KITS 12/2020

P7923 or P7926, No. 411 Squadron RCAF, RAF Digby, Great Britain, July 1941

No. 411 Squadron RCAF was the second Canadian squadron that operated as part of Fighter Command over continental Europe. The unit

was formed on June 16th, 1941, at RAF Digby in Lincolnshire, equipped with the Spitfire Mk.IIa. The unit attained operational status in August 1941 as part of Hornchurch Wing, with the new Spitfires Mk.Vb. This aircraft wore the typical camouflage scheme of RAF fighters in the

summer of 1941; Temperate Land Scheme with Sky under surfaces, 18 inch wide fuselage band and propeller spinner, all in Sky (Air Ministry

Blue). Code letters were in Medium Sea Grey. Like other Spitfire Mk.IIs at the time, this aircraft was equipped with the TR.1133 VHF radio

and, as such, there is no wire aerial between the antenna mast and the fin tip antenna mast. The R.3002 IFF device was carried, indicated by

the two associated wire aerials stretching between the fuselage sides and the leading edges of the horizontal tail.

P7966, W/Cdr Douglas R.S. Bader, CO of Tangmere Wing, RAF Tangmere,

Great Britain, June - July 1941

P7966 was flown by Douglas Bader after he became CO of Tangmere Wing on March 18th, 1941. This Mk.IIa is one of Bader´s personal aircraft, sporting his initials DB as the code letters. The DB code was also the reason why Bader´s radio call sign was Dogsbody. It is not known

with certainty if nose art was applied to this aircraft, but probably not, because no photograph showing nose art specifically on P7966 is

known to exist. Of note is the fact that this aircraft is equipped with a De Havilland 5/39A constant speed propeller. Bader crashed after colliding with another Spitfire, flying another ‘DB’, which was a new Spitfire Mk.Va, near Saint Omer, losing one of his prosthetic legs during the

bailout and his subsequent capture on September 9th, 1941. He spent the rest of the war, until his liberation by advancing US troops in April

1945, imprisoned at Oflag IV-C in Colditz Castle in Saxony.

INFO Eduard - DECEMBER 2020

eduard

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