KITS 12/2020

P8385, F/O Mirosław Ferić, No. 303 (Polish) Squadron, RAF Northolt, Great Britain,

May - June 1941

Famed Polish No. 303 Squadron, top scoring RAF fighter squadron in the Battle of Britain, was one of the few RAF units equipped with the

cannon armed Spitfire Mk.IIb. The Polish Spitfires were some of the most colorful RAF aircraft ever. Note the De Havilland 5/39A constant

speed propeller. The inscription IMPREGNABLE on the left side of the nose is speculation only, and it does not appear on any known photograph. The pilot, P/O Mirosław Ferić was a fighter ace with eight (and 2/3) confirmed kills and one probable. He was killed on February 14th,

1942, after his Spitfire Mk.Vb BL432 fell into a tailspin and the G-forces prevented the pilot from bailing out. Mirosław Ferić had kept his

personal diary since September 1939, which later became the basis for No.303 Squadron‘s unit history.

P7308, P/O William R. Dunn, No. 71 Squadron, RAF North Weald, Great Britain, August 1941

No.71 Eagle Squadron was formed with US volunteers at RAF Church Fenton on September 19th, 1940 with Brewster Buffalos, to be replaced by Hawker Hurricanes in November, and became operational at RAF Kirton in Lindsey on the 5th of February 1941. The squadron‘s first

confirmed victory came on the 21st of July 1941, when P/O W.R.Dunn, during a bomber escort mission, destroyed a Bf 109F over Lille. W.

Dunn later became the first American fighter ace of World War II by destroying five German fighters in aerial combat. Spitfire Mk.IIs replaced

Hurricanes in August, before the squadron quickly re-equipped with the new Spitfire Mk Vb. On September 29th, 1942, No. 71 Squadron,

together with two other Eagle squadrons, was transferred to the USAAF, becoming the 334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group of the 8th

Air Force, flying P-47D Thunderbolts from Debden AFB.

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INFO Eduard - DECEMBER 2020