• History.Churchill, Hitler, Franco and the actor of 'What the wind took away' that could change World War II
  • Multimedia special. 75 years of the Normandy landing

A British Spitfire fighter from World War II has just embarked on a journey worthy of the old aerial deeds of the 20s and 30s of the 20th century. Under the command of two experienced pilots, Matt Jones and Steve Brooks, this device has started on Monday a world tour that will last for four months . In this great physical, mechanical and logistic adventure, the legendary plane will cross the Arctic, the deserts of the Middle East or the jungles of Southeast Asia.

The device, with serial number CBAFIX970 was built in 1943 and participated in 51 missions with squads 118 and 132 during the contest that included theaters such as Normandy, Holland or Germany, where it attacked V-1 rocket-bomb shuttles and escorted many times to the US bombers. After the war he ended up stranded in a museum and did not fly again until 75 years later. Each of its 80,000 pieces has been disassembled, cleaned, checked and restored by specialized mechanics , who have been surprised again by the accuracy of the aircraft. It should be remembered that the Spitfire was the key weapon in keeping the Third Reich troops away from Great Britain during the most uncertain phase of the war, in which the Luftwaffe fighters were imposed. For this adventure the plane has been stripped of the original camouflage and has a silver color on the bare aluminum.

Image of the Silver Spitfire, before taking off.RAF

The flight honors the Royal Outside Air, which turns 100 and coincides with the 78th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of England . In addition, the sponsor, the IWC company, dedicated to pilot watches, celebrates its 150th birthday. "The Spitfire is an iconic symbol of aerospace engineering. I am delighted to see this unique piece of British history because it shows the best of our country to the world, encouraging people to visit, study and do business here, " said Liam Fox , the minister of Commerce of the United Kingdom, present at the takeoff the Spitfire.

For Matt Jones, one of the pilots, "The decision to fly the Silver Spitfire around the world was a matter of instinct. We honor the history of the plane, the people who built, maintained and flew through more than 50 missions. We want commemorate those who lost their lives in one of these planes in the pursuit of freedom . It will be exciting to take it to many of the places where it served seven decades ago and to fly to the public. "

During the crossing, another device will accompany the mythical plane and take pictures of those places that it crosses, such as the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, Mount Fuji or the top of Everest.

The flight of the Spitfire coincides these days with the mission of Robert Ballard, the expeditionary who found the wreck of the Titanic, who is now looking for the plane in which the pilot Amelia Earhart crashed in the middle of the Pacific 81 years ago.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • UK
  • WWII

Atomic tragedy Hiroshima urges young people not to forget the atomic bomb on the 74th anniversary of its launch

Spy stories Eddie Chapman: the thief, 'playboy' and spy who cheated the Nazis three times

TurkeyBoris Johnson, the 'Turk': the prime minister who came from deep Anatolia