SPITFIRE MARKINGS OF ef RAAF pars 1 86s uo $P5 rNSeries 3 No. 5 HISTORIC AIRCRAFT BOOKS PUBLISHED BY KOOKABURRA TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS DANDENONG, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA NORTH AMERICAN DISTRIBUTORS; J. W. C. PUBLICATIONS CORP. 7506 CLYBOURN SUN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA * 91352 AUSTRALASIAN DISTRIBUTORS, THE PUBLISHERS, KOOKABURRA TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS 81 Potter Street, Dandenong, Victoria, Australia, Cover. ‘A. Spitfire Mk Ve flown by Wg-Cdr Clive “Killer” Caldwell, DFC and Bar, Polish Cross of Valour, bores in for an attack on a Japanese bomber over Darwin in May 1943. 4 deadly shot, Caldwell’s score was 28% confirmed ills with almost as many. probables. “Had his score been reckoned by ‘American. standards, it would undoubtedly have been well over 50 kills. Painting by Geoffrey Pentland.SPITFIRE MARKINGS OF THE RAAF Pacific Area 1942-45 Part 1 Frank Smith & Geoffrey Pentland ~ Displaying the combination of pugnacity and beauty which made the Spitfire Mk Ve unique, this aircraft of the Central Gunnery School at Cressy, cuts through the clouds high over we: Following the entry of Japan into the Second World War, the first Spitfires to equip the RAAF arrived at a time when they were sorely needed to counter the weight of heavy air attacks on cities and (owns in north-west Austra- lia. The home defence situation at that time was sufliciently alarming to warrant the release by the British Government of two RAAF Spitfire squadrons which had been serving under RAF operational command in the UK. The two squadrons, Nos 452 and 457, together with No 54 Squadron RAF made up the RAAF’s newly formed No 1 Fighter wing (often referred to as “The Churchill Wing") at Richmond, NSW, in August 1942. When their aircraft arrived on the Darwin scene they suffered rather badly at the hands of the more nimble Zeros flown by the Japanese. In the first real trial of strength ‘on 2nd May 1943, five Spitfires were lost of the thirty-three which ‘rove to do battle against eigh teen enemy bombers and twenty-seven fighters. As it was largely a matter of tactics the pilots morale remained high, but such was the inac- curate press publicity’ which resulted that the public’s confidence was considerably shaken in the ‘Spitfire, about which so much had been heard during the Battle of Britain and of which so much was now expected. In actual fact, as events in the skies of New Guinea had already shown, even the RAAF Kittyhawk was more ern Victoria. than a match for the Zero if flown by a compe- tent pilot. All other things being equal, it, was largely a matter of using the advantages of one type of fighter against’ the disadvantages of, another. However the story of the operational use of the Spitfire in the Pacific cannot be dealt, with here The first machines of the 657 eventually de- livered to the RAAF (247 Mk Ves, 251 Mk Vills and 159 HF VIIls) were uncrated and as: sembled in August 1942. By the time sufficient aircraft had arrived to equip the three squadrons, there was already a diversity in camouflage. Several transport vessels ferrying Spitfires to Aus- tralia had been sunk en route, requiring a diver- sion from the Middle East of replacement aircraft. These machines, tropicalized Mk Ves. bore the British desert scheme of dark earth and middle stone with azure blue undersurfaces. This scheme was considered by the RAAF's Directorate of Technical Services to be unsuited to. the tropical conditions prevalent in the North West- ern Area and accordingly, orders were issued to overpaint the middle stone areas on these air- craft with RAAF foliage green. The new colours now became dark earth, RAAF foliage green and azure blue, an aesthetically pleasing combination and fairly easily distinguishable because of the usual Australian method of soft.~ These three Spitfires of No 54 Sqn RAF display the two colour schemes in which the aircraft were delivered 10 Australia. The aircraft in the foreground, BS164, K, is finished with dark green and dark earth upper surfaces whilst the other two, BRS44, A, and BR539, X, each have a desert scheme of dark earth and middle stone. spraying the edges of. the upper camouflage. Aireraft which arrived in the normal RAF day fighter scheme of dark earth, dark green and sky or sky blue were usually left unchanged. Under harsh operational conditions the combined effects of sun, dust, and tropical rain conspired towards the’ rapid deterioration of these lacquer finishes and in this condition the colour pattern was often virtually impossible to recognize from even the hest