KITS 02/2021

P8038, Fl/Lt. Brendan E.F. Finucane DFC, No.452 Squadron RAAF, RAF Kenley, Great Britain, August 1941

Spitfire Mk.IIa P8038 is pained in type A camouflage, although it has an even serial number. The Rotol spinner is in Sky color. Green shamrock

with the letters BF on both sides of the fuselage is the personal emblem of Irish fighter ace "Paddy" Finucane, who claimed a total of

26 individual victories. He was transferred to Australian No.452 Sqn in April 1941 after serving with No.65 Sqn. With the P8038, he claimed 4

victories and 1 probable. In January 1942 he became commander of No.602 Sqn. At the end of June he took over command of the

Hornchurch Wing. He died on July 15th, 1942, in an emergency landing at sea after his plane was hit by flak. Australians Sgt. Ian Milne and

Sgt. Richard Gazzard also flew the P8038 with No.452 Sqn. Spitfire was originally used by the Polish No.303 Sqn later on was also briefly used

by Czechoslovaks in No.313 Sqn. After conversion to Mk.Vb version, it was used by the No.611 and Norwegian No.332 Squadron.

P8081, Fl/Lt. Tomáš Vybíral, No.312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron, RAF Ayr, Great Britain, November 1941

Spitfire Mk.IIa P8081 was painted in scheme type A. From both sides of the fuselage there is a light gray inscription GARFIELD WESTON IV.

It is one of 16 aircraft funded by Willard Garfield Weston, Canadian member of the House of Commons. This philanthropist was owner of the

Allied Bakeries. He also helped to create a canteen system in the London Underground during the Blitz bombing offensive. P8081 first served

with the No.222 Sqn, where Sgt. Burgess used it to damage a Ju 88 in April 1941. Later on the Spitfire was assigned to Australian No.452 Sqn

for about a month and from October till December it was used by Czechoslovak No.312 Sqn. A number of pilots flew with P8081, including

F/Sgt Václav Šlouf. On November 17th, it was damaged by F/Lt. Tomáš Vybíral after landing in poor visibility. This pilot scored 7 victories in

the French Air Force and achieved the rank of Wing Commander in the RAF. After the war he emigrated from Czechoslovakia and joined the

anti-communist resistance.

P7840, No.340 (Free French) Squadron, RAF Ayr, Great Britain, January 1942

Spitfire Mk.IIa P7840 is painted in scheme type B. Rotol spinner is in Sky color. On both sides of the bow is a blue or dull red Lorraine cross

in a white shield. Below the canopy is a light grey inscription related to aircraft funding. Belfast Telegraph founded in North Ireland the

Spitfire Fund during the Battle of Britain, where its readers raised enough funds to buy 17 Spitfires. A total of 12 of their airmen were killed

in combat. The P7840 was the 13th machine of the Fund. The upper part of the inscription refers to the song of the same name by the Irish

composer Percy French. This Spitfire served with the No.64 Sqn from February 1941 and was taken over in December by No.340 Sqn. Free

French used it until February 1942, when they switched to Spitfires Mk.V. This unit conducted 7,845 combat flights, shot down 37 aircraft

and destroyed more than 500 ground targets. A total of 30 of pilots were killed and six were captured. After the war, unit received the Ordre

de la Libération.

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INFO Eduard - February 2021