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Apart
from being (in my opinion) one of the most beautiful aircraft of the Second
World War, the Spitfire played a major role in defending Britain and Malta at
the worst time of the battle and later on to help take the war to the enemy.
I had been wanting to build a Spitfire for a very long time.
But which Spitfire variant?
These are many and all are beautiful and significant in their own way.
A
number of years back, I had the great fortune of making the acquaintance of the
late wing commander P.B. ’Laddie’ Lucas at a book signing session.
This led to a unique friendship which resulted in regular correspondence
and even meetings.
A perfect gentleman and always willing to help, ‘Laddie’ was a mine
of information and through him, I also got to correspond with ‘Johnnie’
Johnson. Since
then, I was in regular contact with these two famous pilots and so the choice of
which aircraft to model became very simple.
I would model a Spitfire which each of them flew.
‘Laddie’
Lucas was the author of quite a number of books, the most popular in Malta being
‘Malta - A thorn in Rommel’s side’.
This is a detailed account of the terrible summer of 1942 when the battle
was at the very worst and Malta was on the verge of capitulating due to a dire
lack of food, fuel, ammunition and constant bombing.
He was then Squadron Leader of the famous 249 Squadron based at Ta’
Qali airfield.
This airfield was no more than that
- an open field.
The dust surface resulted in much wear on the aircraft and hence my
extensive weathering of the model.
When consulting Laddie on which aircraft I should model, he instantly
mentioned a VC coded T-R which he flew most frequently and in one particular
instance was involved in action against three Italian SM84’s which were all
shot down. However,
after much consideration, I opted for BR108, another VC coded T-W.
The remains of this aircraft are now located at the National War Museum
in Malta.
Apart
from ‘Laddie’, other famous pilots like Buck McNair, Stan Grant and Paul
Brennan flew this machine.
In the short span of 3 months, no fewer than 4 aircraft were confirmed
destroyed by pilots flying BR108.
Although initially equipped with 4 cannons, two were removed on arrival
at Malta. This
was standard practice on all VC’s.
Although unconfirmed the reason for this was to lighten the aircraft and
to conserve ammunition which was very scarce at the time.
Considering that the Malta spitfires were already hampered by the
tropical filter, the additional weight of two extra 20mm cannon did no good to
their already reduced performance.
Following
is an extract from the book ‘Malta
- the
Spitfire Year’ which just about sums up the aircraft’s history.
SPITFIRE
Vc BR108
Pride
of place in the Air Hall at the National War Museum in Valletta is taken by the
front section of the wreckage of Spitfire Vc BR108.
This was recovered from the seabed of Marsalforn Bay, Gozo, by members of
the RAF Subaqua Club in 1973, and was the aircraft ditched by Flt. Lt. Lester
Sanders of 603 Squadron on 8th July 1942.
BR108
was built by Vickers-Armstrong (Supermarine) Ltd. in early 1942, its maiden
flight taking place at High Post Aerodrome on 3rd March; it was flown
to 8 Maintenance Unit five days later, then to 47 Maintenance Unit on 23 March.
From here, in company with others, it was partially disassembled, crated
and loaded aboard the freighter Empire Heath, destined for Gibraltar.
Here it was reassembled, test flown, allocated the code
C-20 and loaded aboard the USS Wasp on 7 May, from where it was flown to
Malta two days later.
BR108
was issued to 249 Squadron, retaining the code markings C-20 until about 19
June, when it was re-coded T-W (T being 249 Squadron’s identification letter).
Finally, at the beginning of July, BR108 was transferred to 603 Squadron
and was presumably re-coded once more, possibly as X-W (X being 603 Squadron’s
identification letter)
Known important flights were:
249
Squadron
Pilot
Action
9
May
Plt. Off. P.A. Nash
Bf109 destroyed
Bf109 probable
Plt. Off. P.A. Nash
Bf109 damaged
Plt. Off. P.A. Nash
Ju87 probable
10
May
Plt. Off. P.A. Nash
Scramble
Plt. Off. P.A. Nash
2 Ju87’s destroyed
12
May
Plt. Off. P.A. Nash
Scramble - hit steamroller when
taxiyng-in on return; damaged
6
June
Flt. Lt. P.B. Lucas
Scramble
Flt. Lt. R.W. McNair
Scramble
8
June
Sqn. Ldr. S.B. Grant
Shipping patrol
Sgt. R.B. Brennan
Scramble
10
June
Flt. Lt. P.B. Lucas
Scramble
Flt. Lt. P.B. Lucas
Scramble
Flt. Lt. P.B. Lucas
Scramble
11June
Sqn. Ldr. S.B. Grant
Scramble
12
June
Flt. Lt. P.B. Lucas
Scramble
Flt. Lt. P.B. Lucas
Scramble
16
June
Flt. Sgt. M.E. Tomkins
Scramble
19
June
Flt. Lt. P.B. Lucas
Scramble
20
June
Flg. Off. J. Smith
Scramble
21
June
Flt. Lt. P.B. Lucas
Scramble
Flt. Lt. P.B. Lucas
Scramble
24
June
Flg. Off. R. Daddo-Langlois
Scramble
25
June
Plt. Off. C.H. Lattimer
Bf109 destroyed
Bf109 probable
28
June
Flg. Off. J. Smith
Scramble
29
June
Wt. Off. C.B. Ramsey
Scramble
Wt.
