HEROES who fought in the Battle of Britain could be honoured by a flying club that wants to pay tribute to Oxfordshire Spitfire pilots.

Enstone Flying Club plans to build 12 replicas of the famous Second World War aircraft to form the City of Oxford squadron.

Already one complete 90 per cent scale model of the iconic wartime fighter is complete and another is almost finished.

Now Paul Fowler, the man behind the ambitious project, wants to name all the aircraft after an Oxfordshire person ‑ whether they flew them during the war or were involved in building or maintaining them.

And he wants Oxford Mail readers to come up with some suggestions of names and join forces to collectively get the squadron complete and up in the air.

The two-seater Mk26B are built from kits imported from the USA and costing £220,000 taking up to 6,000 hours to construct. They do not have the unmistakeable roar of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine but instead have V6 ones built by General Motors.

Mr Fowler said: “The idea of the project is to make it about the people who were involved in the Spitfire, from people who worked on the drawings or in the factories, to the pilots.

“Each of the aircraft will be a tribute to a pilot and the squadrons they flew with.

“We are not looking necessarily for the most famous names, but the best characters behind them.

“There are thousands of people in Oxfordshire who were involved during the life of the aircraft and I would like people to come forward if they have suggestions.”

Mr Fowler is now using social media to spread the word and also advertise for new sponsors for the project, which began in 2011.

He explained the squadron had devised a funding strategy similar to the Spitfire Funds used during the Battle of Britain.

He added: “During the war, whole communities got together to fund the Spitfire and we are looking to do something similar.

“We are hoping to get community groups and companies from all over the world to get behind it to sponsor the 12 aircraft. We are offering a special sponsorship package to 100 individuals or companies from Oxfordshire to donate £3,600 each, which would pay to build a unique Oxford Spitfire and run it for a year.

“There has been massive interest in the project.

Having 12 Spitfires flying over Oxfordshire will be a truly amazing sight and a fitting tribute to the many people involved in this legendary aeroplane.

“There are also opportunities to own a share and take part in building the planes, and then fly or be flown in their own Spitfire.”

* If you want to sponsor a Spitfire or put someone forward for tribute contact Mr Fowler on skipper@enstoneflyingclub.co.uk