The Mk VII Spitfire EN474 at the Smithsonian

[PeterA]

I have had a report that EN474 has been moved from public display and is now in storage.

Does anybody know the story behind this?

PeterA

[mike furline]

NASM's webpage does indicate that it is not on public display. Maybe it was time for a refresh?

https://airandspace.si.edu/sites/defaul ... 000001.jpg

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-o ... hf-mk-viic

Feb. 24, 1944

Last edited by mike furline on Mon Aug 26, 2019 7:04 am, edited 4 times in total.

[Sopwith]

Looking at that photo it looks as if it has a thin layer of filler over it as you can’t see the riveting.

[Marauderman26]

EN474 was DE-installed along with all of the artifacts on the west end of the museum as part of the "Transformation" project of the downtown museum. https://airandspace.si.edu/about-transformation

The airframe is now in storage at the Udvar-Hazy center.
There are no current plans to change the aircraft in any way or date when it will be reassembled a put back on display.

[PeterA]

Many thanks.

A Smithsonian Press Release of October 2018:-

In January, seven exhibitions—“America by Air,” “Sea-Air Operations,” “Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles,” “Golden Age of Flight,” “World War II Aviation,” “Jet Aviation” and “Legend, Memory and the Great War in the Air” will close. Some of artifacts that will go off display with these closures include the Douglas DC-3, Boeing 747 nose, Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VIII and the Hughes H1 Racer. The virtual reality and flight simulators will also close temporarily until they are moved to the east end of the building.

PeterA