Abandoned For Decades, This WWII Fighter Plane Is Being Restored On A British Driveway

When it comes to the plethora of aircraft operated throughout World War II, there aren't many left lying around outside of museums. Some have been purchased and restored by private collectors as Warbirds, while most have long been lost to the ravages of time, though the U.S. maintains a rather large collection of retired aircraft at various airplane boneyards in the nation's deserts. Every once in a while, a private person comes along and restores a long-lost WWII aircraft to working order, which is the case for one lucky Hawker Hurricane.

Julian Mitchell has spent the last six years restoring a Hurricane produced in 1941, and he's done it out of his workshop and garage at his home in Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, England. The Hurricane was one of the most iconic British fighters of WWII, where it proved its worth at the Battle of Britain. Throughout that long German bombing campaign in 1940, Hurricanes were responsible for inflicting 60 percent of all German Luftwaffe losses, making it the so-called "unsung hero of the Battle of Britain."

Mitchell's passion for restoring a Hurricane stems from his love of the aircraft he purchased as a restoration project in 2020. He's been working on it ever since, and it needs plenty of TLC to get the job done. After the war, Mitchell's Hurricane was scrapped, winding up on a farmstead in Toronto, Canada. It made its way back to the United Kingdom in the 1980s and was sold a few times before it landed in Mitchell's garage. After six years, he's about 60 percent finished with the restoration, and while there's a lot of work left to do, the Hurricane may one day fly again.

Mitchell's work has been extensive, as the Hurricane wasn't exactly pristine when he lucked upon it years ago. As of this writing, he's nearly finished with completing the airframe, but the internal systems still need to be fitted inside. These include the airplane's hydraulic systems, coolant system, and pneumatic systems, all of which must be installed before he's finished. To aid in his restoration work, which Mitchell describes as his dream project, he's pored over original illustrations and manuals that are over 80 years old.

While he started working on the Hurricane in his workshop, it's since moved to his driveway, earning plenty of attention, including from the BBC, which reported on his project in September 2026. Once he's finished, Mitchell hopes to see the Hurricane fly once more, though it's unclear how much longer it will take the airplane enthusiast to complete his project. The Hawker Hurricane is easily one of the most overlooked aircraft of WWII, as it was largely outshone by the Supermarine Spitfire.

Despite this, the Hurricane proved its worth time and time again, performing a necessary function throughout the conflict. It was outfitted with four 20mm Hispano cannons and eight rockets, or it could take either two 250-lb. bombs, or a single 500-lb. bomb, depending on the variant. Hurricanes participated in numerous, intense dogfights across Europe throughout the war, and they were launchable via catapults on ships, making them incredibly versatile. With some time, extra work, and a bit of luck, Mitchell's Hurricane will one day return to the skies more than 80 years after it helped the Allies win WWII.