at RAF Wilmslow, RAF Bircham Newton and RAF Boulmer. At Boulmer she was restored by Senior Technician John Ayling who used spares from Spitfire Mk XVI TD135, which had been moved to the dump at RAF Dishforth, and EP120 was once again put on display as a gate guardian.

Like many of the UK's Spitfires, EP120 was recruited by Spitfire Productions Ltd, and found a role in the now famous 1967/68 Battle of Britain film, but only as a static airframe. After film work was complete, she found her way to the gate at RAF Wattisham in Suffolk. With the introduction of full scale fibreglass replicas of WWII aircraft, the RAF was able to place all remaining Spitfires in store at RAF St Athan. EP120 was removed from RAF Wattisham, and place in store with other machines, for use as trading material for the RAF Museum. Many of the machines stored by the RAF, found their way into private hands to be restored back to airworthy condition. EP120 was rescued by The Fighter Collection in 1993 and overhauled by Historic Flying Ltd at their former home at Audley End, and was restored between mid 1993 and June 1996 and returned to her 402 (City of Winnipeg) Sqn colours. A brief flight was made in September 1995 but she was grounded with propeller and engine troubles over the winter and much of the spring of 1996.

Grumman F6F-5K Hellcat (The Fighter Collection)

F6F-5K Hellcat, BuNo 40467 was built in 1943, and is known to have been flown by US Navy ace Lt Alex Vraciu whilst serving with VF-6. Vraciu was able to account for nine enemy aircraft in the process.

40467 was retired from VF-6, and sent to the newly formed VF-18 who at the time were training at Hilo in the Hawiian Islands. Oddly the aircraft was retired from frontline service, and on the 29th August 1944 was transferred to the Naval Air Technical Training College (NATTC) in Chicago.

Alex Vraciu was engaged on a War Bond fund raising tour based at the NATTC, where he met with his former mount, however Vraciu persuaded Navy chiefs to return him to frontline duties, and therefore cut the tour short to return to the Pacific. Alex Vraciu finished his Naval service with the rank of Commander.

After the war, the NATTC was closed and the complex became the Chicago vocational training school. 40467 continued to serve as a training aid in the same location for twenty years. 

40467 was struck off charge and acquired by a US collector Earl Rienert, who placed the aircraft on display as part of his collection at Mundelein, Illinois. After acquisition by Ed Maloney at Planes of Fame, the machine was bought by Tom Friedkin who had recently lost his own Hellcat in a crash. Much needed restoration work was started in California in mid 1990, however after purchase by The Fighter Collection, 40467 arrived in Britain via Southampton, for the restoration work to be completed by TFC engineers. Alex Vraciu flew 40467 to nine victories and in the "Great Mariana's Turkey Shoot" he destroyed 6 Japanese Yokosuka D4Y dive bombers in eight minutes. Alex ended the war with a further ten victories. Vraciu was once again reunited with his former aircraft when she rolled out of her restoration.

The Hellcat represents the steel and determination of US Navy and Marine Corps pilots who fought in the Pacific, as well as the other users such as the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.  TFC's Hellcat is another unique aircraft  in European skies, and is flown at many air displays throughout the UK. 

Photos:  Top: TFC Hellcat 40467 © UK Warbirds.    Bottom:  Lt Alex Vraciu after his six victories in the Great Mariana's turkey shoot.

P-51D Mustang P-51D-20-NA  44-63864 "Twilight Tear" (The Fighter Collection)

This aircraft was built at North American Aviation's huge factory in California late in 1944 before being delivered to the USAAF in December that year. Early in 1945, the fighter was crated up and shipped to the UK to join the Eighth Air Force's Duxford-based 78th Fighter Group - one of 60 brand new P-51 Mustangs delivered to the 78th Fighter Group as replacements for the Group's P-47 Thunderbolts.

The aircraft was assigned to Lt Hubert "Bill" Davis who called it Twilight Tear and flew the bulk of his 35 combat missions in it, scoring three aerial victories and one damaged. Twilight Tear remained at Duxford until the end of the war and was then flown to Speke, near Liverpool in July 1945 where she was handed over to the American Assembly Unit Number One for storage. In the late 1940s, the Swedish government purchased a number of surplus Mustangs from the USAAF to equip the Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) and Twilight Tear was one of the Mustangs purchased and ferried to Sweden via Scotland. She stayed with the Flygvapnet until 1953 when the Mustangs were phased out. Once more, Twilight Tear was up for sale and this time, was purchased by Henry Wallenburg and Co and ferried to Israel, via Athens and Rome.