of black and white photographs. Permission was later given to wax and polish RAAF interceptor fighters for per- formance reasons and, as can be seen from photographs. this was ‘applied straight over the often battered finish underneath Squadron codes on No 457's Spitfires were not used until January 1943 when the wing moved to the Darwin area. The designated letters were XB, but when the Japanese stepped up their bombing offensive, for security purposes, and probably in an attempt to confuse the enemy over actual numbers of aircraft available for defence, the codes were later changed to ZP. The minor nature of the overpainting necessary on each aircraft will at once be obvious. Previously, whilst based at Richmond, if an aircraft was given an identification letter at all, this was Usually carried immediately forward of the fuselage roundel, The identification blue and white RAAF roundels used at this time varied appreciably in Size and the occasional rare. Spitfire ‘was. seen still carrying the yellow outline to the fuselage insignia. Machines supplied tothe RAAF initially carried the British serials in eight inch high black letters and numerals Due to dust and the long distance aircraft had to taxi from dispersal to the end of the strip the problem of rapidly deteriorating engines soon became a pressing one. The liquid-cooled Merlin engines were never really equal to the extremely hot conditions in the north of Australia and the combined effects of operational losses, accidents, and worn out engines often produced a marked shortage of aircraft in the combat zone. As these machines were “retired” south to serve in train- ing units, the replacement Spitfires were some- times required so quickly that there was not always ‘time to overpaint the middle stone of some of the desert camouflage versions. Several pilots have testified to flying these Mk Ves for a period in the standard desert scheme in which they arrived, but these machines were exceptions only. When ‘aircraft were overhauled or repaired they were frequently repainted, which accounts for the appearance of many’ Spitfires in the RAAF’s standard fighter scheme of foliage green, earth brown and sky blue. Some examples are seen in the drawings. Left. BRS38, XB-U, of No 457 Sqn after a wheels-up landing at Livingstone. Right. The same aircraft after another landing accident at Livingstone. The squadron code has now been changed to ZP, the aircraft is serialled 158-44 and has white mainplane leading edges for ease of head-on identification.Left, first CO of the unit after it Smith (better known as 452's early days further victory Squ-Ldr John DFC (154 The aircraft, Li is shown ajt of the fuselage roundel. Waddy, displaying the Combat-weary aircraft supplied to OTUs after overhaul and overpainting of the previous squad- ron codes, retained their normal roundels and serials but usually had the last number or numbers of the serial marked on the fuselage in 24 or 27 inch high figures as an identification measure. The numbering was the responsibility of the receiving unit and official orders required these markings to appear in yellow on camou- flaged aircraft and black on machines which had been stripped to natural metal The RAAF's third Spitfire squadron in_ the Pacific area, No 79, was formed in July 1943 and along with Nos 76 and 77 (Kittyhawk) Squadrons took part in an island-hopping cam- paign which began at Goodenough Island and ended in Borneo. No 79 was the only S| squadron in the New Guinea area and was first to apply the all-white empennage and wing leading edge strip required by the 5th Air Force as from September 1943, It was also the first close-up of the bee emblem appears on Page 10. photograph. This desert camouflaged Spitfire of No 452 Sqn at transfer to the South West Pacific “Throttle”), an ace with 64 in England, led the.squadron only twice against the Japanese. before being’ shot_down and killed on 15-3 victories), whilst flying Sgt. Bill Hardwick's aircraft, ER760, ZP-B, at dispersal under Note the Camden, NSW, was the mount of the his pilot, Sqn-Ldr A. Thorold- credit ‘and a veteran of No He claimed one Right. The mount of another ace, No 2 OTU at Mildura, in 1943. victories 10 his with last three digits in 24 inch chrome yellow numbers This Spitfire later crashed and was burnt out at Red Cliffs on 23-2-44. Spitfire squadron to dispense with camouflage altogether and fly its aircraft_in natural metal finish, sometimes with, sometimes without the white tail markings. “Another dubious “first” was the removal of radio equipment from some machines so that any grounderew member equal to the occasion could clamber into