Restored Spitfire Mark 1 to go under the hammer at Christies for $4.9 million

MORE than 22,000 Spitfires were built to defend the British Empire in World War II. Now the famous fighter is so rare they’re asking $4.9 million for this original, flying example.

MORE than 22,000 Spitfires were built to defend the British Empire in World War II. Now the famous fighter is so rare they’re asking $4.9 million for this original, flying example.

The Christies auction will be held in London on July 9, 2015.

This particular Spitfire Mk I — serial number P9374 — was shot down over the French port of Dunkirk in 1940. It took only a single bullet from the German Do-17Z bomber it was attacking to disable its engine.

Low mileage ... Spitfire P9374 had completed little more than 30 flying hours before being shot down. Source: Christies

Pilot Peter Cazenove — later of ‘Great Escape’ fame — managed to put the overheating plane down safely on a sandy beach at Calais. “Tell mother I’ll be home for tea,” he reportedly radioed as he went down.

Cazenove was later captured, and his fighter quickly swallowed up by the beach’s shifting sands.

Forty years later, in September 1980, the tides once again exposed its by now heavily corroded hulk. Souvenir hunters added to the extensive damage.

Out of the mud ... Spitfire P9374 emerges from a sandy beach near Calais in 1980. Source: Christies

But an army of enthusiasts were able to salvage a major portion of the historic aircraft and begin a long process of restoring it to its former airworthy glory.

After passing through the hands of several collectors, US art philanthropist Thomas Kaplan bought the aircraft and funded a particularly pedantic reconstruction process.

He hired a team of 12 aeronautical engineers for the three-year project, and not any old spare part would do. Only those with similar date-stamps as the original aircraft were accepted to ensure a rare degree of authenticity.

It flew again for the first time in September 2011.

In the air again ... Fully restored Spitfire P9374 during a demonstration flight. Source: Christies

It is now one of only two flying examples of the Spitfire in its original Mk I form. Kaplan also owns the other one. He recently donated that machine N3200 — to Britain’s Imperial War Museum in Duxford.

Proceeds from the sale will go to the RAF Benevolent Fund and a wildlife conservation charity.