[Photos via Historics]

One of the most attractive Spitfire restoration projects will become a focal point of the auction by Historics at Brooklands in February 2012.

The Spitfire in question is P8088, a Mk. IIa manufactured at the Castle Bromwich Aeroplane Factory, and donated in January 1941 by the Borough of Lambeth Spitfire Fund. This machine, carrying letters NK-K, an inscription “BOROUGH OF LAMBETH” together with a personal ‘Just Jake’ nose art of P/O Alec Lumsden, arguably ranked as one of the more colourful of the early Sptifires. It became popular with many young modellers of the 1960s when its markings were carried over to the mass-produced 1/72 Revell kit of the Spitfire. This model was since followed by many, including a recent 1/18th version made by 21st Century Models. Microsoft Combat simulator also has a version of NK-K which has been beautifully recreated for computer gaming.

The original aircraft was donated in January 1941 by the Borough of Lambeth Spitfire Fund. There was talk that it would be called the Lambeth Walk after the popular song of the same name but in the end, the more austere name ‘Borough of Lambeth’ was chosen.

P8088 was dispatched for service in February 1941, being taken on charge with 39 Maintenance Unit, Colerne on 1st March 1941 with serial number P8088. From Colerne, P8088 was delivered for active service on 21st March 1941 to No. 66 Squadron stationed in Exeter.

On the 9th April, 1941, the aircraft taken over by No. 118 Squadron at Ibsley where it was given the call sign NK-K. While stationed at Ibsley it was flown by the well known wartime pilot and civilian author P/O Alec Lumsden. It was Lumsden who attributed the nose art depicting Captain A.R.P Reilly-Ffoull (Really Foul), a character from the wartime cartoon strip ‘Just Jake’ and featuring ‘Jane’, a young lady who was forever losing items of her clothing. ‘Just Jake’ ran for 14 years in the Daily Mirror newspaper from 1938 and was drawn by Bernard Graddon.

It is also mentioned that on the 18th April, Lumsden added the name of his girlfriend, Bette, to the door of P8088. No red tape or time wasted back in those days! In Alec Lumsden’s Pilots Log Book, records indicate the exact dates when the nose art and the name Bette were added to the Spitfire. On 16th April 1941, The ‘Borough of Lambeth’ was painted and on the 17th April, he received a telegram from Bette saying “Good luck to Bette the Spitfire”.

After its four month service with Ibsley, NK-K passed to another airfield, Middle Wallop, Stockbridge, Hampshire on 6th July 1941 and then was assigned to No. 152 (Hyderabad) Squadron at Portreath, Cornwall. On the 27th August that same year, the same aircraft moved to No. 19 Squadron at Perranporth, Cornwall as part of an emergency detachment of Spitfires from Matlask, Norfolk.

There, on the 31st August, P8088 suffered an engine failure on a night landing at Matlask. It overshot, ran through a barbed wire fence and tipped onto its nose, fortunately without injury to Pilot Officer N.D.O. Devereux.

P8088 was taken to Exeter for repairs on the 7th September 1941 and was ready for collection by the 16th May, 1942. She was then flown to 33 Maintenance Unit, Lyneham on 3rd June 1942.

On the 21st September that year, P8088 was issued to 61 Operational Training Unit, Rednal and on 19th May 1943 she sadly suffered Category B damage (Beyond repair on site, i.e. repairable at a Maintenance Unit or at a contractor’s works) when Pilot Officer J.H. Gielstrup (Danish) stalled when landing after the engine failed, collapsing the undercarriage on impact.

By the 17th July, P8088 was repaired and went into storage at 6 Maintenance Unit, Brize Norton on 19th July. On the 1st August she was then passed to Central Gunnery School, Catfoss. 22nd February 1944 saw NK-K taken to Heston Aircraft Co., Heston Aerodrome for repairs and was ready for collection on the 26th May, 1944 and delivered to 9 Maintenance Unit on the 14th June. The 1st July, saw P8088 allotted again to 61 Operational Training Unit and on 16th September, 1944, NK-K crashed into the ground at Lower Heath Coppice, Prees, Shropshire, killing Flight Sergeant John Cashel Barry RAAF, 22 years old from Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia. He was buried in Chester Regional Cemetery.

In 1944/45, P8088 was recovered by Cosford recovery team and stored for spares and scrappage. In 1978, further parts were recovered from the crash site by the Wartime Aircraft Recovery Group, Heritage Aircraft group. The remains were then passed on to Ibsley museum, Ringwood, Hampshire and displayed. The museum was closed down in the mid 1980′s and the Spitfire display and boxed remains subsequently passed to a collector and ex-Cosford recovery team member, Mr Harrington, who then put it into storage.

Over recent years NK-K has attended a number of events allowing a large number of people to enjoy it, sit in it, as well as generate some revenue for charity organisations.

P8088 is supplied with a civil registration number G-CGRM/R1 meaning that it has a potential of being restored to a flying condition. The preserved fuselage, together with historical authentication data, original parts, and a wealth of original Spitfire parts drawings, will be offered for auction, aiming at bringing £120,000 – £150,000.

Prior to auction, the fuselage of the aircraft is displayed at the Brooklands Museum, in their Wellington Hangar.