the space thus provided behind the pilot and go along on operations just for the ride! After the ex-Malta ace Fit-Li Len Reid, DFC, had proved the idea in practice, it became a common thing in the squadron to use the Spitfire in this way as a passenger aircraft! By this time, in the North Western Area, machines of Nos $4, 452 and 457. Squadrons were sporting white leading edges for ease of head-on identification and, in addition, had com menced the change-over from British’ serials to RAAF AS8 numbers (designating Spitfire- type aircraft). By December 1943 the process was complete in all squadrons, but during the the trees at Livingstone in 1943. A effectiveness of the camouflage in’ this© G. Pentland One of the victims of the big Japanese raid of 2nd May 1943, BRS36, DL-H, “Butch II” of No 54 Sqn was shot down into the water and three-quarters submerged before being salvaged. See photos on Page 18. % No 457 Sqn Spitfire Ve seen in the interim period of change-over from British to Australian serials when it carried no number at all. Huge blue and white roundels were carried above and below the wings. See Page 17 for emblem. ~ Presentation aircraft A58-185, UP-D, “Sir Harry and Lady Oakes Ul" flown by F-O Alan Yates at Momote strip, Admiralty Islands, in 1944, Serials were normally removed along with the camouflage in No 79 Sqn. This was the first Spitfire squadron to operate its aircraft in bare metal finish. See Page 17 for style of name. ‘Rima II", the mount, of Sqn-Ldr Lou Spence of No 452 Sqn in 1944, 58-254 was involved in a taxying ‘accident on 5-2-44 and was repaired and repainted for the CO in this rather unusual scheme of foliage green, light earth and sky blue. Later used by No 457 Sqn and the CGS, it crash-landed on 19-4-45 and was then stored. See Page 17 for emblem. ~ Shown on Page 16, this aircraft was formerly EE60S of No 54 Sqn but was allotted to the CGS after which it beliy-landed at Mingay on 26-7-45, causing light damage. It was repaired, only 10 perform a similar feat two weeks later owing toa fuel pump failure, Bare metal finish was a use- ful aid in servicing and assisted in spotting skin cracks resulting from tight manoeuvres.Left, A flight of No 457 Sqn aircraft bearing the early XB codes. The use of a sky rear fuselage band and spinner was not general practice. The aircrajt are BR589, XB-P; BS201, XB-O; BS219, X; and BR543,T. Right. Another shot of BR538 after its wheels-up landing at Livingstone strip. This aircraft, apparently repainted in Australia, appears to have been waxed and polished in an attempt to improve performance. interim period—which was sometimes a matter of several weeks—these machines carried no serials at all. Perhaps this was no great disadvantage for at least in their log books, pilots just as, frequently identified the aircraft they flew by means of the machine's individual letter. Squad- ron codes had now been standardized throughout the wing and were as follows: No 54 Sqn, DIL;"No 452, QY; No 457, ZP. These codes were applied in medium sea’ grey which quickly faded to very pale grey; consequently they were usually repainted in white—except for No 54 Sqn which repainted the individual letter only The Spitfire Mk Ve was also operated by several other units in addition to the four squad- rons already mentioned. No 85 Sqn based at Pearce, WA, were equipped with the MK Ve type alter phasing out their Boomerangs in 1944. (These aircraft are dealt with in Part 2.) No 1 Aircraft Performance Unit at Laverton, Vic- toria, also used the type for evaluation trials and carried out several experiments including the towing of a troop-carrying glider built by de Havillands. Spitfires. were also. operated for A58-70, ZP-J, takes off from Livingstone in 1943. training purposes by No 2 OTU at Mildura, Victoria, and No 8 OTU at Parkes, New South Wales. “The Central Gunnery School at Cressy, Victoria, also used a number for training pilots in air-to-air firing and ground strafing. CREDITS The assistance of the Air Historical Branch, RAAF, is gratefully acknowledged for generous ly providing research facilities, hitherto secret RAAE signals, camouflage orders, and a wealth of other factual documentation.’ The authors also wish to thank Mr P. Malone (co-author of the Part 2 book); Mr_S. Reilly; Mr R. Briggs, Mr A. Parr; Mr D. Grinlington; Mr R. Addison Mr T.’ H. Trimble; Mr W. J Storey, DFC; Wg-Cdr K. E. James, DFC: Mr C._R. Caldwell, DFC and Bar, Polish Cross of Valour; Mr L. Reid, DFC) MHR: Mr H. Kennare;| Mr P. Wallace, Mr B. Pat tison Mr B. Little; Mr B. Conant; Mr R. Hourigan; Mr d’E. C. Darby; and many members of the No | Fighter Wing Association for their very geferous help. Note the light grey exhaust stains on the fuselage side, an effect produced by a Merlin engine tuned to run lean to ensure greater range. Pilots of such aircraft often had enough fuel for a “beat-up” of the strip on arrival back from distant combat.Top 10 bottom, left to-right. BS219 being washed down after a flight at Camden, NSW, during No 457’s forming-up period. The same aircraft still at Camden; note the sky spinner and rear fuselage band and the original yellow surround to the fuselage roundel showing faintly through the paint. Shortly after moving north the aircrajt is now shown sporting its “Jiminy Cricket” motif. Taxying out for take-off, BS219 now displays its recently acquired squadron ‘codes. The pilot, F-O “Butch” Hamilton poses' happily in the cockpit of his aircraft which now has the added distinction of two s mood has now become serious as he looks at smoke rising P+ of No 457 San Japanese victory markings. Hamiltc ominously further down the runway. Another unusually marked. airc The pilot of this aircraft, Jim Greaves, favoured the “delta” symbol.© G. Pentland A typical operations-worn RAAF Spitfire Ve of the North Western Area in mid-1943 at the time of the heavy Japanese raids. AS8-236, QY-G, “Junior”, was named after the diminutive P-O “Junior” Beaton of No 452 Sqn whose photograph appears on Page 11. The battered and stained finish was directly attributable to the harsh and primitive operating conditions in the Darwin area. This machine was previously MA366 and saw service with all three Spitfire squadrons of No 1 Fighter Wing, Nos 54, 452 and 457. It was retired from combat operations on 23-12-43 due to a worn-out engine, a fairly normal fate jor many of these aircraftAnother shot of “delta” with the white symbol shown underneath the nose and the white leading edges outboard of the cannon. The colour scheme was foliage green, earth brown and sky blue with @ black spinner. Although the serial is unknown, it has been established that for a short period it did not carry on Above. A58-44, ZP-U, taxying out for take-off from Livingstone. This photo shows how the camou- lours appear to blend after a few months of service and with a coat of wax applied after down. Below. A58-224, ZP-Z, flown by Sqn-Ldr Tom Trimble of No 457 Sqn. The is shown at Darwin Civil aerodrome on 1-5-44 after an undercarriage malfunction. The colour at this time is shown on Page 5 but after repair the machine was painted in a two-tone green scheme which was later used fairly widely on the Spitfire VII.“ sete = Ve Left. Personal motif on Sgt Bill Hardwick's aircraft ER760, ZP-B. Centre. Sqn-Ldr Lou Spence, DFC, in the cockpit of his Spitfire “Rima II". Right. Wg-Cdr Clive Caldwell, DFC and. Bar, Polish Cross of Valour, in the cockpit of one of his Spitfires which he had stripped back to natural ‘metal in an attempt to improve performance. About 10 mph was gained by this modification. Note the black anti-glare panel and lack of identification letters on this aircraft. Sqn-Ldr Spence and his ground crew pose alongside their aircraft. BR-539 moves in closer to the camera, This aircraft was camouflaged in dark earth, middle stone and azure blue. On the original print the letter X can just be discerned immediately forward of the roundel.Upper. P-O “Junior” Beaton's aircraft AS of the white leading and the placing P-O Beaton on the wing of his Spitfire . OY-G, at dispersal. ihe individual letter on the nose. Lower. The youthful is aircraft is illustrated in colour on Page 8. Note the inboard positioningUpper. No 79 Sqn was the first Spitfire unit to apply the white tail markings. These two aircraft, JG807, UP-P and ES307, UP-X, show this striking feature to good advantage. Note also the white Teading edges and small wing roundels on UP-P. Lower. BR537, QY-A, of No 452 Sqn after recon- ditioning following serious damage on 306-43 whilsi being flown in combat by No 54 Sqn RAF. Note the inboard positioning of the white leading edge strip in the usual Australian manner. CinUpper. MA354 of No 2 OTU, Mildura, still in its original British colour scheme of dark green, dark earth and sky. Note the severe weathering under the wings and the white spinner. Lower, The by Sqn-Ldr E. M. Gibbs of No 54 San is shown being serviced at Darwin in 1943. The aircraft, MA863, was coded K-DL on the starboard side. As A58-246 it later served at the CGS (see Page 24) and is illustrated on’ Page 17. aie vs we7,Spitfires of No 452 Sqn being serviced at Katherine strip near Darwin in 1943. The near aircraft, AS8-2, T, previously served with No 2 OTU and No 24 Sqn but was lost action on 30-6-43 A58-71, ZP-1, after an engine failure in_the circuit area due {0 an empty slipper tank which was supposedly full. The pilot, Flt-Sgt G. Marks, tried to land across the strip hetween the gum trees and was lucky enough to escape with no more than an injured backAnother shot of QY-A, the aircraft shown on Page 12, this time climbing over the coastal swamps near Darwin. 