Warbird News and Restoration Projects

A Warbird is a term that defines an ex-military aircraft which is now operated by civilian organisations or individuals. These classic aircraft are often the result of extensive restoration projects, taking vintage planes and making them exhibition or even flight worthy. The focus of these projects is to preserve these machines and protect their historical legacy.

On this page, you’ll find all the latest news about Warbirds including updates on restoration projects, exhibitions , aviation museums and events where you can see them in action and much more.

Premiere for ‘Silver Spitfire – The Longest Flight’

The feature length documentary about the famous Silver Spitfire’s global journey will debut on Sunday November 12 at 9pm on Sky History

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How do you keep the sole Rolls-Royce Merlin 63 powered Spitfire airborne?

Merlin Magic! Wearing a distinctive desert sand camouflage scheme, Supermarine Spitfire LZ842 is one of the world’s oldest Mk.IXs. Darren Harbar met up with this newly restored classic’s owner to learn more about this special survivor

Remembering Sir Tim Wallis – 1938-2023

Warbirds Over Wanaka and Alpine Fighter Collection founder Sir Tim Wallis passed away on October 17, aged 85

Duxford to mark a half century of airshows

This month’s season-closing air display at IWM Duxford, the Flying Finale, will also salute 50 years of shows at the famous airfield

OFMC Spitfire marks 80th anniversary at Duxford

The legendary Old Flying Machine Company Spitfire Mk.IX has reached a landmark ‘birthday’

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Aeroplane meets... Peter Arnold

The world’s leading Spitfire expert has been instrumental in many a project — and travelled the globe in search of airframes

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The inside story of Ireland’s two-seat Spitfires

While Vickers-Armstrongs failed to enjoy their hoped-for success with the Spitfire Trainer, the Irish Air Corps was an enthusiastic customer. Today, these aircraft have assumed great importance on the warbird scene. With new research and never-before-seen archive photographs, this is the most comprehensive study yet of Ireland’s two-seat ‘Spits’

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How the Soviets used the iconic Spitfire in combat

Vladimir Kotelnikov, in the February 2014 issue of FlyPast, revealed the Spitfire’s combat career with Soviet forces.

Owning a Spitfire: does it live up to the dream?

George Haye has fulfilled the dream of owning a Spitfire having bought RW382/G-PBIX, which is also known as the Suffolk Spitfire. He tells Key Aero’s Dino Carrara whether the reality of owning this iconic warbird has lived up to the dream.

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Spitfire missions of Rhodesian-manned 266 Squadron

From a special Key Publishing magazine on the Spitfire, Andrew Thomas outlines the exploits of the Rhodesian-manned 266 Squadron

Preserving Warbirds for future generations

The use of warbirds ranges from racing and restorations to exhibiting at airshows where enthusiasts will be treated to close up contact with legendary aircraft like the Supermarine Spitfire, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and the Messerschmitt Bf 109.

The name Warbirds once referred to World War II era fighter aircraft like the North American P-51 Mustang, North American T-6 Texan and Hawker Sea Fury, but in recent years it has come to mean any former military aircraft type now flown by airforce heritage squadrons, civilian organisations and private owners. 

There are a lot of airshows that have static and flight displays by Warbirds and the United States has many of them. Enthusiasts, as well as airforce heritage squadrons and civilian organisations, fly their aircraft at these shows. A high-profile enthusiasts’ project, the Silver Spitfire, flew its original 1943 build Supermarine Spitfire in a shining silvery livery around the world with the help of sponsors. The Spitfire is a popular Warbird and other military aircraft favoured by restoration enthusiasts include the Mikoyan MiG-15 and Grumman F6F Hellcat, along with the Spitfire and Mustang.

The airshows in the USA include, the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; the Alliance Airshow in Fort Worth, Texas; Dayton Airshow in Dayton, Ohio; the History of Flight Airshow in New York state and the Indianapolis Airshow in Indiana. Outside of the USA, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom also have a number of Warbird shows. New Zealand has the Classic Fighters Omaka in Blenheim and the Warbirds over Wanaka in Wanaka. Australia has Warbirds Downunder in Temora, while the UK's Warbirds airshows include Flying Legends, which takes place at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, and the Bedfordshire, UK-based Shuttleworth Collection which has displays in the summer. France also has an annual show, La Ferté-Alais, which takes place 50 kilometres south of Paris.

Don’t miss our dedicated page on international airshow news & updates.

The future of Warbirds and Warbird projects

Future generations will be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of Warbirds from airforces’ days gone by as restoration projects increase in number and widen in aircraft type worldwide. Find here the latest information about projects from Australia to Italy, and aircraft types from the World War II Helldiver to the 1950s Thunderstreak.

Whether the airframe to be restored was found in the Pacific’s Solomon Islands or had been retired to a safe hangar, the challenge can be a full bottom up reconstruction or trying to find a missing engine. The committed individuals and companies that restore these Warbirds have a story to tell in the great lengths they will go to in the hope of seeing these aircraft fly again.

The stories can be as simple as replacing damaged skin fabric and lubricating mechanical systems back to a functional state, which was what was needed for an RAF Westland Lysander; but they can be as challenging as a decades long, slow search for parts and reconstruction; which was necessary for a Royal Australian Air Force Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk which had crashed on Rattlesnake Island, just off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Often the key areas for these restorations are missing engines or control system parts, wing or tail repair, a need for new nose and main gear tyres and seats for the pilots and navigator.

Obstacles to be overcome to return a Warbird to flight have included fixing a troublesome elevator pushrod, replacing cockpit cowl rails, or stripping off a worn-out faded livery and replacing it with a fresh coat of paint. It is the commitment to the Warbirds and the stories behind their return to flight that are as engaging as the sight of seeing the beautiful machines soar among the clouds once more; and all those stories can be found here.

Other military aircraft categories

Looking for military aircraft news or updates from your favourite military aircraft airshows? Or information on other military fighter aircraft?

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