KITS 12/2020

P7916, flown by Sgt William J. Johnson, No. 145 Squadron, RAF Tangmere, Great Britain, Spring 1941

This No.145 Squadron Spitfire Mk.IIa is another example of an aircraft wearing the Temperate Land Scheme stipulated by an Air Ministry

order on November 27th, 1940. The black painted (Night) left wing had the left wing roundel appropriately outlined in yellow. To improve

recognition of friendly aircraft, an 18-inch wide Sky Blue fuselage band was added ahead of the tail, and the spinner was painted in the same

color. This paint was usually a little bit more blue than the standard under surface Sky. Some sources name this color ‘Air Ministry Blue’. As

was the case with many Spitfire Mk.IIs in 1941, this aircraft wore a dedication on left side of fuselage, in this case the badge of the Hosiery

Manufacturer Association of Hickley. This aircraft is known also from a photograph taken after May 22nd, 1941, with the bottom surfaces

completely painted Sky and a higher fin flash. It is believed it was flown by Sgt. W.J.Johnson, and occasionally by Czech pilot F/O J.Macháček.

It is possible this aircraft was equipped with a Rotol RX5/3 propeller with wooden blades.

P8084, Fl/Lt James J. O´Meara DFC, No. 64 Squadron, RAF Drem, Great Britain, September – October 1941

Belonging to No. 64 Squadron, this Mk.IIa is representative of the new Day Fighter Scheme, introduced on August 19th, 1941. From that

date, RAF day fighters were to be painted in Dark Green and Ocean Grey on the upper surfaces and Medium Sea Grey on the lower surfaces.

The aircraft letters were by then changed to Sky, and the fuselage band and spinner remained in the same color. The fin flash was made 24

inches wide and 27 inches high. The aircraft wore the dedication name GARFIELD WESTON SVI. The twelve kill marks belong to Fl/Lt James

O´Meara, who began his combat carrier with No.64 Squadron over Dunkirk in late May 1940, then served with other squadrons from late

August of the same year and returned to No.64 Squadron on September 3rd, 1941 with the rank of Flight Lieutenant. However, by October

1941, he was retired from operations, joining No. 1491 Target Towing Flight at Tain. His total wartime tally was eleven confirmed kills with

two shared, one unconfirmed, four probables, eleven damaged and one shared damaged.

44

eduard

INFO Eduard - DECEMBER 2020