Which type of Spitfire flew during the Darwin attacks in 1942?

[Spitfires Forever]

Hello Gents,

Hope all you fellow Britmodellers are preparing for the holiday onslaught. I asked Santa for a 1/48 B6N Tenzan, hopefully he delivers because I never got that Porsche Turbo Carrera I asked for back in 1978, but I digress....again. Anyway, I was curious as to the type of Spit Mk V was flying in defense of Darwin against the Japanese in 1942. From what I understand the Mk Vc was in the air, but how about the Vb? Also, were some of the Spitfire squadrons RAF or were they all RAAF? I am on about early war Pacific theatre aircraft right now so thusly the query.

Cheers and best of the season to all.

Spitfire Addict

[Procopius]

1 minute ago, Spitfire addict said:

Hello Gents,

Hope all you fellow Britmodellers are preparing for the holiday onslaught. I asked Santa for a 1/48 B6N Tenzan, hopefully he delivers because I never got that Porsche Turbo Carrera I asked for back in 1978, but I digress....again. Anyway, I was curious as to the type of Spit Mk V was flying in defense of Darwin against the Japanese in 1942. From what I understand the Mk Vc was in the air, but how about the Vb? Also, were some of the Spitfire squadrons RAF or were they all RAAF? I am on about early war Pacific theatre aircraft right now so thusly the query.

Cheers and best of the season to all.

Spitfire Addict

 

The three squadrons over Darwin were all equipped with the Spitfire Vc (Trop) using the Merlin 46 engine. Two of the three squadrons, 452 and 457, were Australian, and the third, 54, was British. I highly recommend Anthony Cooper's excellent book Darwin Spitfires, which has everything you'd want to know.

[Guest]

Excellent, just the info I was looking for! I thought it might have been a bit early for the Vc. They would have tangled with the Japanese Naval air group out of New Guinea? Or would it have been IJA Hayabusa's? I am pretty sure it was IJN Zero's but I am sure someone will be able to fill in that info. 

Cheers

[dalea]

Check ADF Serials Spitfire A-58 listing. I don't think there were Spitfires in Darwin till !943. 

[Ed Russell]

2 hours ago, Procopius said:

 

The three squadrons over Darwin were all equipped with the Spitfire Vc (Trop) using the Merlin 46 engine. Two of the three squadrons, 452 and 457, were Australian, and the third, 54, was British. I highly recommend Anthony Cooper's excellent book Darwin Spitfires, which has everything you'd want to know.

I second this recommendation. It is an excellent book which not only presents the action but gets into the how and why of the campaign.

http://www.darwinspitfires.com/

 

[Rabbit Leader]

59 minutes ago, dalea said:

I don't think there were Spitfires in Darwin till !943. 

Dalea is correct, these Spit Vc’s as mentioned above were formed after the initial Japanese attacks on Darwin - 19 Feb 1942. The main fighter defence during this period would have been provided by the Kittyhawk (P-40E) equipped US 49th Fighter group and a motley collection of RAAF Wirraways. 

 

Once again Anthony Cooper’s book is an excellent read and is highly recommended. 

 

452, 457 and 54 Squadrons were all UK based at the time of the initial 1942 Darwin attacks however were certainly fully engaged in the fight by about Feb 1943. 

 

Anyway. I hope this helps .. 

Cheers.. Dave 

[Graham Boak]

They encountered both IJN and IJA aircraft types.  For the modeller, they were all equipped with DH Hydromatic props, no Rotols, which historically turned out to be a major mistake.  Read Anthony Cooper's book to find out why.