Geoffrey Sinclair

I should have made it clear I was talking about the RAAF HF.VIII, agreed some early VIII were given extended wings. Clostermann is not a very reliable witness, the speed of an Me262 was within the Spitfire's safe diving limit. Given the RAAF had plenty of P-40 the Spitfires were the interceptors and escorts until early 1945 when they also became fighter bombers. Darwin was defended by a wing of Spitfires to the end, the RAAF units went north, leaving three RAF squadrons to be the defensive force. 452 and 457 plus 54 (RAF) formed 1 Wing at Darwin arriving in January 1943 while RAAF 79 squadron went to New Guinea in June 1943, again to provide fighter cover. In May 1944 the RAAF Spitfire squadrons at Darwin transferred from 1 to 80 wing, in July 548 and 549 squadrons RAF joined 54 squadron RAF as part of 1 wing. 452 squadron went north in December 1944, 79 squadron arrived in Darwin in January 1945 to join 80 wing and receive mark VIII , 457 squadron and 80 wing HQ went north in February, 79 squadron in March. Morgan and Shacklady talk about the F.VII with the Merlin 61 and the HF.VII with the Merlin 71, but the production reports only talk about F.VII. Meantime to end July 1944 1,082 LF.VIII had been built, out of 1,226, the halfway point for LF.VIII production was end January 1944, exactly 613 built. For engines, Merlin 61 production June 1942 to January 1943 plus 1 in March and 2 in April 1943, total production 724. Merlin 70 production began in January 1944 ending in March 1945, 1,000 built but 999 in the production reports. Also starting in January 1944 were the Merlin 76, 77 and 85. Merlin 71 production totalled 16, in July and August 1944 Merlin 72 started production in February 1943, 1,000 built but 1,001 in the production reports, Merlin 73 began in December 1942, 3 that month, 1 the next, then production from April 1943, 700 built. When it comes to the Spitfire 21 and later wing it was of the same family as the earlier wing and a similar shape etc. but things like chord changed, though trying to find a full description of the later wing is a problem. So it was a little more than internal strengthening, plus the changes in flaps and ailerons. The shape of the wing from rib 21 outwards. http://spitfiresite.com/2010/04/concise-guide-to-spitfire-wing-types.html/2 http://spitfiresite.com/2010/04/concise-guide-to-spitfire-wing-types.html/3

HF.IX production was from March 1944 to June 1945 but none in April 1945, total produced 400. LF.IX production continued until August 1945 (1 for the month). According to the RAAF Chiefs of Staff report for week ending 28 July 1944, all future Spitfire shipments will be HF.VIII, week ending 15 September the RAAF had requested its allocation be cut from 22 to 18 (per month?) Using the ADF serials website all 160 HF.VIII went to Australia, though the site has NH614 as an LF.VIII, RAAF Spitfire Serials, A58-1 to 158, 200 to 259 mark V A58-300 to 550 mostly LF.VIII (300 and 301 F, 528 HF) A58-600 to 748 HF.VIII This is after changing what is on the web site for A58-424 to 427, 453 to 455, 471 and 538 from F to LF.VIII and NH614 from LF to HF.VIII The photographs I could quickly find were all standard wings. Meantime the Spitfire web site says the F.VIII (actually just VIII) were JF274 to 300, 316 to 364, 393 to 427, 443 to 461, 463 to 471, 473, 476, 479, 482 to 485, 501, 502, 505 to 513, 517 to 528, 557 to 563, 566, 567, 570 to 592, 613 to 619, 622 to 630, 658 to 662, 664, 666, 668 to 670, 673, 676, 693, 695, 698 to 706, 708 to 711, 715, 716, 743, 835, 894 to 899 JG160, 162, 166, 316, 317, 318, 492, 493, 494, 495, 541, 615, 616, 617, 619, 623

F.VII production September 1942 to May 1944, 139 built. F.VIII production November 1942 to September 1943, then a final 20 in November, 272 built. LF.VIII production May 1943 to January 1945, 1,226 built. HF.VIII production May to November 1944 and a final 1 in March 1945, 160 built. PR.X production 11 in April and 5 in May 1944, originally recorded as F.VII. PR.XI production November 1942 to February 1945, 471 built. First production batch of mark VIII serials between JF274 and JG695 less blackout blocks.

