“Americans, Soviets and a host of other countries operated the famous fighter plane during World War Two and in the Post War Era.”

IT’S DIFFICULT TO overstate the reverence with which the British regard the Supermarine Spitfire.

While the more plentiful Hawker Hurricane likely made a greater contribution to victory during the Battle of Britain, it was the sleek and agile Spitfire that captured the world’s imagination. In fact, the quintessential British aircraft will forever be linked with the RAF of World War Two. However, Britain was not the only power to fly the legendary Spit. History forgets that Americans, Soviets and a host of other countries operated the famous fighter plane during World War Two and in the Post War Era. Consider this:

Yankee Spits

American factories would produce 99,000 fighter aircraft during World War Two, but the U.S. Army Air Force entered the conflict in Europe with a shortage of front line interceptors. Ironically, it was Britain, which was on the receiving end of so much U.S. military aid, that ended up equipping the first American fighter squadrons in Europe. The 334^th, 335^th and 336^th fighter squadrons, which were part of the VIII Fighter Command’s 4^th Group, were all formed in 1942 out of the remnants of the American all-volunteer RAF formations, the so-called Eagle Squadrons. When these units were transferred to the USAAF, they brought their Spitfires with them. Other American units, like the 52^nd and 31^st fighter groups arrived in England in 1942 and soon discovered that their P-39 Airacobras were woefully outclassed by cutting edge German aircraft. They too soon equipped themselves with the ubiquitous British fighter.

By the summer, American Spits were escorting bombers during daylight raids over Europe and providing air cover for operations like the 1942 amphibious Dieppe raid. And when in late 1942, the Allies launched Operation Torch – the invasion of North Africa – American Spitfires operating from Gibraltar mixed it up with Luftwaffe Messerschmitts and Vichy French fighter aircraft in the skies above Algeria. As the campaign against the Afrika Korps continued throughout late 1942 and the spring of 1943, U.S. squadrons equipped with Spitfires scored dozens of kills and even produced a number of aces like Norman MacDonald and Arthur Vinson. One flyer by the name of Frank Hill became the top scoring American Spitfire ace with seven victories. By the end of 1943, most American fighter squadrons retired their Spitfires for American-made aircraft like the P-47 and later the P-51 Mustang. Despite this, some American Spits continued to fight on throughout the Italy campaign. Additionally, a small number of United States Navy squadrons flew Spitfires as photoreconnaissance aircraft from bases in England throughout the war. [1]

All told, the U.S. military operated as many as 600 Spitfires during 1942 and 1943. Spitfires from the 52^nd and 31^st fighter groups alone destroyed more than 350 enemy aircraft. [2]

Red Star Spitfires

In addition to the 3,000 Hawker Hurricanes delivered to the Soviet Union via the North Sea, the Far East and the Persian Gulf, London also donated 1,200 Spitfires of various marks to its Russian allies. In fact, Stalin reportedly asked Churchill specifically for squadrons of the famous aircraft. The Russian Spitfires had to be pulled from the front lines however after it became clear the planes’ narrow-set under-carriage proved to be far too fragile for the unpaved airstrips of the Russian front. Soviet pilots were also unaccustomed to the wing-mounted machine guns – armaments on many Soviet planes at the time were positioned on the fuselage. [3] Worst of all, Soviet pilots and anti-aircraft gunners had trouble distinguishing the streamlined silhouette of the British fighter from German BF-109s, particularly the squared wing-tip configuration of the later Mk. LF IX Spitfire. Efforts were made to more clearly mark the Spitfires with larger and even brighter insignia, but they had little effect. The planes were withdrawn to the relative quiet of southern Russia. [4]

Other Countries’ Spitfires

In the postwar period, the Spitfire became the mainstay of a number of European air forces. France, Belgium, Greece, Italy and Sweden all maintained fleets of the iconic warplane. The Spitfire even saw action during the late 1940s. In 1947, Indian Spitfires struck Pakistani insurgents in the Kashmir.

Spitfire vs. Spitfire

In 1948, Egyptian Mk. IX Spitfires accidentally attacked a RAF base in Ramat David, Israel that was home to several British Spitfires. A number of British Mk. XIII Spitfires were destroyed on the ground during the raid, however some managed to scramble in time to retaliate. Four of the Egyptian Spitfires were destroyed in the ensuring dogfight. Egyptian and Israeli Spitfires would also do battle throughout the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. And in early 1949, four Israeli Spitfires attacked more than a dozen unarmed RAF Spitfires and Hawker Tempests during an incident along Israel’s southern border. The Israeli aircraft destroyed three British aircraft. Two RAF pilots were killed and one was briefly held captive by the Israelis [5]

(Originally published on MilitaryHistoryNow.com on April 17, 2013)