RAF Cosford-based Spitfire to visit Telford and Shrewsbury during spring tour
A Spitfire from RAF Cosford will go on tour this summer as part of the Midlands museum’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
The iconic aircraft will visit four locations across the Midlands in May, June and July, touring some of the region’s popular landmarks, highlighting and celebrating the area’s rich RAF heritage.
It will first visit Telford's Southwater on May 14-15 and will be available for families and enthusiasts to get up close to the aircraft and take part in interactive activities on the ground.
Ground crew will showcase a collection of wartime props, whilst sharing stories from the RAF and what people can enjoy when they visit the museum, near to Albrighton.
Later on in the tour it will visit Shrewsbury's Quarry Park during the county town's food festival.
The Midlands is steeped in RAF history; during the Second World War it was home to the largest Spitfire factory in the UK at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham which produced 11,939 aeroplanes by 1945, more than half of the 20,000 produced across the UK.
Thousands of people from across the Midlands have a connection with the RAF story, from the many men and women who served in the RAF, to members of the public who came together and supported the war efforts through spitfire funds.
A tour of the rare blue reconnaissance Spitfire PR XIX will also stop off in Coventry, Leicester and Shrewsbury for a weekend of engagement with families, shoppers, commuters, and festival goers at each location.
Barry Smith, the RAF Museum Director of Visitor and Commercial Development said: "This year the RAF Museum Midlands is celebrating 50 years of sharing RAF stories, and what better way to celebrate this than to take one of our most iconic aircraft out on tour?
"The RAF has a long history in the Midlands, and we’re excited to share these stories within the community, and with new audiences who may not have visited the museum before."
The full schedule is:
Southwater, Telford: May 14-15
Coventry Food Festival, Millennium Point, Coventry: June 18–19
Shrewsbury Food Festival, Quarry Park, Shrewsbury: June 25-26
Jubilee Square, Leicester: July 16-17