RAF Serial Registers, L4032 Taken on Charge 25 August 1939 delivered 28 October 1938, Air Member for Development and Production Farnborough, throttle and engine trials, 24 MU 27 May 1940, SOC 12 September 1941. L4032 to 4050 marked "Not to be sent overseas owing to non interchangeability of centre section half" X3115 Taken on Charge 23 October 1940, delivered 11 November 1940, Tollerton? S.A.S. 11 November 1940, A&AEE "D" Director General of Research and Development 2 September 1941 SOC 21 February 1943. AN127, Taken on Charge 14 August 1941, sent to Britain, Delivered 10 March 1942, Category E on 1 April 1944.

https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/uk/raf/blenheim1/blenheim-i-k7040-114/ https://www.destinationsjourney.com/historical-military-photographs/bristol-blenheim-mk-i-light-bomber/ K7040 taken on charge 15 March 1937, to 114 Squadron, Struck Off Charge 22 February 1938, became 1042M, which in turn was Struck Off Charge 20 August 1943. What happened to cause the first SOC is unclear, the squadron summary of events does not have any mention, nor does Graham Warner in his Bristol Blenheim book.

Closer and more detailed photographs on page 2, the amount of transparency in the under fuselage mounting makes it hard for me to see it properly.

32 OTU formed 20 July 1941 West Kirby UK, moved to Canada, operational Patricia Bay 10 December 1942, became 6 OTU RCAF on 1 June 1944 at Comox. Hampden production began in the UK in September 1938, the Handley Page line shut down in August 1940, the English Electric line began in March 1940, finishing in March 1942. Hampden production in Canada began in November 1940 with 11 built to end January 1941, then another 149 April 1941 to May 1942. According to the RAF all Hampdens were mark I bombers as built, no torpedo bombers. The idea the Hampden could carry a torpedo dates from the pre war Swedish interest but according to Francis K. Mason the torpedo bomber version began trials at the Torpedo Development Unit in May 1942. The Canadians built 160 Hampden and retained 75, AN102 was built in Canada, delivered 31 December 1941, taken on RCAF strength 6 January 1942. It is unlikely to have been delivered as a torpedo bomber. For those who want a what if, the second group of 80 Canadian built Hampdens were planned at some point to be fitted with Wright Cyclone engines. (G.105A?)

I suspect the under fuselage turret is the torpedo sight. A9-238 received 11 February 1943, 32 Squadron 6 March 1943, 8 squadron 3 April 1943, overhaul in August 1943, 8 Squadron 4 September 1943, 26 RSU for engine change 6 April 1944, engine caught fire during maintenance 7 May 1944. 8 Squadron used the code UV. “AFCO A.3/43 dated 4 Jan 1943, 2 letter codes (excluding C and I) for operational, transport, rescue and communication and communication flight aircraft, but only for operational duties. The unit is responsible for applying the letters. The letters are to be a maximum of 48 inches high, 24 inches wide, with 6 inches between letters and the strokes forming the letters to be 6 inches wide. These sizes to be reduced if there is insufficient space on the fuselage. In all cases the letters are to be the same height as the diameter of the fuselage roundel and shall form a horizontal line when the aircraft is in the flying position. Letters coloured Dope Camouflage Sky Blue Identity Number K3/195 for all aircraft.” https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/BasicSearch.aspx 8 squadron history sheets as the search string (or use advanced search and series A9186 control 21) clicking on the file title in the results page will give you the option of downloading a near 600mb PDF or looking through the unit history a page at a time. According to the RAN ship movement card the Aquitania was in Australian waters in several times in the 1940 to 1942 period then again February 1943, then again in 1945.

27 Squadron reformed on 19 September 1942 with Beaufighter VI (it had fought in Malaya as a Blenheim fighter squadron) had, according to RAF Squadrons by Jefford, Beaufighter VI November 1942 to July 1944, Beaufighter X October 1943 to February 1946 Mosquito II April to June 1943, Mosquito VI October 1943 to May 1944. Sentinal April 1945 to January 1946. Squadron disbanded on 1 February 1946. The Dihedral tail was on the VIc from at least late 1942. No information on when fitted to the VIf, some fighter pilots preferred the flat tail. The VIf was produced at Bristol Weston November 1941 to September 1942, Bristol Filton July 1942 to January 1944 and Rootes Stoke February 1943 to March 1944. So introduction of the dihederal tail might vary between factories. If you believe the British aircraft export report there were no Beaufighters exported for India until May 1943, any earlier would have had to come from the Middle East, transferred or redirected. The 27 squadron history is online at the British Archives, https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/advanced-search

