We all knew that defence cuts had hit the MoD hard, but no one was aware quite how impoverished our armed forces had become until the RAF revealed its latest plane last weekend.
Forget hi tech Harrier jumpjets and Apache helicopters, the war against terror looks set to be fought by a spitfire made from 6500 egg boxes.
Designed and built by architect Jack Munro, 26, and sculptor Charlotte Austin, 27, from London Fields, this particular fighter has a rather different purpose to its World War II ancestors.
Instead of bringing down Messerschmitts over the English Channel, it is raising awareness for Help the Heroes, a charity which supports ex servicemen and women.
Charlotte was thrilled to help such a worthy cause and said: “I have a lot of friends who have been in Afghanistan. Help for Heroes is a really amazing charity.”
According to classified military documents, 120 cups of tea, 6 packets of chocolate hob nobs and 18 cream eggs were required to sustain the builders during the 6 week project, which Charlotte described it as “quite a journey.”
“It was actually a really smooth process, smoother than we anticipated,” she added.
Almost ten metres long and with a wingspan of 11 metres, the fighter was displayed at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, near Cambridge, on March 3 to support the ‘Eggs for Soldiers’ March Fourth (sic) campaign.
Earlier this year, a British mission to dig up spitfires supposedly buried in Burma during World War II was called off after none were found.
They could have saved themselves a lot of time and trouble by going to Hackney.
Not only are the designers local, but the plane’s frame was built in a Clapton workshop and Charlotte is keen for the spitfire to return to its spiritual home soon.
“I hope we will be able to display it Hackney,” she said. “We’re going to try.”
