Battle of France veteran Hawker Hurricane Mk I P3351/ZK-TPL left New Zealand by sea on February 10 headed for an as yet undisclosed new owner in Europe. The machine has been sold by Platinum Fighter Sales on behalf of the previous owner, the Alpine Fighter Collection (AFC) at Wanaka. Recovered from a crash site near Murmansk in 1992 by Jim Pearce, the fighter was restored for Tim Wallis's AFC by Hawker Restorations in the UK, being shipped to New Zealand in October 1995 where the systems fit, painting and finishing were completed by Air New Zealand Engineering Services. It flew again with Keith Skilling at the controls on January 12, 2000, at Christchurch Airport, and was a star item at the Warbirds Over Wanaka shows. Sadly, it had not flown for several years prior to the recent sale. Originally built at Brooklands, Surrey, in early 1940, P3351 went to 73 Sqn at Le Mans, France, on June 1, as a replacement aircraft. Two days later it arrived at the advanced landing ground at Echemines, where the code letter K was hastily painted upon its fuselage, and was flown as part of A Flight on defensive patrols over Northern France, covering the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force.
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