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A 1941 Hawker Hurricane that spent decades on a farmstead near Toronto is being restored by Julian Mitchell at his home in Kirtlington, Oxfordshire. In a BBC News report published 17 September 2026, Mitchell said the six-year project was about 60% complete; several major aircraft systems still had to be installed, and no flight date had been confirmed.
Which aircraft is being restored?
It is a Hawker Hurricane—not a Spitfire—built in 1941 and owned by aircraft restorer Julian Mitchell. BBC News reported that Mitchell had moved the aircraft from his workshop to his driveway about two weeks before the report. The BBC did not state its serial number or exact mark.
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The Hurricane entered RAF service in 1937. The RAF Museum describes its role alongside the Spitfire in the 1940 Battle of Britain and its later service in the defence of Malta, the North African campaign and the war against Japan in the Far East. This particular aircraft was built in 1941, so it was not flying in the Battle of Britain.
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According to Mitchell’s account to the BBC, the aircraft was built in Canada and served with two Canadian squadrons before it was scrapped in 1945. It later ended up on a farmstead near Toronto, where it remained for decades, and returned to Britain in the late 1980s.
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Mitchell described the project as his “dream project.” He told the BBC: “It is purely a hobby and that’s working on vintage aeroplanes and anything to do with military aviation history.”
What was the restoration status in September 2026?
Mitchell told the BBC on 17 September 2026 that the six-year restoration was about 60% complete. He said the airframe was nearing completion, but the hydraulic, pneumatic and coolant systems still needed to be fitted. He was working from original drawings and manuals more than 80 years old.
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That percentage is Mitchell’s dated estimate of project progress, not a measured engineering milestone or a current live status. The report does not confirm completed airworthiness work or give a completion or flight date. Mitchell hopes to return the Hurricane to the skies, but that remains an aspiration.
Why the Hurricane matters
The RAF describes the Hurricane as having played a vital role in the Battle of Britain. BBC News attributed 60% of German losses in that battle to Hurricanes; the BBC passage does not identify the original source behind that statistic, so it is best understood as a figure reported by the BBC rather than an independently verified count here.
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The RAF’s current page says 12 airworthy Hurricanes remain worldwide, including two operated by the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. That is a changing count, not a permanent total. The RAF Museum’s account also places the aircraft in a wider wartime story that extended beyond the Battle of Britain to Malta, North Africa and the Far East.
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