Bomber Command War Diaries by Middlebrook and Everitt and the Bomber Command Losses series by W.R. Chorley are good initial sources of information, Pilsen raid 16/17 April 1943, 197 Lancasters, 130 Halifaxes, 18 of each type lost. The squadron history has DT791 ZA-K lost port outer to flak near target, lost port inner to flak near channel coast, crash landing near Lewes, 0520, all 8 crew sustained injuries or shock and taken to Lewes hospital. Aircraft classified Category E write off. So I would assume unless shown otherwise the damage in the photograph was caused by the crash. The 10 squadron history is online at the British Archives, (Records of Events) https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/advanced-search Halifax mark II DT791 was taken on charge 4 February 1943, Category E 15 April 1943. The mark II series 1 had the same turret arrangement as the Lancaster, two 0.303 inch in the front turret, another pair in mid upper turret and four in the tail turret. The Mark II series 1 special deleted the front and mid upper turrets, the Mark II series 1a deleted the front turret and had a four gun mid upper turret. The deleted front turret was originally replaced by a more aerodynamic nose then in the series 1a and later the nose was transparent and mounted a single free 0.303 inch gun. Later mark II had the rectangular fins.

USN VJ Day cancellations, each entry is a different contract SB2C-5 1,560, production ending in October 1945 SB2C-5 940, production yet to start. SBW-5 166 from 251 on order, production ending in September. TBM-3/-3E 172 production ending in September 1945 TBM-4 929 (from TBM-3 contract), production yet to start. TBM-4 2,000, production yet to start. TBM-4 1,200, production yet to start. So 2,666 Helldivers and 4,129 Avengers cancelled. Also, BT2D-1 271 from 548 on order, production yet to start. TBY-2 70 (Another 850 previously cancelled from contract for 1,100) Production ending in September. AM-1 651 from 750 on order, production yet to start. XBTK-1 17, from 22 on order, production yet to start. BTD-1 already had 595 cancelled from 623 on order, production ending in October. XTB2D-1 already had 23 cancelled from 25 on order, production yet to start. Tactical nuclear weapons were another generation of naval aircraft away at least. The jets being heavier and with much poorer acceleration from rest were putting the future of the aircraft carrier into question. A much better catapult system was required.

SB2C-5 (Curtiss) production began in February and finished in October 1945, with 970 built, SBW-5 (Canadian Car and Foundry) production began in June and finished in September 1945, with 86 built. The first SBW-5, USN Bureau Number 60210, was never accepted by the USN as a result Canada says 835 SBW built, the U.S. says 834. A couple of the differences, SB2C-4 Curtiss Electric CS 4 blade 12 foot 2 inch, design number C-2721200 SB2C-5 Curtiss Electric CS 4 blade 12 foot 2 inch, design number SPA9-200 Not sure where the extra 33 gallons internal fuel capacity in the SB2C-5 was located or the extra 10 gallons of oil.

