Spitfire fuselage that 'Mr Spitfire' kept in his garage for 20 years is sold for £18,000 at auction
Peter Arnold, the Newport Pagnell aviation enthusiast who tracked down more than 260 surviving Spitfires across the globe, beside the Supermarine Spitfire F Mk 22 PK519 fuselage he kept for 20 years; it sold for £18,000…The Supermarine Spitfire F Mk 22 PK519 fuselage Peter Arnold kept in his garage for 20 years; the rebuilt aircraft represented his final undertaking before his death in 2025.
Peter Arnold, the Newport Pagnell aviation enthusiast who died aged 83 in 2025, used to wheel the Supermarine Spitfire F Mk 22 PK519 onto his drive for passers-by to admire. For a man who had tracked down more than 260 surviving Spitfires across the globe, the aircraft represented his final undertaking. Dominic Winter Auctioneers in Cirencester sold it on 8 October. 'I just like it being here,' he said in 2003.
Arnold grew up near RAF Northolt and later worked as an engineer at Aston Martin.
The fuselage was rebuilt from other Spitfires' panels on the original wooden formers.
As a boy he cycled 100 miles with friend Trevor Tew to photograph Spitfires.
