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A 1941 Hawker Hurricane that spent decades on a farmstead near Toronto is being restored by Julian Mitchell at his home in Kirtlington, Oxfordshire. In a BBC News report published 17 September 2026, Mitchell said the six-year project was about 60% complete; he hopes to return the aircraft to the skies, but no completion or flight date has been confirmed.
What is being restored?
The aircraft is a Hawker Hurricane, not a Spitfire. BBC News identified it as a 1941 aircraft owned and restored by Julian Mitchell in Kirtlington, Oxfordshire. The report did not give its serial number or exact mark, and it does not establish that Mitchell is working entirely alone. BBC News reported on the project on 17 September 2026.
How did the Hurricane end up on a driveway?
According to Mitchell’s account to the BBC, the aircraft was built in Canada and served with two Canadian squadrons before being scrapped in 1945. It later ended up on a farmstead near Toronto, where it remained for decades. It returned to Britain in the late 1980s. Mitchell moved the restoration from his workshop to his driveway about two weeks before the BBC report.
What is the restoration status?
Mitchell told the BBC in September 2026 that the six-year restoration was about 60% complete. That is his estimate at the time of the report, not a measured engineering milestone or a live status update. He said the airframe was nearing completion, while the hydraulic, pneumatic and coolant systems still needed to be fitted.
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- Hawker MK-1 Hurricane has a 16 1/2" wingspan
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Mitchell is working from original drawings and manuals more than 80 years old. He described the aircraft as his “dream project” and told the BBC: “It is purely a hobby and that’s working on vintage aeroplanes and anything to do with military aviation history.”
Is it going to fly again?
Mitchell hopes to return the Hurricane to the skies, but the BBC report did not confirm completed airworthiness work or give a flight date. The unfinished systems are part of the work he said remained; a restoration estimate alone cannot establish when—or whether—the aircraft will be cleared to fly.
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Why the Hurricane matters
The RAF describes the Hurricane as having played a vital role in the Battle of Britain. It credits the aircraft with 60% of German losses in that battle, a figure reported by the BBC; the BBC passage does not identify the original statistical publisher, so it should be understood as a figure attributed to BBC reporting rather than independently verified here.
The RAF Museum says the Hurricane entered service in 1937 and served in the defence of Malta, the North African campaign and the war against Japan in the Far East. It fought alongside the Spitfire in the 1940 Battle of Britain. This particular aircraft was built in 1941, so the available account does not place it in that battle; its reported wartime history is service with two Canadian squadrons.
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- Hawker Sea Hurricane Mk.IIC - Legendary naval fighter in miniature
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The RAF’s current page says 12 airworthy Hurricanes remain worldwide, including two operated by the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. That is a changing count, attributed here to the RAF page accessed 7 October 2026. RAF: Hawker Hurricane. For broader history, see the RAF Museum’s Hawker Hurricane collection page.
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- Revell 1:32 - Hawker Hurricane Mk IIb
- The Hawker Hurricane is often overshadowed by the more famous Spitfire, and yet it carried the bulk of "Battle of Britain". Brand new tool - One of the most famous versions of the Hawker Hurricane - Arming: - 12 × MG .303 British - 2 × bomb 113 or 227 and / or 8 rockets
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- This plastic model kit requires plastic cement and paint for assembly, and they are sold separately. The photo-etched/metal parts require super glue and paint for assembly, and they are sold separately.
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