What the USN Record of Acceptances has to say about the F4F variants. XF4F-3 (XF4F-2, XF4F-1), engine P&W XR-1830-76. Carrier – low wing monocoque – replaces XF4F-1 design. Returned to contractor’s works for modification from XF4F-2 to XF4F-3 in August 1938. Delivered Anacostia April 1939 for trials as XF4F-3 C-63072. Returned to contractor’s works June 1939. Finally accepted August 1939. F4F-3, first order engine P&W R-1830-76. Carrier – Low wing. Catapult, Development of XF4F-3. Later orders engine P&W R-1830-76 or 86, manufactured as landplanes, conversion to seaplanes by service personnel. F4F-3 (G-36A, Martlet I), engine Wright GR-1820-G205A-2. F4F-3 (G-36B, Martlet II), engine P&W R-1830-S3C4G F4F-3A, engine P&W R-1830-90, carrier development of F4F-3, (Martlet III) XF4F-4, engine P&W R-1830-76, hydraulically operated folding wings. F4F-4, engine P&W R-1830-86, Carrier development of XF4F-4, manually operated floating wings, no floatation. F4F-4B (Martlet IV), engine P&W R-1830-G205A furnished by Britain. XF4F-5, engine Wright R-1820-40. XF4F-6, engine P&W R-1830-90, furnished by contractor. F4F-7, engine P&W R-1830-86, development of F4F-3 long range reconnaissance, no armament, armour, flotation nor protected fuel, photographic. XF4F-8, engine Wright R-1820-56, development of F4F-4 with improved slotted flaps. FM-1, engine P&W R-1830-86, constructed from same specification as F4F-4. Martlet V. FM-2, engine Wright R-1820-56 (early) or -72W, similar to FM-1 except engine, developed from XF4F-8, Wildcat VI. End USN document. The Martlet II order had 10 with fixed wings, 90 with folding wings. AM954 is listed movement S.65363 lost at sea on 23 February 1942 in the contract cards, same as for AJ107, 109, 110 and 111. Mark II order AM954 to 963 (fixed wings) were delivered first, then AJ100 to 153, then AM964 to 999. USN acceptance report has 10 in March 1941, 1 in June, 49 from August to December 1941, 1 in February, 33 in March and 6 in April 1942. The contract cards are complete, none were left in the US at the end of 1942, according to the US exports were 9 in April 1941, then 5, 6, 11, 24, 0, 45 January to June 1942, total 100, it does mean as of end 1941 there were 51 accepted Martlet II awaiting export. The Greek order F4F-3A aircraft were accepted in March 1941. The contract cards list the mark I engine as Wright Cyclone G.R. 1820 – G205A, Martlet II P&W R.1830 – S3C4G. My list of where the Martlet IV were first delivered to uses the delivery dates, which of course come before arrival at the destination, so for example the first Martlet IV acceptances were in June 1942, first arrivals in Britain in August. With Victorious known to be headed to the US stopping exports from the US until the carrier was equipped seems logical, which explains the drop off in exports from December 1942. Plus the need to equip the escort carriers, Attacker commissioned in September, Battler and Stalker in October. According to the US the last Martlet IV acceptances were in November 1942, last deliveries in December, while the British report the last arrivals in Britain in February 1943. The import reports do not have arrivals of 56 Martlet IV, but 4 were lost at sea, so 52 are unaccounted for. The Martlet IV order was lend lease. (LL-83734 dated 30 June 1941). Victorious departed the US in February 1943 with 36 Martlet IV, 12 of which came from Britain (assuming no training losses), 24 from stocks in the US, the armoured carrier web site talks of 47 Martlet IV being available at the time, assuming that was east, not west coast and the 47 includes the ones which came from Britain leaves 52-24 = 28 Martlet IV in the US of which we know 11 were left behind early February 1943, but then available of course could mean serviceable, not total stocks. 28 Martlets = 2 FAA Squadrons equipped in the US and moved as formed military units, outside the import accounting system, the 10 for the fighter squadron on HMS Dasher would be obvious candidates. Victorious loses 16 Martlet before returning to the US, 11 of which are ones that came from Britain, then any Martlet IV on board were exchanged for FM-1/Wildcat V before departure for Britain. Which leaves 24-5 = 19 of the Martlet IV Victorious took on board unaccounted for numbers wise, presumably some lost in the US by FAA units training there, the rest shipped as part of a formed unit or left in the South Pacific. While I can see pressure to leave as many aircraft behind in the South Pacific as possible, with Victorious heading back to Pearl Harbor with a nucleus “self defence” air group, like in the Atlantic crossing, given the merchant shipping situation I do not see the USN deliberately shipping Martlet IV to the South Pacific for Victorious for the same reason, given the known handing over of standard USN F4F-4, yet there is the report of the losses in a Hurricane en route to Pearl Harbor. Against the leaving them behind push is the slightly non standard F4F-4B versus F4F-4 and the Admiralty holding onto a scarce resource. I do not have the relevant references to know what other (if any) FAA squadrons formed in the US and deployed from there equipped with Martlet IV, the number of Martlet IV available in February 1943 indicates 1 before February 1943, maybe 892 squadron on Dasher. I also do not know what Martlet if any were left in the US for the training units to use. Three squadrons deployed from the US plus some local losses would account for the 28 left behind and 19 returned Martlet IV. If the individual aircraft histories in Ray Sturtivant’s book indicate most to all made it to Britain or a British controlled port then either the export report has missed some or the RN carriers departing the US carrying any Martlet IV were officially doing so as part of military units. As another example of the 312 Martlet/Wildcat V reported accepted for the RN, only 268 are in the import reports, Victorious returned to the UK in September 1943 with plenty of Martlet V on board, official Martlet V imports were 5 in September and 10 in October. Summary: 220 Martlet IV built in the US, 164 reported arriving at British controlled ports, 4 lost at sea, leaving 52 unaccounted for, 12 re-exported to US on Victorious, so now 64 in US, 36 of these reported to be on Victorious when it left the US east coast, leaving 28 behind, less 10 for Dasher leaves 18, then 16 lost on Victorious during the deployment, leaving 20 of those taken from the east coast unaccounted for, so we have 38 unaccounted for as far as the import reporting system is concerned, or say 2 fighter squadrons worth formed in the US, shipped as military units, outside the importing accounting system, or a combination of that plus training losses plus left behind in the Pacific, or simply an error in the import report.

