Easter surprise for the Letecké Muzeum Točná
After some six weeks of tender loving care at FAST Aero, Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIA P3351 (OO-MKT) departed Brasschaat on 19 April 2025. It left Belgium on its delivery flight to the Letecké Muzeum Točná at Točná Airport in the Czech Republic.
On 11 January 2024 Scramble reported already on its acquisition by the Czech museum. There can be read that P3351 has been fully restored last year by Hawker Restorations. Since its arrival there the fighter has received a new colourscheme, the markings of P3143/’NN-D’ of 310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF.
These markings of a ‘Battle of Britain’ veteran Hurricane have been applied to commemorate the connection between Czechoslovakia and Great Britain, and to pay tribute to the many Czechoslovak pilots that served in the RAF.
The original Hurricane P3143 served No. 310 squadron from Duxford during the Battle of Britain from August to October 1940.
To emphasize this historic connection, the new Czech Hurricane was flown to Duxford, where pilots of the Letecké Muzeum Točná performed a number of flights. The last flight on the afternoon of 18 March 2025 was a tribute to the last of “The Few”, BoB veteran John Allman “Paddy” Hemingway, who passed away on 17 March 2025 at the age of 105.
Hurricane P3351 was bought by the museum in Točná as a replacement for Hurricane KZ321 (OO-HUR). This plane and its pilot were tragically lost on 15 August 2022 when KZ321 crashed near Cheb in Czechia.
Photos by Walter van Brempt (at Brasschaat) and Zdeněk Hurt Archiv (historic, P3143 of 310 sq. during the Battle of Britain)