Spitfire R7065 (Chelmsford) Giclée Art Print

High-quality art print of Spitfire R7065 'Chelmsford', a Mark IIA Spitfire that flew with No. 403 Squadron RCAF, with the markings KH-X. As a 'presentation Spitfire,' R7065 was funded not through the Air Ministry, but through a fundraising campaign. Thousands of individual Spitfire funds ran throughout Britain, the Empire, and the free world, raising over £13,000,000 - enough to fund over 2,500 Spitfires at £5,000 apiece.

The Mayor of Chelmsford's Spitfire Fund raised a total of £13,500, funding R7065 (Chelmsford) and R7066 (Galleywood). Other funds in Essex paid for Spitfires P8677 (Colchester & District) and P7743 (Brentwood), among others.

Spitfire R7065 was assigned to No. 403 Squadron at RAF Ternhill in June 1941, where it performed sweeps and bomber escort missions. From there it would move to No. 52 Operational Training Unit at RAF Debden in July 1941, No. 61 OTU at RAF Heston in August 1941, and eventually to No. 57 OTU at RAF Hawarden in in January 1942. R7065 was sadly involved in a mid-air collision in June 1944, in which pilot Flt Lt David Cooper Mitchell lost his life; he is buried in Glasgow.

This illustration by Rob Wisdom is a high quality Giclée art print on cotton-rich fine art paper.

12x16" art print shown. Cropping and title position (if applicable) may differ slightly on 'A' size art prints. With thanks to Henry Boot and Ray Sturtivant, whose book 'Gifts of War' provides a wealth of information of presentation Spitfires.