So 12 returned from Britain, of which 10 were lost, FN139, FN191, FN221, FN238, FN250, FN251, FN264, FN271, FN274, FN280. So the import report says 164 arrivals, 12 returned, then account for the 4 lost at sea and we have 220-164-4+12 = 64 Martlet IV that were nominally available for Victorious, of which 16 were lost in accidents, leaving 48 that presumably stayed in the US or even the South Pacific after the deployment. To ask the obvious stupid question, how many Martlet did Victorious have aboard when departing the South Pacific, did any get left behind as they were under repair for example?

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/naval-aviation-history/involvement-by-conflict/world-war-ii/location-of-us-naval-aircraft-world-war-ii.html May/June/July 1943 Saratoga air group mainly in Noumea. USN carriers operating F4F-4 in Southern Pacific. No mention of Victorious/Robin. Apart from the F4F and FM-1 acceptances mentioned earlier, 1943 USN fighter types acceptances for the RN began as follows, 8 FM-1 in February, 77 by end June, 10 F6F-3 in March, 70 by end June, 20 F4U-1 in May, 45 by end June. FM-2 acceptances for the USN began in September 1943, the last FM-1 accepted in December. The first FM-2 accepted for the RN in January 1944. Additions to The US delivery report says no naval aircraft for the RN in May 1942 or January 1943, but 221 June to December 1942. The RAF contract cards report Martlet IV deliveries from August 1942 and when you count the individual entries you end up with slightly different monthly totals than the summary totals reported before. Using the individual entries for where the aircraft was first sent the totals include 130 to UK or Speke August to December 1942, 29 to Mombasa October 1942, along with 4 lost at sea and 19 to unknown destinations, while the imports report says 134 arrived UK August 1942 to February 1943 and 30 arrived Mombasa November 1942, total 164 leaving 56 to be accounted for, versus 19 unknowns in the individual entries. Noting the imports report would exclude any lost en route, retained in the US or moved as equipment of a formed military unit, which would include those on Victorious. RAF Contract Cards for serials FN100 to 319, the destinations are taken from scanned microfilm of hand written originals that are hard to read at times, if you think the entry is wrong there is a good chance you are correct. 29 for Mombasa FN156 to 167, FN172 to 188. 4 Lost at Sea FN205, FN206, FN207, FN240 8 for 590 (yes 590) squadron, FN122 to 125, FN130 to 133 (September 1942) 8 for 890 squadron, FN169, FN170, FN171, FN196, FN197, FN199, FN293, FN294 (6 in October, 2 in November 1942) 14 for 894 squadron, FN128, FN168, FN198, FN227 to 236, FN298 (first in September, 12 in October, last in December 1942) 1 for 896 squadron FN100 (November 1942) 7 for 898 squadron FN297, FN301 to 306 (November 1942) 16 Unknown (blank or no entry) FN290, FN291, FN292, FN295, FN296, FN299, FN300, FN307, FN309 to 319 (first 3 delivered in November but the destination is illegible, possibly a squadron or to UK) Rest (130) to UK, 10 in August, 41 in September, 69 in October, 1 in November and 9 in December 1942.

