THEY are an icon of the Second World War only rarely seen. But Oxford is about to get its own squadron of 12 brand new Spitfires.

Members of Enstone Flying Club plan to build 12 replicas of the legendary fighter planes from kits by the end of the year to form the City of Oxford squadron.

The 90 per cent scale planes will each take about 2,000 hours to construct from the US-made kits.

The first is now about 60 per cent complete, said Paul Fowler, one of the club members leading the project.

The squadron will tour air shows and events around the country and Europe.

Last night Molly Rose, who flew Spitfires while serving in the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War, backed the scheme.

Shareholders pay between £11,000 and £17,000 each for a part share of one of the planes, while a team of volunteers will help with the construction and flying of the planes.

Mr Fowler said: “The point of this squadron is to give more people an opportunity to be part of the Spitfire legend. It’s about giving people the chance to connect with something that’s an icon.

“The idea is to portray an RAF squadron on the move, with all the associated crafts and technical trades. We’ll need cooks, medics, radio operators, ground crews, military vehicle enthusiasts and military historians – everything that would be needed by a touring squadron, all in authentic costume.

“The idea is that we can then bring this to the public and they can experience a squadron up close , with the focal point being the Spitfires.”

Mr Fowler said the squadron would also be able to promote the county: “We’ve chosen the name of the City of Oxford Squadron both to continue the tradition of squadrons named after their bases and also to promote the county of Oxfordshire.”

Once complete, the club hopes to offer the squadron for visits to schools, public shows and to fundraising displays in support of the Royal British Legion.

“We want to offer our planes to the British Legion for these kinds of events, because they really do need the support. The opportunities for the project to do good are huge,” said Mr Fowler.

Mrs Rose, from Bampton, who flew Spitfires between aircraft factories, RAF bases and repair plants during the war, said the new planes would be a pleasure for the club’s members to fly.

“They really were splendid aircraft,” said the 90-year-old.“They were superb planes to fly, mainly due to their manoeuvrability.

“It was the most lovely one to handle and certainly all the women in the ATA felt exactly the same about it – we were all delighted if we got them to deliver.”

For more details of the project, see spitfireclub.co.uk