KITS 02/2022

Spitfire Mk.Vb trop, ER821, F/Lt Neville F. Duke, No. 92 Squadron, Bou Grara, Tunisia, January-March 1943

Neville Frederick Duke, a native of Turnbridge, Kent, joined the RAF in June 1940. He was eighteen at the time. After training he

was posted to No. 92 Squadron in February 1941 and achieved his first two kills with this unit. He often flew as wingman to "Sailor"

Malan, commander of the Biggin Hill Wing. In October 1941, Duke was sent to North Africa to No. 122 Squadron, flying Tomahawks

and Kittyhawks and he achieved a further six kills there. When he began his second operational tour, it was with No. 92 Squadron

again. The unit also moved to the African continent together with its tropical Mk.Vb Spitfires. Within a few months Duke notched

up 14 more victories and he took command of No. 145 Squadron in March 1944. The unit was equipped with Mk.VIII Spitfires and

by September Duke had scored six more kills. He finished the war with 28 victories, becoming the most successful pilot in the

Mediterranean area. On his return to Europe, he continued as chief test pilot with Hawker. In 1946, he joined the RAF's High Speed

Flight. After demonstrating the Gloster Meteor at an air show in Prague in 1946, he was awarded the Czechoslovak War Cross for

his war service. In 1953 he set the world speed record with Hawker Hunter, when he managed to achieve 727.63 mph (1171.01 km/h).

Spitfire Mk.Vb trop, ER318, P/O C. R. Furtney, No. 274 Squadron, Termoli, Italy, March 1944

No. 274 Squadron was reactivated in the second half of 1940 in Amreiya, Egypt. It started operations with mixture of Gladiators

and Hurricanes, than, from October the same year, the unit retained only Hurricanes and joined the fighting over North Africa with

them in December 1940. The unit received its first Spitfires in April 1943 and was fully rearmed in October. During the rearmament

process, No. 274 Squadron moved to Cyprus, then a move to Italy followed in February 1944. Before moving to the UK, the unit took

part in sweeps over Yugoslavia and Albania. A lightning bolt and a circular arrow emblem under the cockpit indicates affiliation to

the unit.

INFO Eduard - FEBRUARY 2022

eduard

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