Victorious left Britain in December 1942 and then had the opportunity to pick up F4F from the US until July 1943, this is the selection available, Grumman produced 100 Martlet II/F4F-3 for the RN March 1941 to April 1942, the final 90 of the order for 100 had folding wings. Grumman ceased F4F-3 production for the USN in September 1941, (including a batch of 65 F4F-3A March to May 1941) the first F4F-4 was produced in November 1941, production of which continued until December 1942, then Grumman switched back to the F4F-3, with 100 built January to May 1943. The Martlet IV/Wildcat IV/F4F-4B order for the RN had 1 built in February 1942 the the remaining 219 May to November 1942. General Motors produced its first FM-1 in September 1942, all up 23 by the end of the year, 2 of the November 1942 acceptances were for the RN. According to the UK imports report, Martlet IV imports to Britain were 10 in August 1942, 40 in September, 60 in October, 14 in November, 3 in December and 7 in February 1943, total 134, With the first Wildcat V arriving in May 1943. (Another 30 Martlet IV arrived in Mombassa in November 1942, the first Avenger arrived in Britain in April 1943.) On a related topic Admiralty Fleet Order 3186/1943 Martlet I and IV Aircraft Types of Engines Fitted. A.M.R. 2498/43. - 15 July 1943. Some confusion may at present exist concerning the types of Cyclone engines which can be fitted in Martlet I and IV, due to the large variety of type numbers which may be found stamped on the engine date plates. 2 (a) Engines suitable for the Martlet I : Cyclone G.205A, Cyclone G.205A-2 2 (b) Engines suitable for the Martlet IV : Cyclone G.205A-3, Cyclone G.251A, Cyclone R.1820-40B 3 Apart from minor differences between the engines listed in 2(a) and 2 (b) above, such as ignition harness elbows, tachometer drives etc., the main difference is that 2(a) are fitted with 3 jaw starter shaft dog suitable for an electric-inertia starter, while 2(b) are fitted with a 12 jaw starter shaft dog suitable for a cartridge starter. 4. Engines shown within groups 2(a) and 2(b) respectively are interchangeable with other engines shown in the same group. 5. All engines shown in group 2(b) are fitted with an external oil scavenge line running from the oil pump at the rear of the engine to the sump at the front of the engine. Engines in group 2(a) were not originally fitted with this external scavenge line, but are being fitted on overhaul by the incorporation of Mod. Cyclone/45 so that this line alone may NOT be taken as a criterion by which to identify Martlet IV engines.

