The question is purely academic as none survive, but I would think the desirability would be about the same as a late-Spitfire or a Tempest II – post-war types with available airframes that nobody has (yet) chosen to complete an airworthy restoration. Having said that, there have been Griffon Seafires airworthy in recent years.

Looks like a lot of oil down the side of the cowling!

Glad he got down safely and with the aeroplane undamaged.

I was horrified at the condition of the aircraft (even the recently-restored ones) on the flightline at Pensacola on a recent visit there. I’m sure that this decision is at least partially a result of the realisation that they have their work cut out without having yet more Wildcats (I think they have 5 in the museum already) and Dauntlesses to restore. They opened up the sole surviving AJ Savage for me to look inside. It was restored a few years ago, but the cockpit area had an inch or two of stagnant, green water in it. Condensation was everywhere, dripping from the panels, and the paint was peeling off the internal surfaces revealing white, powdery corrosion. The PBJ Mitchell and PB4Y-2 Privateer (also recent restorations) didn’t look much better, and the SB2C Helldiver recently recovered from a lake near San Diego was also left open to the elements on the ramp.

I’m still amazed that the RAF parted with what must be one of the most historic of the surviving Spitfire airframes.

The other one at Cambridge now seems to have gone too

I’m not sure how you can possibly draw that inference from Bruce’s post Paul F. To me, it is very clear that he is saying that members of the general public will immediately think ‘Dams raid’ when they hear ‘617 squadron Lancaster’ mentioned, and that ‘some clarity is required’ to disabuse them of this misinterpretation.

Spanish Jungmeister E.1-16, under rebuild in Cheshire, has now been registered as G-CIJV

I understand that it is currently in the same warehouse as the Lost Ark of the Covenant, the RAF Museum’s Egyptian Kittyhawk, the Avro Canada Arrow secretly spirited away to Britain when the programme was cancelled, and the various containers of Mosquito spares, Vietnamese Skyraiders and R-3350s, and a Lewis gun, allegedly the property of an Antipodean former forum member.