Update on the ex Tim Wallis Hurricane

I was recently reading the December 2025 edition of the magazine Aeroplane when my attention was drawn to a WW2  aircraft with New Zealand connections.  This was the ex Tim Wallis Hurricane 1 that was registered ZK-TPK and painted as P3351 at Wanaka from 3/8/99 to 25/2/13.

I had not realised the historical significance of this aircraft which is that as P3351 it is the only surviving example of a Hurricane that saw service in the Battle of France as well as the Battle of Britain.  It was later shipped to Russia under Lend Lease on the SS Ocean Voice that was part of an Arctic Convoy and that was attacked and badly damaged before making it to Murmansk.  The Hurricane served with the Soviet Air Force before being shot down, probably in the winter of 1943.  

Tim Wallis acquired the wreckage of P3351 in 1992 from an English owner and formed Hawker Restorations in the UK with Tony Ditherage to restore the aircraft.  This was the first of many Hurricanes that Hawker Restorations have restored to flying condition (10 to date, which forms the majority of the Hurricanes flying in the world today).  Tim (later Sir Tim) Wallis funded the raw materials, tools, jigs and plans acquisition for a trio of Hurricanes (the other two went to Paul Allen of the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum in the US and Stephen Grey of the Fighter Collection in the UK) and his example was the first.  It was shipped to New Zealand in 1995 where Air New Zealand completed it in their Christchurch workshops.  It flew again at Christchurch airport on 12 January 2000.

Two photos of ZK-TPK which was painted as P3351 in its early war 73 Squadron RAF colours.  Underneath it was painted black on Port and white on Starboard which was for recognition during the Battle of France.  The photo below is at Warbirds Over Wanaka in 2006 but I have no record of where or when the above photo was taken,

After being inactive at Wanaka for some time t was sold to Jan Frizo Roozen of Monaco in 2013 and was registered F-AZXR.  Hawker Restorations bought it back in 2022.

 

And here is the latest iteration of the Hurricane painted Battle of Britain colours as P3143 of 310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF.  This is because it is now owned and operated by Letecke Muzeum Tocna (Ivo Lukacovic) in the Czech Republic.  It is registered in Belgium as OO-MKT.  This fits well with the Czech history of P3351 but I think it was more authentic when Sir Tim Wallis owned it.  Of course any owner can paint their aircraft however they want to (perhaps they have to get approval from the powers that be to use a particular historic aircraft's colours) but it rather reminds me again of grandfathers axe.

Now that the Hurricane is in the Czech Republic it is planned to display it alongside another New Zealand restored WW2 aircraft in the form of "our" Avro Anson Mk 1 ex ZK-RRA  which is owned by the RAF Station Czechoslavakia and is registered OO-ANS.  A strong New Zealand connection in the world of warbird restorations!