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MK392, W/Cdr James E. Johnson, No. 144 Wing, RAF Ford, Great Britain /
B.3 Sainte-Croix-sur-Mer, France, June 1944
ML407, F/O John A. Houlton, No. 485 (New Zealand) Squadron,
RAF Selsey, Great Britain, 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.
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.
KITS 05/2024
INFO Eduard78
May 2024