Upon arrival in the Middle East, the Mustang was allocated a new identity and served with the Israeli Defence Force until being retired in 1961. Twilight Tear's whereabouts are then unknown, although it is thought she was placed in storage, until March 1978 when she was spotted on static display outside at Herzlia. A former Israeli Defence Air Force pilot, Israel Itzhaki, duly acquired the Mustang and decided to restore her to airworthiness. With some help from several American collectors and despite limited resources, Itzhaki restored Twilight Tear to airworthy status and the aircraft remained in Israel.

In December 1986 Itzhaki decided to sell Twilight Tear, and The Fighter Collection's Founder Stephen Grey inspected and test flew her on behalf of the Swedish company FlygExpo. The aircraft was duly ferried to Malmo in Sweden and painted in full Swedish Air Force markings. She remained in Scandinavia until acquired by the Duxford-based Fighter Collection in April 2002.

It was whilst the aircraft was under-going a thorough over-haul and maintenance work in The Fighter Collection's workshops at Duxford that her true identity was discovered and subsequently verified by Stephen Grey, who went to great lengths to prove the provenance of this historic Mustang - Twilight Tear had come home.

Text IWM Duxford    

P-51D Mustang P-51D-20-NA "Miss Helen" (Robs Lamplough)

It's hard to find P-51's that served with the Eighth Air Force here in the UK, however 44-72216 Miss Helen   is one such a machine, serving with the famous 352nd Fighter Group at Bodney in Norfolk, otherwise known as "The Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney". 

Built at Inglewood California and given the construction No: 12238675 this aircraft was one of 1,600 of this model built at the Inglewood plant. Once completed and given the serial No: 44-72216, she was accepted into service with the USAAF on the 8th January 1945. The war was in it's final phase, but machines were still needed in Europe as even now the Luftwaffe could prove dangerous and allied fighters were still being lost. 

Upon arriving in the UK, she was assigned to the 487th Fighter Squadron. The 352nd FG had been in the thick of it whilst being deployed forward to strips located at Asche and Chievres in Belgium since 23rd December 1944 but returned to their permanent base on 13th April 1945. 44-72216 was assigned to Captain Raymond H Littge as his personal aircraft. She was painted in the units markings of medium blue nose, the squadron markings of a blue rudder and "HO" codes. The individual code letter " M " was applied. This was underlined as the this was one of two aircraft with the same code letter. Littge's previous mount 44-11330 E Pluribus Unum, is thought to have been written off on Belgium, so he named his new aircraft Miss Helen, after his girlfriend Helen Fischer, who he went on to marry after the war. Littge was no rookie pilot, he already had 10½ confirmed kills one of which was a Messerschmitt 262 jet fighter, and four other ground kills gained during strafing runs over German airfields. 

The exact amount of missions flown by Littge in this aircraft still remains a mystery, however we do know that he was flying Miss HELEN   on 17th April 1945. On this date the 352nd FG was tasked with providing escort for B17s launching a follow up attack upon the marshalling yards at Dresden in south east Germany.  

At 11:15 hrs 52 P-51s were taking off under the leadership of Col James D Mayden, commander of the 352nd FG. Lead by Lt Col W T Halton, the 487th FS contributed 18 aircraft to this large force. Capt Littge was leading 'Red Flight' flying in Miss HELEN.

The 352nd joined the bombers at 20,000ft at 13:05 hrs, flying to the south of Fulda. The formation of bombers came under attack from Me 262s making the usual head-on passes, the fighters also came under attack and one was left damaged. The Me 262 was more than a match for the P-51 and the Luftwaffe suffered no casualties. When reaching the Filders area, 24 fighters lead by Mayden left the B17s and swooped down to their briefed patrol areas to find enemy airfields. They came across the airfield at Plattling in which 70 plus aircraft were parked. The first eight aircraft made a low pass to draw the flak,  eight others including Littge's 'Red Flight', hit the flak positions, while the rest provided top cover. For half an hour each flight took it in turns to make passes over the airfield after a left-right traffic pattern had been established. 

In all 66 aircraft were destroyed in these attacks and a further 24 were badly damaged. Six of the destroyed  aircraft were claimed by Littge, four Bf109s and two Me262s. During the initial attack on the AA defenses, Miss HELEN   was hit quite badly with the oil tank holed and almost emptied, the manifold pressure line and two electrical lines were also hit. In all Ray Littge made seven passes at various parked aircraft.  For this action, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. 

Although the 352nd were to fly four more missions, it is unknown whether Miss Helen flew on any of these as she needed urgent attention after the Plattling attacks.

