Markings for Spitfire Mk.Vb OVERLORD 1/48
Slt. D.W. Barraclough, VCS-7, RAF Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, United Kingdom, June 1944
In February 1944, the VCS-7 Cruiser Scouting Squadron was formed. It consisted of 17 pilots from several ships, who exchanged their Curtiss Seagulls and Vought Kingfishers for Spitfires Mk.V. The unit was first led by Lt. Robert W. Calland and from May 28, 1944, by Lt. Cdr William Denton Jr. Prior to D-Day, ten squadrons, five RAF, four Royal Navy FAA (Fleet Air Arm) and VCS-7, were assembled at Leeon-Solent to provide aerial observation for naval bombing in the Utah and Omaha beach sectors and later in the Cherbourg area. Observation missions were always flown by a pair of aircraft. The lead one acted as spotter, while the other provided escort and protected the leader from enemy attacks. The standard altitude for these missions was 6,000 ft, but bad weather often forced the pilots to operate between 1,500 and 2000 ft. Occasionally missions were flown at even lower altitudes. From June 6 to June 26, VCS-7 conducted 209 missions over Normandy, mainly as part of the Western Naval Task Force, which was under the control of the U. S. Navy. The VCS-7 lost nine Spitfires to various causes, the main threat being the ubiquitous Flak. The squadron rarely encountered Luftwaffe aircraft, yet on June 7, Slt. D. W. Barraclought shot down a Bf 109G in aerial combat. VCS-7’s last combat mission was on June 25 in the Cherbourg area, and the following day VCS-7 was disbanded. Its Spitfires bore the standard camouflage and markings of an RAF Day Fighter and invasion stripes for quick identification. They were also marked with the number 4 in front of the cockpit followed by the individual aircraft letter for the squadron.
BL547, F/O Rick R. Richards, No. 401 Squadron, RAF Horne, Surrey, United Kingdom, June 1944
On D-Day, No. 402 Squadron had a mixture of older Mk.Vb and Mk.Vc Spitfires in its armament and was commanded by the famous ace S/Ldr G. W. Northcott. The squadron was part of No. 142 Wing, which under the command of another well-known Canadian ace, W/Cdr John Milne Checketts, operated as part of the air defense of Great Britain, albeit under 2TAF operational control in the role of fighter-bombers. No. 402 Squadron was re-equipped with Spitfires Mk.IX in July, but their time with the unit was brief. Early August 1944 saw a move to Hawkinge, where the Squadron was rearmed with the new powerful Spitfires Mk. XIV with which they immediately engaged in combat against V-1 flying bombs. In late September 1944 the squadron was transferred to 2TAF in Belgium and joined No. 125 Wing. In December it then joined No. 126 Wing RCAF, where it flew alongside the Mk.IX Spitfires. The end of the war found the unit on German soil at Wunstorf with a total score of 49.5 enemy shot down. One of the Spitfires Mk.Vb operating with No. 402 Squadron during D-Day was the one with serial number BL547 which sported the fuselage codes AE-R. It was most often flown by F/O Rick Richards who had a drawing of “Black Rufe”, a character from the comic strip Li'l Abner, painted on the nose of his Spitfire. Under the cockpit, it bore the standard markings of most No. 402 Squadron Spitfires, a red Canadian leaf in a white crest with the City of Winnipeg in white lettering.
BM366, Cdt. J. M. Accart, No. 345 Squadron, RAF Shoreham, United Kingdom, June 1944
No. 345 Squadron was established in January 1944 and reached operational status on April 28, 1944. Due to the date of the unit’s formation, it was not technically a “Free French” unit, it was a disparate grouping of French pilots in the RAF, some of whom were so-called “évadés d'Espagne”, i.e. Frenchmen who had fled France by crossing the Pyrenees to join de Gaulle’s FAFL and French pilots from North Africa. The unit was armed with older Mk.V Spitfires and flew patrols over the Normandy beachhead as part of No. 141 Wing (2TAF). In September 1944 it received Mk.IX Spitfires and was subsequently transferred to No. 145 Wing, where it primarily flew ground attack and escort missions. During a year of combat, No. 345 Squadron flew more than 3,000 combat sorties and destroyed 186 locomotives and more than 200 enemy vehicles. The unit’s first commander was Cmdt. Jean-Marie Accart, who adopted the pseudonym “Bernard” in Britain to protect his family in France. Accart achieved 12 victories, all in P-36 Hawk aircraft with the GC I/5 unit during the German invasion of France in 1940.
BM327, F/Lt Tony Cooper, No. 64 Squadron, RAF Friston, United Kingdom, June 1944
After completing his pilot training, Tony Cooper was posted as an instructor after an above average rating, initially in England, and from November 1940 to mid-1943 in Canada. In June 1943 he succeeded, after string of requests sent to the authorities, in his application to return to combat flying in the UK. He undertook a course with the Operational Training Unit at Rednal in Shropshire and was then posted to No. 64 Squadron, which at that time was flying Mk.Vb Spitfires. In the spring of 1944, he took part with the unit in many ground attacks in preparation for D-Day and on June 6, 1944, he made two combat sorties, providing fighter cover over Utah and Omaha beaches. He continued operational flying until November 1944. In total, Tony Cooper flew 3,200 hours and completed 160 operational combat sorties. He also survived five forced landings, two of them at night, two with burning aircraft and one as a result of enemy ground fire. After the war Tony returned to his home town of Lowestoft and became the fifth generation to work in the family wholesaler, WB Cooper Ltd. He lived a full life and remained active until his late 90s. He passed away on January 26, 2017, at the age of 100 years. In Tony’s honor a Spitfire Mk. Vb serial number AB910 is flying with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) as Tony Cooper flew it with No. 64 Squadron on D-Day in June 1944. His personal Spitfire was BM327, fuselage code SH-F, which had “Peter John 1” inscription painted under the front plate, which was the name of Tony’s newborn son.