Markings for Spitfire Mk.IIa 1/48
P7966, W/Cdr Douglas R. S. Bader, CO of Tangmere Wing, RAF Tangmere, United Kingdom, March - July 1941
The Spitfire Mk.IIa serial number P7966 with the Manxman donation inscription was the first Spitfire to bear Bader’s initials as a fuselage code. Bader took advantage of this privilege when he was appointed commander of the Tangmere Wing in March 1941 using the initials D-B on the fuselage, plus the Wing Commander’s pennant under the windshield. His personal call sign was Dogsbody. After No. 145 Squadron commanded by Bader’s friend, S/Ldr Stan Turner, joined the Tangmere Wing in May 1941, a cartoon of Hitler kicked by a boot was painted on the left side of the engine cowling on both commanders’ personal Spitfires as a reminder of the emblem used by the Hurricanes of No. 242 Squadron, in which Bader and Turner had flown during the Battle of Britain. Bader’s Spitfire had metal ailerons and carried the A camouflage pattern, but with a non-standard layout of camouflage fields behind the fuselage cockpit. The rudder and both elevator surfaces used in the assembly of the aircraft were most likely from another Spitfire which carried the B camouflage pattern. Bader shot down 10 aircraft with P7966, probably shot down four others and damaged seven. On September 9, 1941, during a dogfight with German fighters over Saint Omer, he was accidentally shot down by his wingman. He lost one of his prosthetics while bailing out of his Spitfire Mk.Va W3819, he was then captured and spent most of the rest of the war at Colditz Castle, where he was liberated in April 1945. In all, Douglas Bader achieved 24 kills during his career, four of which were shared, seven probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged.
P7619, S/Ldr Brian J. E. Lane, CO of No. 19 Squadron, RAF Duxford/RAF Fowlmere, United Kingdom, January-June 1941
Brian John Edward Lane DFC was a fighter ace and respected commander of No. 19 Squadron. He was born on June 18, 1917, and joined the RAF in 1936. After completing his training, he was posted to No. 66 Squadron in January 1937 then No. 213 Squadron in June. Shortly after the outbreak of war he became a Flying Officer with No. 19 Squadron. In July 1940, he was awarded the DFC for his successes over Dunkirk and officially became Squadron Commander on September 5 of the same year. The Spitfires that Brian Lane regularly flew had his personal emblem under the cockpit – a swastika pierced by a yellow lightning bolt. Spitfire P7619, which S/Ldr Brian Lane flew throughout the first half of 1941, had the emblem of the swastika and lightning bolt depicted under the commander’s pennant. For a time, his Spitfire carried a non-standard rear-view mirror system with additional mirrors on either side of the windscreen frame, but as the effectiveness of such a set-up was doubtful, it was soon removed. In June 1941 Lane was assigned to No. 12 Group Headquarters and in November was sent on a tour of duty in the Middle East. In June 1942 he returned to the UK and took command of No. 61 OTU. On December 9, 1942, he took command of No. 167 Squadron. Four days after his arrival he led three other Spitfires over the Dutch coast and was last seen in pursuit of two Fw 190s. He was most likely shot down over the North Sea. During his wartime career he scored seven confirmed kills, two unconfirmed, one probable and damaged one enemy aircraft.
P8084, F/Lt James J. O´Meara, No. 64 Squadron, RAF Drem, United Kingdom, September - October 1941
This Spitfire Mk.IIa from No. 64 Squadron carried the then new Day Fighter Scheme camouflage, introduced by Air Ministry order of August 19, 1941. After this date, RAF Fighter Command’s day fighters were painted Dark Green and Ocean Grey (Mixed Grey) on the upper surfaces and Medium Sea Grey on the lower surfaces. The code letters were in Sky, and the fuselage belt and spinner were also the same color. The aircraft sported the donation inscription GARFIELD WESTON SVI on both sides of the tank cover. The thirteen kill symbols belonged to F/Lt James O’Meara, who began his combat career in the ranks of No. 64 Squadron over Dunkirk in May 1940, then served with other units from late August 1940 before rejoining No. 64 Squadron in April 1941. In October he was released from combat operations and transferred to No. 1491 Squadron, which was towing targets in Tain, Scotland. He later commanded a Wing of high altitude fighter Spitfires of the Mk.VII version. His total wartime score was 11 confirmed kills plus two in cooperation, one unconfirmed and four probable kills. To this he added 11 damaged aircraft alone and one in co-operation.
P7542, S/Ldr Adolph G. Malan, CO of No. 74 Squadron, RAF Biggin Hill, United Kingdom, December 1940-March 1941
No. 74 Squadron was among the first Fighter Command units rearmed in September 1940 with the new Mk.II Spitfires. Under the command of Adolph “Sailor” Malan, it became one of the most successful RAF squadrons ever in the Battle of Britain. Malan himself was an elite fighter ace and, with eight kills, one of the most successful pilots flying the Mk.II version. His second Mk.IIa Spitfire was s/n P7542, which bore the standard Temperate Land Scheme livery with the lower surfaces in Sky, except for the left wing which was black underneath. It was a quick identification item used by the RAF from December 1940 to March 1941. At the end of March 1941, Malan took command of the newly established Biggin Hill Wing and received the new Spitfire Mk.Vb. During the war he scored 34 kills, seven of which were shared, three probable, plus 16 enemy aircraft damaged.
P8088, P/O Alec S. C. Lumsden, No. 118 Squadron, RAF Ibsley, United Kingdom, April - August 1941
This Spitfire was donated in January 1941 by the Borough of Lambeth Spitfire Fund and saw operational service with Nos. 66, 118, 152 and 19 Squadron where it was damaged during a night landing. After repairs it served with No. 61 OTU. The fate of P8088 was fulfilled on September 16, 1944, when it crashed with its pilot, F/Sgt John Barry, during a training flight. In 1944/45 and 1978, parts of P8088 were recovered by the Cosford salvage team and stored. The depicted image of Spitfire P8088 shows it during its four-month service with No. 118 Squadron, where it received the codename NK-K and became P/O Alec Lumsden’s personal Spitfire. Lumsden had a drawing of a character painted on his new Spitfire under the front plate, which was Capt. Reilly-Ffoull from the wartime cartoon series Just Jake. The word BETTE, which was his girlfriend’s nickname, was also painted on both sides of the cockpit overlay. Alec Lumsden was born in 1921 and educated at Malvern College. After the outbreak of the Second World War, he volunteered for the RAF Reserve as a pilot in training. His wartime career varied. During 12 months in 1941/42, he flew combat missions from bases in England, North Africa and Malta, and also took part in two Atlantic convoys as a Sea Hurricane pilot. He spent the rest of the war flying with maintenance and operational training units. After the war he held various positions, all of which were in one way or another connected with aviation. A distinguished aviation historian, he wrote countless articles and several books on a variety of subjects.