Spitfire Mark XVI - Hamilton. New Zealand.
S 37° 47.305 E 175° 17.315
60H E 349305 N 5816280
An exact replica of a Spitfire Mark XVI stands in Memorial Park, Hamilton, to commemorate the men and women who served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force in the wars 1939 - 1945.
Waymark Code: WM8BNF
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 03/07/2010
Views: 7
The egg-blue Spitfire Mark XVI was the city's first memorial to Air Force personnel, particularly the 3687 who died on active service during the 1939-1945 war, and to Hamilton's and the Waikato's strong aviation links.
When aviation pioneer Ossie James, a former RNZAF engineer who founded James Aviation, realised he could buy a Spitfire mould in Christchurch, he decided to act before it was too late - to commemorate the airmen who died and all those who supported them in roles from engineers to armourers, before they were gone.
He purchased a Spitfire mould in Christchurch, and created this exact replica of the real thing.
It was "flown" down the Waikato River....with help from a helicopter, hanging beneath it, and placed in Memorial Park where it proudly stands high in the air, as an Airforce memorial.
The Spitfire was one of the most famous World War II aircraft. There were 400 in service at the start of the war and 20,351 had been built by the time production finished in 1948.
Spitfires saw action over most battlegrounds, from Europe to Australia, as fighters and in reconnaissance.