No problems, I reported the information and add to it here, to see how accurate the information is and whether it can help sort out the Swordfish mark I/II split. That article is an impressive piece of research, it took a while to absorb. I believe non members can now download copies of Aeromilitaria back issues from the Air Britain site, see if this works https://air-britain.com/web/da-aeromilitaria/ as given the Swordfish article is in Spring 2001. Swordfish ASV, agreed some of the Ark Royal Swordfish had it in May 1941, what I should have written was the idea the aircraft were coming off the line either equipped or able to be equipped with ASV could have prompted a mark number change, October 1941 is definitely too early for RAF rocket capable aircraft production. Agreement Blackburn built 1,700 Swordfish, but V4690 crashed before delivery and was not officially counted, but no primary source I have gives the numbers of mark I and II. It is only in May 1944 the Ministry of Aircraft Production monthly reports start to use a mark number, III. Cumulative totals simply say Swordfish. Is it agreed no Swordfish were built as mark IV, they were all Canadian modifications? The Canadians say the Swordfish that arrived in Canada, mark II and III, used the Pegasus 30. The Blackburn RTO would give 835 mark I when V4760 is counted. ADM 1/16407 Aircraft Stocks and Movements October 1943 to December 1943 {not 1944 in original text) (actually includes September 1943 and January 1944). As of 25 September 1943, 874 Swordfish I and II on strength, 30 October 1943, 921 Swordfish I, II, II ASVX on strength, 27 November 1943, 950 Swordfish I, II, II ASVX on strength, 25 December 1943, 981 Swordfish I, II, II ASVX on strength, 29 January 1944, 1,016 Swordfish I, II, II ASVX, III, IV on strength. This does not help the mark I/II split, while if the aircraft were built in serial order the first mark III appeared in February 1944, it does further show the mark IV designation was in official documents and in early 1944. Contract Cards exist for the V, W, DK and HS154 to HS400 serials (first 188 HS serials). The engine for the first 165 V serials (to V4510) is given as Pegasus III, it then becomes Pegasus II for the remaining V, the W and DK serials. The HS serials production began in June 1942, have a Pegasus 30. The entry for V4690 notes crashed before delivery, not being replaced 1 October 1942, decisions on what to do with aircraft that crashed under test could take a while. V4689 and V4691 were both delivered on 13 September 1941. DK789, delivered 23 November 1941 was sent to an illegible destination to replace V4690. The first Blackburn built Swordfish V4288 was loaned to the Air Member for Development and Production, which meant it was officially delivered on 13 March 1941, V4289 was delivered on 29 December 1941 to RNAS Donibristle, the last V serial, V4799, was delivered on 4 October 1941, W5836, the first W serial, on 5 October 1941, the last 3 W serials, W5993 to 5, were delivered in 27 December 1941, the same date as DK670, the first DK serial, however the DK serials deliveries are not all in serial order, the final 10 serials DK783 to 792 were delivered first, in November 1941, those between DK670 to DK749 start delivery in December then have blocks of January, then February, then back to January deliveries, then February then throw in some March, it is not until DK772 that serials again normally align with delivery dates. DK781 and 782, the last DK serials, were delivered on 25 April 1942, HS154, the first HS serial, was delivered on 9 June 1942. Where possible the British system tried to have the engine in production before the relevant airframe, building stocks at manufacturer’s and maintenance units, which also often meant the engine went out of production before the airframe, so Swordfish production in 1944 was 419, ending in August, while Pegasus 30 production was 220, ending in May (and only 19 in April and 1 in May). Unfortunately none of the figures I have give a breakdown of Pegasus production by version before March 1942, there were 5,061 Pegasus produced in 1941, and another 772 January and February 1942, as of March 1942 the Pegasus VI, XVIII and 30 were in production, the VI ended in May 1942, the XVIII in September 1943. In a similar arrangement to the Blackburn production pause in May 1942 no Pegasus 30 were officially built in April 1942. Pegasus production cut backs began around mid 1942, and in early 1943 it was down to 100 to 110 engines per month. There were 1,719 Pegasus 30 built March 1942 to May 1944, out of an official total of 2,200 leaving 481 built to end February 1942. The Ministry of Aircraft Production monthly reports starting in March 1942 have 3 relevant tables, Repaired Engines, Engine Stocks in the United Kingdom, Stocks of Engines and Power Plants, with figures to the end of the previous month. In addition there is an engines allocated for export by the Air Ministry report but it means it excludes Admiralty shipments. In April 1942 the explanatory notes state the two engine stocks report now includes Admiralty stocks but the repair report does not, but the stocks report only has Pegasus XVIII, while the stocks and power plants report has 178 Pegasus 30, most of which were at maintenance units or naval air stations as of 28 March 1942, another 8 under repair are probably included in the stocks report. In May 1942 repaired engines report includes Pegasus 32. So out of 501 Pegasus 30 production to end March 1942, 178 can be accounted for leaving 323 versus 490 Blackburn Swordfish production (V, W, DK serials). Certainly some of the “missing” engines would have been lost without the loss of the associated aircraft, but then some aircraft could be lost and the engine saved, other engines exported, others fitted as upgrades to earlier aircraft and it was practice to build anything up to 35% spare engines early in the war (USAAF), the RCAF Merlin order for its Hurricanes had 20% spares, which provide rules of thumb for an idea of how many Pegasus 30 would be held overseas, including under repair once you have an idea of the (planned) local Swordfish strengths and shipping times to the relevant area. Over and above movements overseas of Swordfish as part of naval units, 30 were exported in 1940, 194 in 1941 and 120 in 1942. A 20% spare engine allowance for 1941 would be around another 40 engines but early year exports would be Pegasus III equipped. In January 1943 there were Pegasus 30 and 32 engines under repair, the stocks report including those with the Admiralty still only has Pegasus XVIII, while the Stocks of Engines and Power Plants as of 26 December 1942 has 564 Pegasus 30, most of which were at maintenance units or naval air stations. That is out of 1,110 Pegasus 30 built, Blackburn had built 689 Swordfish to end 1942. While 490 Blackburn Swordfish production to end March 1942 minus 165 definite Pegasus III V serial aircraft = 325 or about the number of unaccounted for Pegasus 30 at the time, this is not sustainable given the need for spare engines overseas and losses. The remarks section for each contract card serial have no entries about engine changes, only whether the aircraft was being sent packed for export. The evidence above can only say the change over of engines was in 1941 and at most under 300 Pegasus 30 were available for the early Blackburn Swordfish. This does align with the 280 engines noted as being a Blackburn responsibility, it is unlikely Blackburn were given spare engines, that would be handled by deliveries direct to maintenance units. Having 280 engines and assuming it was straight change over would place it in August 1941 (see below), serial number 221 of the order would be V4591 delivered 11 August 1941, V4440, delivered 31 May 1941 (two weeks earlier than the serials around it) is noted as being on loan to Controller of Research and Development at Fairey, so there was some sort of testing going on, which seems to have ended in mid August. If Blackburn had to do some work on the engines then a mixed batch of Pegasus III and 30 could have been built. The earliest photographed confirmed Pegasus 30 installations given above V4438 (delivered 13 June 1941), then V4517 (30 June 1941) then V4631 (23 August 1941). The contract cards say all these serials were delivered to the usual locations, no different to the serials around them. As noted before V4511 is where the contract cards switch from Pegasus III to II. Cumulative Blackburn Swordfish production to end of month, Dec-40 1, start V serials Jan-41 9 Feb-41 19 Mar-41 46 Apr-41 79 May-41 116 Jun-41 162 Jul-41 203 Aug-41 247 Sep-41 292 Oct-41 333, end V, start W serials Nov-41 379, start DK serials Dec-41 419, end W serials. Jan-42 449 Feb-42 469 Mar-42 490 Apr-42 500, end DK serials. When it comes to the mark I/II change over, with 835 mark I, Blackburn cumulative totals and monthly production for the relevant period are, Jan-43 731 42 Feb-43 773 42 Mar-43 818 45 Apr-43 863 45 May-43 909 46 Jun-43 949 40 Jul-43 1,000 51 If you assume mark II first came off the line in April then there are 818 out of the 835 mark I already produced by end March and it means almost all Swordfish from April onwards were mark II. Assume half of production was mark II from January and mark I production ends in July, half from February, mark I ends in June, half from March, mark I production ends in May. Sorry I cannot be more helpful.

