Northamptonshire-based Aerosystems has been making Spitfire aircraft parts for film, television and private owners for the past 40 years. Charles Barrie from Aerosystems has been in touch to say he has been working on a replica of Paddy’s Spitfire and would like to find a home for it in Ireland. Aerosystems have built 14 Spitfires to date including a replica of prototype Spitfire K5054 which was on display at Luton Airport.
Brendan Eamonn Fergus Finucane, DSO, DFC & Two Bars, known as Paddy Finucane amongst his colleagues, was an Irish Second World War Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot and flying ace becoming the RAF’s youngest ever Wing Commander. Finucane was credited with 28 aerial victories, five probably destroyed, six shared destroyed, one shared probable victory, and eight damaged.
Born in Rathmines, Dublin in 1920, he moved to England with his family in 1936 where he developed an interest in aviation. Finucane was keen to fly and applied to join the RAF, being accepted for training as a pilot in August 1938. In June–July 1940, he began conversion training on the Supermarine Spitfire. On 13th July, Finucane was posted to No. 65 Squadron at RAF Hornchurch. On 15th July 1942, Finucane was killed at the age of 21 while leading the Hornchurch Wing in a fighter “Ramrod”—ground attack—operation targeting a German Army camp at Étaples, France.
Paddy flew his Spitfire with the shamrock motif on the fuselage and this is represented on this replica Spitfire cockpit. For more information about this project, please contact Charles Barrie at cbaerosystems@gmail.com