'The white leading edges and white letter under the black spinner can be clearly seen. 458-220, OY-R, of No 452 Sqn after a successful wheels-up landing on 31-5-44. Only minor damage was sustained. 'The colour scheme was foliage green, earth brown and sky blue with white code letters. The difficulty in tracing the camouflage pattern is due to the two upper surface colours having a very low contrast (see three lower drawings on Page 17). 15Fine shot of AS8-104, formerly of No 79 San stripped to bare metal but still with white markings in 1945. This aircraft was flown by the CO of the Central Gunnery School, Sqn-Ldr W. J. Storey DFC, an Australian ace with eight victories scored whilst flying Hurricanes with No 135 Sqn RAF in Burma, (See previous title “Hawker Hurricane Described” which features a full-page colour paint- ing of his aircraft.) Another aircraft of the CGS, AS8-105, seen on 27-6-45 and illustrated on Page 5. One of many aircrajt of No 54 Sqn which was withdrawn jrom operations on account of a worn engine, it was modified, as was the aircrajt above, by the removal of its cannon. In such a condition, these aircraft could be dived to deck level, and hauled straight up into a series of six’absoluiely vertical upward rolls, a manoeuvre which confounded even the most hardened of operational pilots when witnessed for the first time. 16Lejt. Emblem on ZP-D shows an eagle clutching a broken Zero fighter in its claws. Centre. The name on No 79 Squadron's UP-D was painted in gold in this style. Right. Decoration on Sqn-Ldr ‘as seen in the photos on Page 10. Lou Spence's aircraft QY-V © G. Pentland By accident, this machine, AS8-28, UP-M, and another Spitfire, AS8-4, flown by Sqn-Ldr Bott, were both given the green light while taxying on to the Kiriwina strip on 16-4-44. A disastrous collision resulted, the other aircraft turning over and coming to rest 100 yards from the point of impact. This is how UP-M appeared before being cut up by the other machine's propeller. Ldr Tom Trimble's A58-224, ZP-Z shown here with black serial visible on the rear fuselage. The machine was so. enthusiastically polished that the bare metal showed through in a few places. A rank pennant, similar to the one at the top ofthe page, was carried on the port side in the iusual position The third machine in the photograph on the back inside cover, BS225, of No 2 OTU, Mildura, in 1943. Although official orders for training aircraft provided for the last number only of the serial to be carried in large style, frequent examples were seen with all three numbers visible. This Spitfire A5S8-246 previously flown by Sqn-Ldr E. M. Gibbs of No $4 Sqn as DL-K also served with No 452° Sqn before being allotted to. the CGS. Repaired several times, it showed evidence of considerable use and suffered two forced landings. Letter F under nose.Forced down by enemy action on 2-5-43, BR536, DL-H, of No 54 Sqn RAF landed in the sea close to the beach. This aircraft is especially interesting’ in that the yellow surround to the fuselage roundel has not been overpainted. The practice of No 54 Sqn in showing the code in grey and the individual letter in white is evident from this photograph. The same machine after being hauled out of the water by Repair and Salvage Unit personnel, The yellow outboard leading edge identification strip shows faintly in this view. On Page 5 there appears @ colour painting of this aircraftSomething of a mystery aircraft whose exact identity remains uncertain, this may well have been a Spitfire Mk Vb, A58-I. Differences in the wing show an absence of cannon fairing stubs as well as shell ejection chutes for two and not four machine-guns Sal TG A DL-Z of No 54 Sqn parked under camouflage netting at Winellie, Northern Territory, in 1943. This aircraft illustrates well the habit of No 54 Sqn of painting the squadron codes in grey and the air- craft's individual letter in white. The exact serial of this machine is unknown but it is either BS220, 233, 235, or 291© G. Pentland BS219, ZP-X, “Jiminy Cricket”, with no number visible in the period of change from British to Australian serials in lite 1943. This machine, sporting two Japanese kill markings under the cockpit, was named after Walt Disney's famous comic strip character. The pilot was F-O “Butch” Hamilton and several