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RR201, F/Lt Richard J. Audet, F/Lt John J. Boyle, No. 411 Squadron, ALG B.88 Heesh,
The Netherlands, December 1944
RR201, F/Lt John J. Boyle, No. 411 Squadron, ALG B.88 Heesh, The Netherlands,
February-April 1945
Spitfire serial number RR201 is probably the
most famous Spitfire of the IXe version. Although
it was F/Lt Jack Boyle’s personal Spitfire,
the greatest successes with the RR201 were achieved
by another Canadian pilot and friend of Boyle,
F/Lt Richard Joseph “Dick” Audet. The latter flew
a total of 15 operational sorties between December
29, 1944, and February 3, 1945, achieving seven
of his eleven confirmed kills with Spitfire RR201
DB
-
G. The aircraft was decorated with the
inscription “Sweet Sue V” on the left side of
the fuselage tank. F/Lt Audet achieved his
greatest success with it on December 29, 1944,
when he shot down three Fw 109D-9s and two
Bf 109Gs (post-war research leans towards five
FW 190D-9s being shot down) during a dogfight,
thus becoming the only Spitfire pilot to achieve
ace status in a single sortie. He achieved another
valuable success on January 23, 1945, when he
shot down a Me 262 jet with RR201 and destroyed
another during the bombing of Rheine airfield
(post-war research confirms the Arado Ar 234).
Unfortunately, Audet did not see the end of the
war, as his Spitfire MK950 DB
-
A was hit and
crashed on March 3, 1945, during an attack on
an armed train. Although the original No. 411
Squadron report stated that Audet died in his
aircraft, post-war research confirmed that he had
made an emergency landing with his Spitfire and
was captured. After interrogation, he was to be
taken to a POW camp, but there Audet’s trail ends.
It is likely that he was murdered or died trying to
escape. His body was never found.
The RR201 first appeared in the records of
No. 411 Squadron on December 26, 1944, and
subsequently became the personal aircraft of
F/Lt John Joseph “Jack” Boyle, who had a white
“Sweet Sue V” painted on the left side of the tank
cover in honor of his young daughter. Spitfire
RR201 first flew with the codes DB
-
G and after
Jack Boyle took command of No. 411 Squadron
B Flight in January 1945, his "Sweet Sue V" was
transferred to B Flight as well and recoded DB
-
R
code. However, this did not occur until early
February 1945, when the RR201 DB
-
G (newly
coded DB
-
R by B Flight) was exchanged for the
MK950 DB
-
R (newly coded DB
-
A by A Flight).
F/Lt Boyle flew the RR201 until April 4, 1945, when
his operational tour ended. He flew 36 operational
sorties in the cockpit of the RR201 and destroyed
two Bf 109s in strafing of enemy airfields,
as well as 10 locomotives and 42 military vehicles.
In total, Boyle achieved six confirmed kills during
his wartime career and became, among other
things, the first Allied Spitfire pilot to shoot down
a Me 262 jet (December 25, 1944) as an individual
victory. Boyle’s Spitfire RR201 shown here sported
the elements of the fast identification valid after
January 3, 1945, for the 2TAF, type C1 roundels,
a black propeller cone and a shaded Sky band
in front of the VOP. The serial number RR201
was painted in reduced form in white above the
vertical stabilizer cockade. In this form it was
flown until February 3, 1945, with the code letter
G. Starting from February 6 onwards it sported
the code letter R.
KITS 12/2024
INFO Eduard
27
December 2024