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481065 Spitfire Mk.V landing flaps (PE
-
Set)
FE1207 Spitfire Mk.V seatbelts STEEL (PE
-
Set)
FE1322 Spitfire Mk.Vb Weekend (PE
-
Set)
644113 Spitfire Mk.V LööK (Brassin)
648640 Spitfire Mk.V engine (Brassin)
648663 Spitfire Mk.V cockpit (Brassin)
648664 Spitfire Mk.V wheels (Brassin)
648665 Spitfire Mk.Vb gun bays (Brassin)
648667 Spitfire Mk.V three-stacks exhausts rounded (Brassin)
648668 Spitfire Mk.V three-stacks exhausts fishtail (Brassin)
648669 Spitfire Mk.V six-stacks exhausts fishtail (Brassin)
648738 Spitfire Mk.V landing flaps PRINT (Brassin)
SIN64886 Spitfire Mk.Vb ADVANCED (Brassin)
3DL48031 Spitfire Mk.V SPACE (3D Decal Set)
D48088 Spitfire Mk.V stencils (Decal Set)
D48101 Spitfire Mk.V national insignia (Decal Set)
EX1009 Spitfire Mk.Vb early (Mask)
Recommended: for
Spitfire Mk.Vb 1/48
BM366, Cdt. J. M. Accart, No. 345 Squadron,
RAF Shoreham, United Kingdom, June 1944
BM327, F/Lt Tony Cooper, No. 64 Squadron,
RAF Friston, 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.
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.
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