May 4th, four days before the German surrender, Littge returned to the USA and Miss HELEN was passed onto Lt Russell Ross who had flown as wingman to Littge on many occasions. On 27th December 1944 he came to Littge's assistance as a Fw-190 tried to attack Littge's Mustang, Ross shot down the Fw-190 his only kill of the war. The aircraft was renamed Miss Nita for the remainder of the war.

44-72216 remained in storage for 18 months before officially being struck off USAAF inventory on 13th June 1947. This was not the end for this aircraft as she was one of many  P-51's exported second hand to Sweden in 1947. All aircraft destined for service in Sweden were gathered together at Metfield in Suffolk, before heading north for a new life in the Royal Swedish Air Force. Given a new identity 26116, and re-designated J26 (Jaktplan or Fighter 26) she was officially accepted into Swedish service in 25th February 1948 with Flygflottilj 4 (F4) based at Froson in northern Sweden. It was only a short stay as the aircraft was relocated to Uppsala with F16. All Swedish P-51s remained in bare metal finish, with only the spinner painted in the division colours. (See the recent addition to The Fighter Collection, right)

After five years service 22116, along with all other Mustangs serving with the RSAF, was again struck off charge on 19th March 1953. The aircraft had another escape from the breakers as she was one of 25 P-51s sold on to Israel between 1952 and 1953. No documentation exists of her service with the Israeli Defence Force only that she wore the code"43", and although they initially remained in the bare metal finish, this was painted over with a tan and bluish camouflage with the code applied in white. 

By now piston engined fighters were obsolete as jet aircraft were becoming more common, so her days of ruling the skies were over and she was used for ground attack. The IDF had 30 P-51s on active duty for Operation Kadesh or the "100 Hour War" in which Israel occupied the Sinai Desert in October 1956. The Mustangs were deployed to strafe troops, and convoys using rockets, napalm, and the onboard 0.50 Cal machine guns. Another interesting use of the P-51 was cutting Egyptian communications. This was achieved by flying through the cables and using the propeller to cut the cables, an unorthodox but never the less dangerous operation. Operation Kadesh cost the IDF ten of its Mustangs all lost to ground fire.

As Israel's jet aircraft became more widespread, the P-51s were relegated to advanced training duties, and by the end of the 1950's they were withdrawn for good, the Mustang's reign was finally over.

"43" was now resigned to a children's playground in Ein Gedi, where she was left to the elements, a dying warbird. But even now she was not finished, as Mr Robs Lamplough a British warbird collector became aware of a number of rare warbirds scattered around Israel. Teams were dispatched to recover these airframes and ship them back to the UK, where after a short stay at Wycombe Air Park, they arrived at Duxford starting in 1976. In all, the haul included four Mustangs, three Spitfires, a Yak C-11, and a Hawker Hurricane Mk.IV, with most of these finding their way to other collectors and restorers. Among the team was engineer Norman Chapman, who upon inspection of the four Mustangs told Robs Lamplough that out of all of them, "43" was the best bet for a restoration project, as she was the least corroded. 

Any restoration job is a major task, as the first job is to strip the aircraft and after cleaning the components, ascertain was is recoverable and what needs to be replaced. So it was with "43", the wings were replaced with those from 44-72770, another Mustang those wings had found their way to the Dutch Technical School at Delft. As the restoration progressed it became clear that they were dealing with a Mustang with a famous past. Upon discovery of the aircraft's original serial number, they were able to trace the aircraft back to Bodney and Captain Raymond Littge. Another of the Mustangs brought back to England (44-72028) served in the Pacific Theatre with the 5th Air Force, and is currently undergoing rebuild at Tee-side, Durham. This aircraft is being restored with the original wings of 44-72770, so it will be interesting to see if the wing sections are swapped at a later date.

The restoration project moved to North Weald in Essex after five years at Duxford, with 44-72770 arriving on 3rd July 1981, it was in a purpose built hangar that she was finally completed and registered with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as G-BIXL. On the 5th May 1987, still in her bare metal finish, she took to the air for the first time in nearly thirty years in the hands of Lloyd Hamilton. Further test flights were carried out by Mark Hanna, and the aircraft was re-painted in the original 352nd FG colours. The aircraft individual marking details were provided to the restoration team by Sam Sox, Jr and Troy White, both Honourary Associate members of the 352nd FG Association. 

