Strana 35
N3250, P/O Allan R. Wright, No. 92 Squadron, RAF Croydon, The United Kingdom, late May/early June 1940
P9390, P/O Alan C. Deere, No. 54 squadron, RAF Hornchurch, The United Kingdom, June-July 1940
No. 92 Squadron was re-equipped from Blenheim
Mk.IFs to Spitfire Mk.Is in early March 1940 and
achieved operational status on May 9, 1940.
Interestingly, the squadron retained its pre-war
GR call signs on the Spitfires until the end of July,
when it changed them to the assigned QJ call
signs. The call letters, like the Type A fuselage
pattern, deviated slightly from the standard.
The standard scheme featured white and black
(Night) on the undersides of the wings, with the
rest of the undersides painted silver. P/O Allan
R. Wright flew his first combat mission on May
23, 1940, during which he damaged two Bf 110s
over Dunkirk and likely shot down another. The
following day, he shot down a Bf 110 and likely
destroyed another. Alan Wright achieved a total
of 11 aerial victories during World War II.
The Spitfire P9390 comes from the mid-
production series of the Mk.I and was the
second Spitfire flown by the legendary New
Zealand flying ace Alan “Al” Deere, who had
a personalized Kiwi bird design painted on the
fuselage beneath the cockpit. Flying this aircraft
from June 1 through July 3, 1940, Al Deere
completed 29 combat missions and scored one
unconfirmed aerial victory. Deere’s “Kiwi II” was
shot down by a Bf 109 on July 7, 1940, and its
pilot, P/O Edward Jack Coleman, sustained
minor injuries during an emergency landing
near Deal in Kent. The aircraft was destroyed.
No. 54 Squadron was the only squadron
fully equipped with Spitfires fitted with Rotol
RX5/1 propellers. Al Deere took part in No. 54
Squadron’s very first operation, during which,
on May 16, 1940, the squadron provided air cover
for retreating Allied forces in Belgium. On May
23, while escorting F/Lt. J. Leathart—who was
flying a Miles Magister for the commander of
No. 74 Squadron, S/Ldr L. White, who had been
shot down near Calais—Deere shot down his
first two Bf 109s. Three days later, in the evening,
Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk,
began. Deere made an emergency landing on
a Belgian beach on May 28, but managed to
return to Hornchurch after a 19-hour odyssey.
After the Dunkirk evacuation ended, No. 54
Squadron joined the Battle of Britain, during
which Al Deere scored seven aerial victories.
During World War II, he held a number of
command posts, including commanding the elite
Wing at Biggin Hill, and at the time of the Allied
invasion of the continent, he led No. 145 (Free
French) Wing. His total score stands at 21 aerial
victories (some sources cite 17). He retired
with the rank of Air Commodore in 1967. In 1991,
he published his autobiography “Nine Lives”.
KITS 10/2026
INFO Eduard
35
October 2026