MALTA AVIATION MUSEUM

The first event for the newly reconstructed Spitfire was to be on display at St George's Square, Valletta for the 50th Anniversary celebrations of VE Day.

 

The reconstruction of Spitfire IX EN199 to static condition took two years to complete. It was a race against time towards the end as our Foundation had promised the event's organising committee that it would be the prime exhibit on Palace Square, Valletta, on the weekend of the 8th May, 1995. On the Friday night we were allowed entrance to the City via Republic Street after 11.00pm. The vehicles, two trucks and a crane. A crew of members/volunteers then set to work attaching the mainplanes to the fuselage. By 7.00am all was in place and within a short while the general public was able to admire a rare scene, a wartime Spitfire aircraft on our Capital City's prime Square. The President of the Republic, Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, congratulated our Director General Ray Polidano, as did the Directors of Mid-Med Bank, who were the main sponsors of the reconstruction project. At 11.00pm on Sunday night, the reverse procedure was started and

EN199 was trucked to the Aviation Museum at Ta'Qali.