KITS 04/2021

K9962, S/Ldr. Andrew Farquhar, CO of No. 602 Squadron, RAF Abbotsinch, Renfrewshire, United Kingdom, May 1939

The aircraft is equipped with a three-bladed propeller, a blown canopy, a stripe on the fuel tank and a newer type of pitot tube. No. 602

(City of Glasgow) Squadron took over this plane in May 1939. It was flown by S/Ldr. Andrew Farquhar on February 22nd, 1940 when he shot

down a Heinkel He 111 from 1.(F)/Aufkl. Gr. Ob. d. L. in cooperation with another pilot. He 111 landed at Lumsdaine, East Coldingham and

the crew of Lt. Grote tried to set it on fire. Farquhar tried to land next to the Germans to prevent them from destroying the plane but flipped

his Spitfire on landing. The German crew rescued him from the wreckage and then they all together carried injured gunner away from the

burning Heinkel. Upon arrival of the Home Guard, everyone, including Farquhar, was arrested. During the war, he reached the rank of Wing

Commander, achieved 6 victories and was awarded the DFC. Spitfire K9962 was shot down on September 4th, 1940 by a Bf 109 and its pilot

Sgt J.W. Ramshaw died.

No. 609 Squadron, Drem, East Lothian, United Kingdom, March 1940

The aircraft is equipped with a three-bladed propeller, a blown canopy, a stripe on the fuel tank and additional armor on the windshield. On

the left side under the canopy is a drawing of a comic book character named Pip. It came from British strip cartoon Pip, Squeak and Wilfred,

which was published between 1919 and 1956. Their names were often used in the British Armed Forces, even in official designations. No.

609 (West Riding) Squadron was established as part of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force in 1936 and its first aircraft type was Hawker Hart. The

unit received Spitfires in August 1939 and served in the defense of northern England. Squadron moved south to take part in Operation Dynamo and lost one third of the pilots in combat during three days of the operation. It became the first RAF unit to achieve 100 air victories. In

the Battle of Britain, its most successful pilots were Fl/Lt. Frank Howell (8 victories) and Fl/Lt. John Dundas (9 victories).

No. 602 Squadron, Drem, East Lothian, United Kingdom, April 1940

The aircraft is equipped with a three-bladed propeller, a blown canopy, and the windshield with additional armor. Under the canopy is the

inscription BOGUS, the meaning of which is not yet known. No. 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron was established as part of the Royal Auxiliary

Air Force in 1925 and its first aircraft were the Airco DH.9. The unit received Spitfires in May 1939 and served in the defense of Scotland

until August 1940. Among successful pilots during 1940 were S/Ldr. Alexander "Sandy" Johnston (7 victories), Sgt. Basil Whall (7 victories),

P/O Osgood Hanbury (10 victories) or Sgt. Cyril Babbage (7 victories). On October 16th, 1939, the unit took part in the shooting down of the

first German aircraft over British territory during the air raid of I./KG 30 on Scapa Flow. On October 28th, the squadron shot down the first

German aircraft over the British soil, He 111 over Firth of Forth. F/O "Archie" McKellar (18 victories) took part in both combats.

26 eduard

INFO Eduard - April 2021