U.S. Air Force Academy Spitfire Mk XVI

[Maxrobot1]

I found this in an old book " U.S. Air Force Academy The Life of a Cadet" by Jack Engman, 1962 edition.
I don't see this Mk XVI on the lists of surviving Spitfires.
Where is it now? Was it traded away?
The inscription in the scroll reads " This Spitfire is representative of the aircraft flown by the pilots of Fighter Command during the Second World War".

 

[Angels one-five]

A quick Google suggests that it was TE330 and donated to the USAF Academy in 1958.

RAF West Malling, 1957.
- Used as gate guard.
- Flew in Battle Of Britain Flypast, September 1957.
RAF North Weald Station Flight, March 13, 1958.
USAF Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, July 1958.
- Delivered from RAF Odiham by C-124, July 1958.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight: 50 Years of Flying - Jarrod Cotter - Google Books

It now appears to reside in China having been sold and restored to Airworthy condition in NZ:

Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XVI, TE330, China Aviation Museum, Datangshan

 

[nuuumannn]

TE330 was in New Zealand for some time, being in the Subritsky collection, although it was not flown before it went to Beijing - Datangshan, I think. There was a bit of an outcry about it leaving the country, but the Chinese paid a hefty sum for it. The aircraft first served with 601 Sqn RAuxAF in 1948 and in 1958 it flew with the North Weald Station Flight, the forerunner of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. In July that year it went to Colorado Springs and was repainted in Dark Earth and Dark green top colours and had the scroll painted on it that's visible in the picture, which reads "This Spitfire is representative of the aircraft flown by the pilots of Fighter Command during the Second World War" with the Fighter Command crest visible below it. It went to the USAF Museum at Wright Patterson in 1961.

 

[Maxrobot1]

Well! What a way to treat a gift! So much for sentimental value. Some museum curator probably just treated it like any other artifact and deaccessioned it.