Off. C.B. Ramsey
Scramble
603
Squadron
8
July
Flt. Lt. L.V. Sanders
Ju88 damaged, Bf109 probable
shared with Plt. Off. N.S. King
BR108
was then shot down by Lt. Heinz-Berres of I/JG 77, and ditched in Marsalforn
Bay, Gozo, from where the slightly injured pilot was rescued by Maltese
fishermen. Although
initially located by members of the RAF Luqa’s Subaqua Club in 1968, the
wreckage of BR108 would remain on the seabed for a further five years.
I
don’t know about you, but I think I’ve built a model of a pretty significant
aircraft.
‘Johnnie’
Johnson was the highest scoring Commonwealth ace with 38 confirmed victories.
He patiently supplied me with all the necessary information such as codes
and serial number required to build the Mk.VB which he flew with 616 Squadron.
This aircraft was flown by Johnnie during August 1941 just after the
famous Douglas Bader was shot down and captured, hence the inscription
‘BADER’S BUS Co. STILL RUNNING’.
The only photograph showing this aircraft is that shown and is featured
in a number of books.
It is most unfortunate for us researchers and modellers that the photographer was more concerned with the pilot than with the
aircraft. The
information which one can gleam from this photo is very limited and some of the
finer details were assumed and certain decisions arrived at by looking at other
616 Squadron VB’s.
Even here, there are few photos showing VB’s from this particular
Squadron. Being
accurate is sometimes very frustrating indeed!
In contrast to BR108 which was finished in a desert scheme, this model
was finished in a temperate scheme with a grey/green camouflage topsides and
lighter grey underside.
James
Edgar Johnson was born in Barrow upon Soar in Leicestershire, U.K.
His first action was with 616 squadron in December 1940 when he flew
Spitfire MkI’s.
He later flew MkII’s and as MkV’s as the squadron received these
aircraft. His
first confirmed combat victory took place on 26th June 1941 when he
shot down a 109E when flying a spitfire MkIIA.
During this time, he often flew as wingman to Douglas Bader.
He was promoted to Squadron Leader in June 1942 and took command of 610
Squadron flying Spitfire V’s.
In March 1943 he was promoted to Wing Commander when he took command of
the Kenley Wing, flying Spitfire IX’s.
In September of the same year, he began a rest tour and returned to the
front on March 1944 when he commanded the Canadian manned No 144 Wing, also
equipped with MkIX’s.
In August, the Wing was disbanded and the then took command of No127 Wing
where he stayed till he was promoted Group Captain in April 1945.
His score at the end of
the war was 34 enemy aircraft destroyed and 7 shared plus a further 3 and
2 shared probably destroyed, 10 and 3 shared damaged and 1 shared destroyed on
the ground. Of
great significance is the fact the Johnnie is the top scoring Spitfire pilot of
the war and obtained all his victories whilst flying this aircraft.
Of all his victories, all were single engined fighters except for a
Bf110.
Following
is a brief history of Spitfire VB serial number W3457 as obtained from Spitfire
- the history.
W3457
was produced at Eastleigh and first flew on 10th July 1941.
It was transferred to No.12 Maintenance Unit on 13th July.
Its first assignment was with 616 Squadron where it was delivered on the
23rd July.
It saw service with this Squadron till the 23rd December of
the same year when it was transferred to Air Service Training.
W3457 was involved in a flying accident and suffered category AC damage
on the 13th July 1942.
It was repaired on site.
On the 16th August, it was transferred to 41 squadron
where it was involved in another two flying accidents on the 27th
August and 11th September respectively.
In both cases, it suffered category B damage.
On 4th February 1944 in was fitted with a tailhook by the
Cunliffe Owen Aircraft Ltd. and then transferred to the Royal Naval Air Station
at Henstridge on the 28th March.
The Aircraft was struck off charge on the 28th March 1945.
Its
history stops there and it seems that W3457 survived the whole war and had a
rather varying career.
One wonders what happened to this aircraft in the end.
To think that it could have been an exhibit in some museum.
Another significant aircraft.
Brian
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Hasegawa and Revell Spitfires
Engine, cockpit and gunbays Part
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Hasegawa and Revell Spitfires Wings, Undercarriage and painting
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