Royal Air Force Northolt 
Gate Guardians
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Picture of Spitfire

TE476 Spitfire LF16E guards the old gate on the A40. The old terminal is visible in the background (ML)

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TE476 as it is today in the USA		 Spitfire LF16E TE476 was delivered to the RAF in 1945 having been built at Castle Bromwich.  It flew with the Battle of Britain memorial flight until 1960 when it was damaged in a belly landing.  The aircraft then acted as gate guard at RAF Neatishead until 1967 when it was taken to RAF Henlow and used in taxy scenes in the film 'Battle of Britain'.  This aircraft arrived by road at Northolt on 2nd June 1970 and acted as gate guard until 8th September 1989 when it was removed, having been acquired by Historic Flying Ltd as G-XVIB, which was registered on 3rd July 1989.  The Spitfire was then sold on to the Kermit Weeks/Fantasy of Flight Museum in Polk City, Florida and re-registered as N476TE !  It was shipped to the USA in 1989 but due to a hurricane damaging the Kermit weeks workshops the aircraft was shipped back to Personal Plane Services in the UK for restoration in 1992.  The aircraft was restored using about 90% of its original skins and the first flight for 35 years occurred in June 1995.  It was then shipped back to Polk city to act as a flying exhibit.  TE476 is coded GE-D and named 'Winston Churchill', marked in 349(Belgium) Squadron scheme.

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Pictured in the same position as TE476 but several years earlier is  Spitfire F mk.22 PK624 c/n CBAF.189.  Having acted as Gate guard at RAF North Weald until 1958 the aircraft was then displayed at RAF Uxbridge as 'WP916'  but was moved to Northolt in 1963 where it re-acquired its original serial and remained until 1968 when it departed to RAF Henlow where it was used in the film 'The Battle of Britain'. The Spitfire was then acted as Gate Guard at RAF Abingdon between 1970-1989 and was then stored at RAF St Athan untill 1994 when the Fighter Collection at Duxford acquired it for potential restoration to flying condition.  However, this work was halted in 2001.

(thanks to Ken Wilkinson for the photo)

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A plastic replica Spitfire, serialled MH777/RF-N now resides mounted on a pole on the north side of the airfield, first having been noted on 17th October 1990.  It is just visible from the main entrance to the base in West End Road (ML)

thanks to www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org, fantasy of Flight website and www.boblade.com  for information used on this page

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