Historic MJ755 Spitfire landing at Corfu Airport on Thursday 27 May
spitfire
25 May 2021
/ 18:57
CORFU. The British aircraft that helped contain the German Stukas in the Second World War will be landing at Corfu Airport on Thursday morning on its way to Athens.
The Supermarine Spitfire MJ755 took off from the UK on Tuesday and will land at Tatoi Air Base outside Athens on Thursday evening. The Ikaros Foundation financed the restoration of the plane on behalf of the Hellenic Air Force.
According to the report by Vassilis Pias for Athens-Macedonian News Agency, the MJ755 was one of 77 Spitfires presented to the then Hellenic Royal Air Force to help rebuild Greece's fleet and was delivered to Athens by RAF pilot George Dunn on 27 February, 1947. In April of that year, it joined the 335th Royal Hellenic Pursuit Squadron in Sedes and from 1949 it was used as a training aircraft for military pilots in Tatoi.
In 1950, it was transferred to the State Aircraft Factory in Phaliro, where it was converted to a photo-reconnaissance plane. Its last flight was in 1953 before it was permanently grounded and turned into an exhibit, first at the Tatoi air base and then in the courtyard of the War Museum in Athens. It was transferred back to Tatoi in 1995 after the creation of the Air Force Museum and in 2018 it was sent to a special restoration facility at Biggin Hill outside London for a complete makeover.
Dimitris Kolias, the vice-president of the Ikaros Foundation, told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, "The training of the Greek pilots who will fly the plane during anniversary events will begin in the UK in June because everything is now closed due to the pandemic."
According to the report by Vassilis Pias for Athens-Macedonian News Agency, the MJ755 was one of 77 Spitfires presented to the then Hellenic Royal Air Force to help rebuild Greece's fleet and was delivered to Athens by RAF pilot George Dunn on 27 February, 1947. In April of that year, it joined the 335th Royal Hellenic Pursuit Squadron in Sedes and from 1949 it was used as a training aircraft for military pilots in Tatoi.
In 1950, it was transferred to the State Aircraft Factory in Phaliro, where it was converted to a photo-reconnaissance plane. Its last flight was in 1953 before it was permanently grounded and turned into an exhibit, first at the Tatoi air base and then in the courtyard of the War Museum in Athens. It was transferred back to Tatoi in 1995 after the creation of the Air Force Museum and in 2018 it was sent to a special restoration facility at Biggin Hill outside London for a complete makeover.
Dimitris Kolias, the vice-president of the Ikaros Foundation, told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, "The training of the Greek pilots who will fly the plane during anniversary events will begin in the UK in June because everything is now closed due to the pandemic."
