Spitfire PR IB N3069 - Remembering F/O Mervyn Wheatley

16/08/2026

It was a bit of a slow go the last couple of days due to the sweaty temps in the workshop/ exhibit area but was still able to extract a few usable Spitfire bits from the wreckage of Spitfire PT963. This wreckage was collected last year in a superb collaboration with the Royal Dutch Air Force Recovery Unit.

The parts are the upper engine mountings situated at frame 5(firewall) and one of the components even had a Spitfire I part number, starting with the 300 no. The stb side will have to be aligned a bit due to damage sustained during the crash. But all in all good parts which will be used for the full scale static rebuild of Spitfire N3069.

10/08/2026

The holiday mode still in place😎🍺

The tail unit got a bit of attention this morning. Bottom skin and frame 19 aft fitting.

Coming days will be warmer again with temps in the workshop getting uncomfortable so it will be slow go for the upcoming time.

06/08/2026

The Spitfire N3069 Research&Heritage Centre is opened this Saturday, August 8th from 09.30hrs to 17.00hrs.

Discover the story of F/O Wheatley, Spitfire Photographic Reconnaissance during the early stages of the Second World War and see the progress on the full scale static rebuild of Spitfire N3069.

Please note that parking at the premises is very limited but there is ample parking availability close by(within 300m).

Perhaps of interest for those who are going to plan a visit. Our award winning 2023 documentary about F/O Mervyn Wheatley and PR operations will provide an excellent wider knowledge prior to visiting the Centre. This documentary was produced in a superb collaboration between the project and Koffie Break Video's and saw its UK premier at the The Royal Air Force Club in the spring of 2023.

Gemeente Zevenaar
Gemeente Doetinchem
Herwen Actief

The documentary Spitfire Overdue - The Story of F/O Mervyn Wheatley...

01/08/2026

We are back from our holiday. Starting with a bit of summer maintenance at F/O Wheatley's memorial site.

The project will start up the work on Spitfire N3069 shortly.

New opening dates and timings announced soon.

Enjoy the weekend!!

29/07/2026

A bit of Spitfire magic. A few years back after a PPT lecture on Flying Officer Mervyn Wheatley for the Koninklijke Luchtmacht Historische Vlucht we were treated with a few high speed low passes of the Dutch MkIX. Only wished I had kept recording a bit longer. But the Merlin music does tell the tail.

From our holiday destination enjoy...and do cranck up the volume.

22/07/2026

Slowely getting ready for summer holiday. We'll be enjoying a bit time off from this Friday getting back to you all with more updates, progress and developments upon our return.

The first half year was very busy with the agenda properly filled with duties and project tasks next to that. But it was a blast and we enjoyed a lot of excellent things happening.

This post shows an amazing aerial photo taken on the 3rd of March 1940 with F/Lt Eric Le Mesurier at the controls of Spitfire PR IB N3116. It shows the area where F/O Mervyn Wheatley's Spitfire N3069 was lost just two weeks after this photo was taken(top left side of the photo). The other interesting bit is the fact that this photo wasn't taken at 100% vertical which it should have been according to the sortie plot map held at NCAP. If it would have been a vertical photo the crash area of N3069 would not have been on this photo. So in a stroke of luck we are presented with what I believe to be the most earliest photo of the crash site area.

The low resolution of the photo in accordance with NCAP lisence regulations.

Gemeente Zevenaar
Herwen Actief

11/07/2026

Spitfire PRIB N3069 piloted by Flying Officer Mervyn Wheatley. On display and being build full scale static at the Spitfire N3069 Research&Heritage Centre in Doetinchem, The Netherlands.
Gemeente Doetinchem
Gemeente Zevenaar
Herwen Actief
Sander Woonings

04/07/2026

First test dry fit of fr19 aft and the lower tail unit longerons and brackets. Happy where this is going.

Enjoy the weekend!

01/07/2026

Original parts are added to the full size replica Rolls Royce Merlin III in order to achieve the maximum authentic feel when looking at it.

A superb find of an early type compressor, which is mounted at the back of the stb side cylinder bank, is one of these original features.

Amazing preservation of the inner workings. All it needs is a good clean really. A fanfastic artefact to assist the full scale static build of Spitfire N3069.

Merlin made by: Merlins R us

30/06/2026

https://www.ncap.org/news/2026/spitfire-overdue

The story of Flying Officer Mervyn Wheatley is now also published on the website of The National Collection of Aerial Photography(NCAP).

Very thankful to the staff of NCAP for this opportunity.

On 22 March 1940, a specially adapted Spitfire of the Royal Air Force was shot down over the Netherlands, marking a significant moment in the history of…