The Aircraft

The Alpine Fighter Collection began in 1984 with the purchase of a rebuilt P51D Mustang from the United States of America. Two years later the Mustang was sold to the New Zealand Historic Aircraft Trust to help achieve the purchase of Supermarine Mk XVI Spitfire (TB863, FU-P). Since then the AFC has continued restoring and flying World War II fighter aircraft involved in all sides of the battle. A number of rare and historic aircraft have passed through the collection over the years. The collection was formed to preserve a record of a very significant part of our history. We hope you enjoy viewing the aircraft as much as we enjoy presenting them.

Additional aircraft profiles appear in the Under Restoration display. Profiles of aircraft that have been showcased here, but are no longer part of the Alpine Fighter Collection appear in the Former Aircraft display. 
 

The United Kingdom

Hawker Hurricane Mk IIA by Ian Brodie The Hurricane is the unsung hero of the Battle of Britain and one of the most versatile fighters of World War II. It was the first eight gun monoplane fighter to be produced by Britain and the first fighter to exceed 300 mph. Test flown on November 6, 1935, the Hurricane was exceptionally manoeuvrable with tight turning radii and ... Read more... SE5A Replica by Ian Brodie The original SE5 first flew in November 1916 and entered operations over the Western Front with No. 56 Squadron RFC in April 1917. Approximately 59 SE5s were produced before being replaced with a more powerful variant, the SE5A. This aircraft featured a number of modifications over the SE5, most important being the introduction of a ... Read more... de Havilland FB5 Vampire by Ian Brodie The RNZAF Museum in Christchurch has kindly loaned this aircraft to the museum. First flown on 20th September 1943 the Vampire was the UK's third jet aircraft to fly and although it was too late to see action during World War II, the type remained in service for over 30 years. Read more...

The United States Of America

North American Mk III Harvard by Ian Brodie The Harvard was first flown in 1937. Known as the Harvard in the British Commonwealth, T-6 Texan in the USAF, and SNJ by the US Navy, over 18,000 examples were built. Production was initially from a 2,000,000 sq ft factory at Inglewood (now Los Angeles Airport) and a similar size factory in Dallas, Texas (hence the ’Texan’), ... Read more...