Rare WWII Spitfire Gets Packed For Shipping – There Are A Few Risks

Rare WWII Spitfire Gets Packed For Shipping – There Are A Few Risks | World War Wings Videos

Smithsonian Channel / YouTube

Purchasing a Spitfire

It must be nice to own one of these. | Smithsonian Channel / YouTube

If you bought yourself a Spitfire, there’s two things that would happen immediately afterward. First, you nearly pass out from excitement. And second, you think logistics; how do you close the physical gap between you and the shiny new love of your life?

Well, the most obvious answer should be to purchase a plane ticket to the the Spitfire’s location, hop right into the cockpit, and never look back.

It’s Expensive

The team disassembles the wing. | Smithsonian Channel / YouTube

But if you just want it to arrive at your doorstep, you’ve just created one heck of a project for your team. Packing up a Spitfire for transportation is no joke, and the stakes are high for a plane so rare.

Tom, the owner, bought this Spitfire for two million dollars. He spent another three-hundred thousand restoring it. But he’ll spend an additional forty thousand transporting it to America.

Boxing It Up

Oops. Don’t do this. | Smithsonian Channel / YouTube

First, it needs to be delicately disassembled. The propellor comes off first so that when the wings come off, the plane doesn’t topple on its nose. The team build supports and bring in cranes. Each panel is carefully wrapped for later reassembly.  You can see in the video how cautious the the team handles the Spitfire, cradling and cushioning wherever possible.

The team wants to be absolutely sure that they do everything in their power to fortify the plane before it goes in the actual container. Once in transport, anything could happen to it on the road or on the ship. That’s probably their worst nightmare.

This video is also a small reminder that it’s a marvel that planes made their way across a very dangerous world during WWII.

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