To the purposes of the movie a massive Get across out-of Lorraine emblem was used towards the aircraft in order to represent the newest Totally free French squadron
Into the June 1956 MH415 is marketed to help you a great Belgian business, COGEA (Compagnie Gnrale dExploitation Aronautique), which in fact had a target-towing price into Belgian and you may NATO forces. COGEA got in earlier times manage some light routes pulling banners and you will comparable, nevertheless when the newest armed forces address pulling price emerged, the fresh Percival Proctors they certainly were using did not have brand new results necessary. The new Belgian Air Pushes last few Spitfires given the ideal chance, and you can COGEA bought six of these to run because of their armed forces offer. Period photographs inform you the new flights from inside the a bare aluminum livery that have green nosecone and you can tail. Inside the 1961 it actually was hired to possess flick include in The new Longest Day, which was filmed on location within the France.
On the 14th Could possibly get MH415 arrived into the movie product during the RAF Northern Weald during the Essex, and is later built on Debden, Duxford and you may Hawkinge
New aircraft is actually painted from inside the a beneficial camouflage design and you can flown which have 340 (Ile-de-france) Squadron requirements GW-R. From inside the September 1961 the fresh routes triggered a blend because of the lookin during the the brand new RAF Battle of Great britain air display at Biggin Slope in the livery about Longest Date, flown by Pierre Laureys, an excellent French World war ii Spitfire airplane pilot. It is knew you to definitely MH415 is actually the past airworthy Spitfire to become offered from the COGEA, and it is believed that it was during the Ostend since late since the December 1964. MH415 is ordered off COGEA by the Rousseau Aviation regarding Dinhard in the France, to the sum of 8, 000 francs to your ish Mahaddie was get together with her aircraft on the imminent flick The battle of Britain, and you may after a study by the John Simpson, MH415 was ordered to have an enthusiastic undisclosed contribution.
The latest routes was dismantled and you can mailed by Simpson’s Aeroservices Ltd on Elstree to own a change, joined G-AVDJ, in order to Mahaddie to the 29th December 1966. It was take to flown and you may delivered to the movie tool from the RAF Henlow during the early 1967 because of the T A great Davies. Brand new aircraft was kept, their Merlin 66 engine restricted, throughout most of 1967, also it was not flown once more until November, in the event it obtained a separate Certificate from Airworthiness, getting attempt flown with the 29th of the week from the T A beneficial Davies during the Henlow. During the early 1968 filming got were only available in Spain, so when an excellent Spitfire try you’ll need for place work, MH415 is actually selected and you will waiting at Henlow and you will Luton. A great 90-gallon miss-tank are suitable and other try flights carried out during March from the Henlow, Luton and you may Farnborough because of the Lt Cdr Meters T Hynett.
In the later February MH415 kept the uk, flying via France to Tablada Sky Feet inside the Spain. Because of it a lot of time flight it was flown by the V H Bellamy. Movie venue behave as N3312/ AI-C observed inside the The country of spain, flown in the main because of the Lt Cdr Hynett. The latest Spitfire the newest arrived back to The united kingdomt during the Manston toward 11th Can get 1968, within the business having a bunch regarding Messerschmitts, two Heinkels and you can Jeff Hawke into the a b-twenty-five digital camera-ship. The elements within the 1968 is normally British, while the movie team was indeed not having enough time. Loans was also causing troubles, this try decided to move the fresh new aerial tool into the an effective environment of one’s Southern from France.
MH415 and you can a great many other Spitfires and some Messerschmitts have been flown over to Montpelier within the August for a few weeks, plus the required video footage try gotten in the sun. Fribourg hookers MH415 dressed in of many scars while in the shooting, in addition to N3312/ AI-C, N3311/ CD-B, N3321/ AI-M, N2210/ CD-A, N3310/ An excellentI-A great, N3322/ AI/ Letter, N3319/ DO-K and you can N3314/ AI-E. Which Spitfire is actually fitted which have strobe lights regarding the machine gun ports and you can is flown to possess a maximum of 125 era during the filming. In Oct 1968 it had been founded in the Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, and later you to definitely few days was used inside filming bail-aside photos during the Netheravon Wiltshire. One of many motion picture product pilots, Texan Wilson ‘Connie’ Edwards, obtained MH415 on the achievement of its motion picture requirements also it was dismantled in the Bovingdon of the Simpson’s Aeroservices to have distribution so you can Houston, Texas, in which it arrived in January 1969.