KITS 03/2023

Lt. Luis T. Zendegui, 2nd FS, 52nd FG, 12th AF,

La Sabala, Tunis, Winter 1942–1943

One of the successful pilots flying with 2nd FS was Cpt.

Luis Zendegui who scored his first victory on December 25,

1942, during the dogfight with Mc.202. During his service

with 2nd FS he was credited with three confirmed kills

and he damaged another two enemy aircraft. Zendegui’s

Spitfire carried the pilot’s name on the drop tank and

the American flag on the fuselage sides. The original

British cockades on wings and fin flash on the vertical

tail surface remained intact. The squadron white codes

QP were not yet applied on Spitfires during this period.

Some sources assign serial number ER148 to this Spitfire,

however it cannot be found in the database of the Spitfires’

serial numbers.

MH592, S/Ldr Hinko Šoić, NOVJ No. 352 (Yugoslav)

Squadron, Vis, Yugoslav, January–February 1945

No. 352 (Yugoslav) Squadron was the first Yugoslav fighter

unit established at Royal Air Force in Mediterranean

during WWII. This unit is also known as the Prva Eskadrila

NOVJ. In June it converted to Spitfires Mk.Vb/Vc and

in August the unit was transferred to Italy to join RAF

No. 281 Wing and provide the escort for the fighter-bomber

squadrons. As of January 25, 1945, it was deployed to the

forward base on the island of Vis. Due to the absence of

the Luftwaffe aircraft the Yugoslav Spitfires had very little

opportunities for the air combat and for the rest of war

they flew the ground attack missions. Šoić’s Spitfire MH592

sported the type “B” desert camouflage scheme and as

the only Yugoslav Spitfire featured the Aboukir dust filter

(the rest of the aircraft featured Vokes filters). Also, Hinko

Šoić as one of very few Yugoslav pilots encountered the

enemy aircraft and in the cooperation with another three

pilots shot down a Henschel Hs 126 on March 20, 1945. In

this Spitfire he flew 73 missions altogether, further six

missions were flown by other No. 352 (Yugoslav) Squadron

pilots.

A58-137 (EE835), F/Lt David H. Hopton, No. 79 Squadron

RAAF, Kiriwina, Trobriand Islands, October 1943

Spitfire serial number EE835 arrived in Australia on

April 13, 1943. Before it was delivered to the combat unit

it had been repainted in Foliage Green/Earth Brown/Sky

Blue. In May it was handed over to the No. 79 Squadron

RAAF as A58-137 and the code letters UP-T were applied.

It was assigned to F/Lt David Hopton who christened his

34

INFO Eduard

new Spitfire by the phrase “Down with everything” and

had a naked girl painted on the port side of the fuselage.

Hopton flew this Spitfire until November 28, 1943, when

the fuselage drop tank was not released correctly and

damaged the aircraft’s tail. The repaired airplane was

returned to the service in October 1944, assigned to No. 85

Squadron and coded SH-W. The camouflage was stripped,

and it flew in the natural metal color finish. On February

26, 1945, during the landing at Guildford, the pilot F/O

B. O’Connell collided with another Spitfire and A58-137

was struck off charge.

March 2023