photos of this machine may be seen on Page 7. It is of interest to compare this and the aireraft illustrated on Page 8, for under tropical conditions the camouflage colours often showed remarkable variation 20A line-up of No 79 Sqn aircraft on Goodenough Island off the New Guinea coast in 1943. As there was little dust present in this area of operations, the squadron at this time dispensed with the usual Vokes filters and on most aircraft substituted more stream- lined hand-beaten aluminium cowlings. This modification was not very successful however as the flow of air to the carburettor was upset, resulting in rough engine running with no real gain in performance. Flown by the CO of No 79 San, Sqn-Ldr A. C. Rawlinson, DFC, JG740, UP-U, is seen here at Vivigani strip, Goodenough Island, against a rugged and mountainous backdrop. ‘The white identi- fication markings peculiar to the New Guinea area were not applied until after September 1943. 21Shown after crashing at Drakeforce on 12-7-43, EE851, UP-O, shows its foliage green, earth brown and sky blue camouflage scheme before the orders for white markings came into effect. Of interest are the small wing roundels, highly waxed finish, lack of a Vokes filter, and the softly merged pattern to which hand polishing has undoubtedly contributed. 458-200, UP-C, shown carrying a 30 gallon slipper tank during a ferry flight escorted by a Beau- fighter. "As the latter aircraft could carry a navigator, it became a fairly standard practice for island- hopping Spitfires 10 be accompanied in this way. The broader-than-usual white leading edge and more obvious way of applying the serial are apparent on this aircraft.1G740 after being re-designated A58-173 and used by the CGS at Cressy. Note the blanked-off cannon, white empennage and late-style white leading edges. Standard practice for uncamouflaged Spitfires was to paint an antiglare panel forward of the cockpit with the serial also in black Adorned by a blatant nude, the nearest aircraft of this No 79 Sqn line-up, AS8-137, UP-T, shows the nickname “Down With’ Everything”. This machine appears to have had petrol spilt ahead of the cockpit area and has a white spinner to indicate the flight to which it belonged.Se ~ Spitfire prang page... Top to bottom, left to right, An ex-79 Sqn Spitfire used by the. CGS and which crashed at Meredith on 21-12-44. No 2 OTU's AS8-130 which arrived in spectacular fashion ajter stalling on a landing approach and striking a wingtip. Two views of A58-246 at Lake Terang, Victoria, taken on 25-8-45 after it was forced down through a glycol leak. Note the letter F on nose. Another shot of AS8-71, ZP-J, giving some idea of the force of impact. A58-255 of No 8 OTU after a belly landing at’ Sari Towers, NS.W. After striking a tree on the gunnery range at 8 OTU, Parkes, NSW, A5S8-133 is shown’ minus the propeller and spinner. The style of its three 27 inch’ yellow numerals was unusual. This No 85 Sqn machine was not badly damaged after its mishap on 168-45 and was repaired by the unit. The aircraft of this squadron and all RAAF Spitfire Mk Vills are dealt with in Part 2 of this bookUpper. EE610. was used by No 1 Aircrajt Performance Unit for many interesting tests ‘including speed trials with and without the Vokes tropical filter. (See remarks on No 79 Sqn aircraft’ on Page 21.) This machine was used as a glider tug and an attachment for this purpose can be seen behind the tailwheel. Lower. Three aircraft of No 2 OTU, Mildura, in 1943, probably in low contrast foliage green and earth brown upper surfaces. Near machine BS224 has a grey primer coat over the port inboard wing, a red spinner and yellow identification letter. Far machine ‘BS225 is illustrated on Page 17. END OF PART 1yp The unusual “query” identification on this No 79 Sgn Spitfire Vc had a strange but true story behind it. Previously the machine had been coded UP-H but as several pilots had pranged in it, it soon became known’ as a jinx aircraft and was recoded. Later, when the squadron received Mk Vills, the H_ was introduced again on A58-543, but F-O Hugh Eccleston was shot up and wounded in it over the Halmaheras almost immediately. It was the first aircraft to be hit in the reformed squadron. Consequenily before anything else happened, it too was altered to UP-? The Spitfire shown here was stripped of its camouflage in 1944 when the squadron was based at Momote strip, Admiralty Islands. Some time later the white markings were removed to comply with a new official order and the fabric surfaces were aluminium doped. All other markings were left identical. Information per courtesy Mr Hugh Kennare. © G. Pentland 4 4