This colour scheme didn't last long however, as Hollywood beckoned. Along with five other Mustangs, she was painted in an olive drab colour scheme with grey undersides,  the codes AJ-L were applied and she was re-named Miss L . The stage was now set for the filming of the David Putnam movie "The Memphis Belle" and the Mustangs were to play the part of the "Little Friends".

During the winter of 2000/2001 she returned to her original 352nd FG colours, the nose being a slightly lighter shade of blue. The original post-restoration "blue nose" paint scheme was found to be too dark, however the correct shade was obtained by removing layers of the same colour paint from a former toilet block at Bodney. This was matched and the recent re-paint saw the correct shade of blue applied. 

This aircraft has a fascinating history, and is another genuine warbird that young and old alike can now enjoy at many UK airshows.

Bibliography: Britain's 'Bluenoser' -  Alan F Crouchman Flypast Magazine July/August 2001 

Thanks to former 352nd pilot Lt Bob "Punchy" Powell and Archivist Sam Sox Jr of the 352nd FG Association for their support in preparing this piece. 

Miss Helen Photo Credits

Wartime: 352nd FG Assn, Sam Sox, Jr. Archivist.

Present day:  © UK Warbirds

Spitfire T Mk 9 PV202 (Historic Flying Ltd/ Aircraft Restoration Company)

Again like many Spitfire's, PV202 was built at Castle Bromwich in 1944 as an LF IX. Completed after the D-Day landings, PV202 entered service in October 1944 with No.33 Sqn at the former Luftwaffe base at Merville in northern France operating in the close air support role. 

After PV202 had completed 20 combat sorties, the squadron returned to England in mid December to convert to the Hawker Tempest. After conversion, PV202 was briefly sent to a support unit before a second tour of duty with No 412 'Falcon' Sqn RCAF based at Heesch in the Netherlands. PV202 flew a total of 76 operational combat sorties with 412 Sqn, and scored three victories, two Focke Wulf 190's and a Messerschmitt Bf109G whilst in the hands of Flt Lt Joe Richards and Sqn Ldr 'Dewy' Dewan. 

The squadron returned to England at the end of hostilities in May 1945, and PV202 was placed in storage at High Ercall.

It was from High Ercall that PV202 would begin her next lease of life. She was one of six Mk IX's sold to Vickers for conversion to a two seat Type 509 configuration, for use with the Irish Air Corps in 1950,entering service again in June 1951 as IAC-161. She soldiered on until she was retired in December 1960 at Baldonnel. 

She returned to the UK in March 1968 after being bought by N A W Samuelson, but after four years in storage she was acquired by Sir William Roberts for his Strathallan Collection. PV202 was sold to Nick Grace along with ML407 in 1979 however she was passed to Steve Atkins who had also tried to buy the aircraft from the Strathallan Collection. It was now that PV202 would be returned to airworthy condition.

After her restoration, PV202 was returned to her 412 Sqn markings, and took to the air again from Dunsfold on 23rd February 1990 with Pete Kynsey at the controls. Once airworthy she was sold to Richard Parker as G-TRIX, who then sold her to Rick Roberts.

Sadly PV202 was involved in a tragic accident at Goodwood on 8th April 2000 that left pilots Norman Lees, (a former Falklands War Sea King pilot) and Greg McCurragh dead. 

The start of the restoration of PV202 was undertaken by Historic Flying Ltd in mid 2002. This was first for HFL as it's the first time they had restored a crash damaged airframe. The impact of the crash had left the airframe badly twisted, and much work was needed to straighten it out.

The aircraft has been fitted with a "Data Analogue Analysing System". This is the second aircraft to have the system fitted, the first being Spitfire Mk XIV RN201. This system was developed by the manufacturer Pi Research, along with the Aircraft Restoration Company and HFL, and allows engine and flight data to be monitored by computer. The system gives the engineering team the edge over potentially serious problems sooner rather than later. A carbon monoxide sensing system has also been installed in the cockpit to warn both pilot and engineers if the gas goes beyond safe limits. 

An original Rolls Royce Merlin 66 was sourced, and overhauled and rebuilt to zero time condition by a team of engineers at Universal Airmotive in Chicago.

The original raised rear canopy was removed for a lower profile in the first restoration (as with ML407), however unbelievably the aircraft's original IAC raised rear bubble canopy was located and fitted. The aircraft was returned to it's former 1950's Irish Air Corps colours as IAC-161, and re-registered as G-CCCA to give the aircraft a new identity in 2004.  IAC-161 took to the skies again on 13th January 2005.

Over the winter of 2006/2007 she was once again repainted, this time into the markings of the Koninklijke Luchtmacht (Royal Netherlands Air Force).