Seller Donates Proceeds To Wildlife And Veterans' Charities

The airplane had been shot down on May 24, 1940. And while the pilot survived to fly another day, Spitfire P9374 was abandoned to the sands of the beach in Calais, where it was covered and remained until it was rediscovered in 1980. It was in surprisingly good condition, given where it had lain for 40 years.

Fast forward to 2000, when British art collector Thomas Kaplan purchased the aircraft, and had it restored to flying condition ... one of only two flying examples of a Spitfire known to exist. Her first flight since 1940 took place in August, 2011.

On July 9th, the airplane was sold at auction by Christie's, according to a report appearing in Deutsche Welle, and it fetched $4.8 million from an undisclosed buyer.

The sale was held to commemorate the 75th anniversaries of the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. Kaplan donated the proceeds of the auction to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund and the wildlife charity Panthera.

We hope that undisclosed buyer will take their "new" airplane out and show it off in the skies above ... well wherever he or she happens to be.

(Image from file)

FMI: https://www.rafbf.org, www.panthera.org