Markings for Spitfire Mk.IXc late 1/72
ML407, F/O John A. Houlton, No. 485 (New Zealand) Squadron, RAF Selsey, Great Britain, June 1944
Spitfire serial number ML407 was built at Castle Bromwich as LF IXC and delivered on April 23, 1944, to No. 33 MU. Six days later ATA pilot Jackie Moggeridge flew it to No. 485 Sqdn (RNZAF), with which it commenced operational service with the codes OU-V as F/O Johnnie Houlton’s personal aircraft. The ML407 was reconfigured to the Mk.IXE version while serving with No. 485 Sqdn and Houlton shot down two Bf 109s and damaged one during the June invasion days. In all, he shot down seven aircraft during his wartime career, two of them shared. The aircraft itself served with six squadrons of 2TAF (Nos. 341, 308, 349, 345 and 332 Squadron) during World War II, flew 176 combat sorties during which it logged 319 hours and the pilots in its cockpit shot down four aircraft and damaged one. After the end of the war, ML407 had an eventful career. In 1950 it was converted to one of six Type 509 (T Mk.IX) two-seat trainers for the Irish Air Corps, where it served until July 8, 1960. It was stored in disassembled condition from 1962 to 1968 and sold for use in the film “The Battle of Britain” (although it did not appear in the film). In August 1979 the aircraft was purchased by Nick Gracee and, after refurbishment, was flown under the registration G-LFIX on April 16, 1985. After Nick Grace’s untimely death in a car crash in October 1988, ML407 was operated by his wife Carolyn, who sadly, like her husband, was tragically killed in a car crash in 2022. Today the aircraft is based at Duxford where it still flies in the period colors of No. 485 Squadron as OU-V.
MK392, W/Cdr James E. Johnson, No. 144 Wing, RAF Ford, Great Britain / B.3 Sainte-Croix-sur-Mer, France, June 1944
When W/Cdr “Johnnie” Johnson returned to combat operations in March 1944, he assumed command of the newly formed Canadian Spitfire No. 144 (RCAF) Wing (Nos. 441, 442 and 443 Squadron) operating as part of No. 83 Group, 2TAF (Second Tactical Air Force). Its new personal Spitfire was the MK392, sporting the stylized personal codes JE-J. During the intense air battles of Normandy, No. 144 Wing was one of the best fighter Wings in the 2TAF and became the first Allied unit to have a permanent base in Europe (from June 12; forward airfield B.3 Sainte-Croix-sur-Mer). However, as part of a unit reorganization, No. 144 Wing was disbanded in mid-July and Johnson assumed command of No. 127 (RCAF) Wing. With his Spitfire MK392, he increased his number of kills by a further 12 aircraft, including four Bf 109s and eight Fw 190s, five of which he shot down during the June landings. During the Second World War, James Edgar “Johnnie” Johnson DSO & Two Bars, DFC & Bar made over 700 operational combat sorties and attacked enemy aircraft on 57 occasions. He achieved 41 aerial victories, 34 solo and seven shared, three more shared probable, 10 damaged, three shared damaged and one destroyed on the ground. This score made him the most successful Allied fighter ace against the German Luftwaffe on the Western Front.
MJ671, Cpt. Michael Boudier, No. 341 Squadron, RAF Selsey, Great Britain, June–July 1944
No. 341 Squadron was under the command of Capt. Michael Boudier as part of No. 145 (Free French) Wing operating with 2TAF from Merson Airfield with Spitfire Mk.IXC aircraft. With seven kills achieved in the ranks of Nos. 340 and 341 Squadron between 1942 and 1943, Boudier was by then a well-known fighter ace. Spitfire MJ671, which Boudier flew regularly from February 19, 1944, sported his personal emblem, a drawing of Popeye the Sailor smashing a swastika with his fist on the left side of the engine cowling. With the MJ671, Boudier participated in all pre-invasion and invasion actions of the Wing. His fateful day was July 9, 1944, when No. 341 Squadron clashed with Luftwaffe fighters. Boudier, flying a reserve aircraft, shot down a Bf 109 in the ensuing battle, but the next moment his own aircraft was accidentally shot down by an American P-47 pilot. Boudier was rescued by parachute and, although wounded in the leg, managed to evade German patrols, and walk 14 kilometers before contacting the Resistance. Three weeks later, however, he was arrested by the Gestapo in Rouen. He was imprisoned in poor conditions and sentenced to death after three months. However, his resolute and military attitude impressed the Germans, and he was eventually imprisoned in Germany, where he was liberated on April 29, 1945.
ML214, S/Ldr John A. Plagis, No. 126 Squadron, RAF Harrowbeer, Great Britain, June–July 1944
John Agorastos “Johnny” Plagis was the most successful Greek pilot of the Second World War. His greatest successes came during the defense of the island of Malta in 1942, where he was one of the first Spitfire pilots to take off from HMS Eagle on March 6, 1942. In June he became Squadron Leader of No. 185 Squadron and scored 12 kills during the fighting over Malta. After returning to Britain and recovering, he became Squadron Leader of No. 64 Squadron in April 1943. In mid-June 1944 he took command of No. 126 Squadron and during the invasion days of July and August he scored his last three confirmed kills. His personal Spitfire Mk.IXc ML214 5J-K, which he flew with No. 126 Squadron, bore, like his previous Spitfires, his sister Kay’s name under the front plate, the symbols of kills and the narrow invasion stripes intended for high-altitude fighter aircraft. No. 126 Squadron was formed in Malta in June 1941 by renumbering No. 46 Squadron. The squadron operated in Malta during the Axis offensives of late 1941 and 1942. In 1943 it continued to support the invasion of Sicily and for the rest of the year performed defensive duties with the Coastal Air Force. In April 1944 came the move to the UK where the unit, fully rearmed with Spitfires Mk.IXC, joined the ADGB, where it gradually became part of the wings from Culmhead, Harrowbeer and Bradwell Bay. In December, No. 126 Squadron moved to Bentwaters, where it became part of the Wing of long-range Mustangs, to which the unit was subsequently rearmed.