CamberrySauce Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Hi all, I've just got a small query concerning airfields in England. Would a Spitfire F Mk. 22 be seen on the same airfield as a Gloster Meteor? Thanks in advance, Cam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinK Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 (edited) Basically, yes, it was certainly possible as the Spit 22s were in RAuxAF service until around 1951, when they were replaced by Vampires and Meteors. You don't specify the Mark of Meteor, so given a free choice, you could see anything from a Mk III to a T Mk 7 or a Mk 8 from say 1948-51. Some Auxiliary Squadrons re-equipping with Meteor 4s from Spitfire 22s would most definitely had both types on the same airfield during the conversion. Kevin Edited February 20, 2017 by KevinK Typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinK Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 One further point: in those days, the Auxiliary Squadrons would go on Summer camps to RAF Stations. For example, my Dad's Squadron, 613 (City of Manchester) went to RAF Horsham St Faith. They would take twelve Spitfires, plus the Squadron Harvard, for weeks of exercises with the regular Squadrons of Fighter Command. These exercises were quite big things by modern standards, involving multiple Auxiliary and regular Squadrons. It's worth remembering that the Auxiliary pilots were almost all very experienced wartime 'retreads', while the regulars had much less experience, on balance, so that Auxiliaries showed up quite well. A further point is that prior to the Korean War 'wake-up call', Fighter Command's regular day-fighter Squadrons had become largely a Monday-Friday operation, so that at weekends, the Auxiliaries WERE Fighter Command. You could (with good conscience) model a Summer exercise 'somewhere in England' with a RAuxAF Spit 22 and an RAF Meteor 4/8. Kevin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now