Dates

Event

From By September 1943 to Circa December 1943

Constructed as a Spitfire LF.IXc.

27 November 1943

First flight.

Taken on Strength/Charge with the Royal Air Force with s/n MJ627.

Assigned to No. 9 Maintenance Unit (MU), RAF Cosford for storage.
Stored until the spring of 1944.

Transferred to General Aircraft, Hanworth, Middlesex.
Sent to General Aircraft for further checks prior to going into service.

25 September 1944

Transferred to 441 (Silver Fox) Squadron (RCAF), Advanced Landing Ground B70, Belgium.
Operated with markings: 9G Q

The first operational sortie was flown by Flight Lieutenant A.A.Smith on a patrol in the Venloe/Nijmegen area.

27 September 1944

Pilot Officer Bregman took off in MJ627 to patrol the Arnhem area. At around 6000 feet, some fifteen Bf 109aCOs and Fw 190aCOs were engaged to the east of Arnhem and Bregman was later credited with the downing of a single Bf 109.

6 November 1944

Flying Officer F.E.Manette was tasked to cover 216 Lancaster Bomber aircraft that were targeting Gelsenkirchen.

10 November 1944

Flight Lieutenant Smith flew an operation to Minoru, escorting Dakotas to Paris.

27 November 1944

Flying Officer B.M Mackenzie gave top cover for Lancasters to Cologne.

29 November 1944

Officer Bregman flew as a withdrawal escort for 270 Lancasters.

8 December 1944

Flying Officer Bregman escorted 220 Lancasters to the Heinbach Dam with the Squadron then landing at Brussells as the weather had closed in at home base.

11 December 1975

To Windward Aviation Inc, Seattle, WA with new c/r N8R {3}.

15 March 1984

Photographer: JM Bryant
Notes: Champlin Fighter Museum, Falcon Field, Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA.

From 26 July 1984 to 17 April 2014

To Maurice Stuart Bayliss with new c/r G-BMSB.

8 October 1985

Certificate of airworthiness for NX8R {3} (SPITFIRE MARK IX, M-J-627) issued.

By October 2006

Photographer: Unknown

1 January 2008

Certificate of airworthiness for NX8R {3} (SPITFIRE MARK IX, M-J-627) issued.

By 28 June 2008

Markings Applied: 9G P, MJ627

4 July 2008

Photographer: Joop de Groot
Notes: 2008 photo taken at Waddington in the UK. Photo displayed with written permission of Joop de Groot

26 April 2010

To Champion Air Group Llc, Wilmington, DE with new c/r N8R {3}.

14 December 2010

Civil registration, N8R {3}, cancelled.
Exported to Germany.

17 April 2014

To RV Aviation Ltd, Beechwood, Shiplake, Henley-On-Thames with new c/r G-BMSB.

Markings Applied: 9G Q, MJ627
Markings replicate those worn by aircraft as Spitfire IX in RCAF 441 Squadron during 1944.

15 June 2016

Photographer: Rob Harvan
Notes: MJ627 owned by Biggin Hill Heritage Hanger where flights can be taken

15 June 2016

Photographer: Rob Harvan