Strana 36
N3040, F/Lt Robert R. S. Tuck, 92. Squadron, RAF Pembrey, United Kingdom, July-August 1940
K9959, F/O Desmond F. B. Sheen, No. 72 Squadron, RAF Acklington, United Kingdom, May-August 1940
Robert Stanford “Bob” Tuck was one of the
RAF’s most successful fighter pilots, with 29
confirmed kills. In May 1940, he was transferred
to No. 92 Squadron as commander of Flight B,
and during the battles over Dunkirk, he scored
six kills in Spitfire N3192, designated GR
-
L.
Further successes followed during the intense
summer of the Battle of Britain. The Spitfire with
which he achieved his greatest successes was
N3040 QJ
-
Z. He flew it regularly from mid-July
through August 18, 1940, and with which he shot
down four Ju 88s. On August 18, after a dogfight
with a Ju 88, Tuck’s Spitfire was severely
damaged by return fire from the Junkers’
gunner, and Tuck had to bail out of his Spitfire.
He was slightly injured upon landing, and his
Spitfire crashed at Park Farm, later named
Tuck’s Cottages. On September 11, 1940, he was
appointed commander of No. 257 Squadron,
and in December 1941, commander of the elite
wing at Biggin Hill. On January 28, 1942, Tuck’s
Spitfire BL336 RS
-
T was hit by anti-aircraft fire
following a successful attack on a military train,
and Tuck was forced to make an emergency
landing near Boulogne-sur-Mer, where he was
subsequently captured and spent the remainder
of the war in the Stalag Luft III and Belaria
prisoner-of-war camps. The illustration depicts
a reconstruction of the appearance of Spitfire
N3040 after No. 19 Squadron was re-equipped
with cannon-armed Spitfire Mk.I(b) aircraft and
Lane’s personal aircraft, N3040 QV
-
K, was taken
over by No. 92 Squadron, where it received the
new fuselage code QJ
-
Z. It is likely that Lane’s
personal emblem—a swastika crossed by
a lightning bolt—remained on the aircraft.
One of the longest-serving Spitfires in the RAF
during the early stages of the war was the one
with serial number K9959, which was flown by
F/O Desmond Sheen of No. 72 Squadron. In April
1940, he was transferred to No. 212 Squadron
and served in France as a photographic
reconnaissance pilot. After the fall of France,
he rejoined No. 72 Squadron and was reunited
with his K9959 RN
-
J. His Spitfire was marked
with a personal emblem—a red boomerang in
a white circle. The Spitfire K9959 that Sheen
flew underwent many visual changes during
his service with No. 72 Squadron. The depicted
configuration is valid for the period from June
6 to August 13, 1940, when the original black-
and-white lower surfaces were repainted in
Sky type S without the application of cockades
on the underside of the wing. On his first flight
in the new Spitfire X4109 RN
-
J on August 15,
Sheen shot down two more aircraft (a Ju 88
and a Bf 110). In the following months, he was
shot down twice, first on September 1, then on
October 7, when he was burned becausehis
aircraft caught fire. After recovering, he
returned to the unit as a flight commander, and
in April 1941 he was entrusted with command of
No. 72 Squadron, which he led until October 1941.
A year later, in November 1942, he took command
of RAF Manston, which he led until April 1943.
He subsequently commanded the Skeabrae and
Drem airfields in Scotland. From 1944 to 1945, he
commanded No. 148 Wing with 2 TAF. During his
wartime career, Desmond Sheen shot down five
aircraft, probably two more, and damaged two.
KITS 06/2026
INFO Eduard36
June 2026