Swordfish production, Ministry of Aircraft Production figures are 693 from Fairey and 1,699 from Blackburn, no mark information provided. However the RAF contract cards for the Fairey orders are complete, which give a total of 692 built Contract 402278/35 Requisition 33/35 for 89, K5660 to 5662 and K5926 to 6011 Contract 466845/35 Requisition 5/36 and 111/36 for 131, K8346 to 8449 and 8860 to 8886 Contract 534297/36 Requisition 51/36 for 150, L2717 to 2866 Contract 672134/37 Requisition 51/36 for 62, L7632 to 7701 (including blackout blocks from now on) Contract 743308/38 Requisition 167/37 for 60, L9714 to 9785 Contract 968679/38 Requisition 198/38 for 200, P3991 to 4279 Add one to Blackburn total to account for V4690 which crashed before delivery, it was not replaced and not counted as produced, so total Blackburn production 1,700 The incomplete RAF contract cards for Blackburn production also do not mention marks, the serials used were 300 V, 100 W, 100 DK, 400 HS, 250 LS, 350 NE/NF, 200 NR/NS. (Cumulative totals 300, 400, 500, 900, 1,150, 1,500, 1,700). The first order from Blackburn is given as either 300 or 400 (probably the latter), if 300 then total order to 400, then to 500, then to 1,150, then to 1,500, no mention of the final 200 serials. Order B31192/39 initial requisition 1/E1/39, additional requisitions 28 April 1941, 13 December 1941 and 9 June 1942 with possibly a final one on an illegible date 25? May? 194? Interestingly after building 500 Swordfish to end April 1942 Blackburn produced none in May 1942 before resuming in June. The British Bomber by Mason, British Military Aircraft Serials by Robertson report The V serials were mark I = 300 The W, DK, HS, LS, NE and NF serials to NF250 were mark II = 1,080 NF251 on and NR/NS serials were mark III = 320. No mentions of mark IV. [British Naval Aircraft by Thetford, was originally in the above list but in fact it correctly states the mark II began production in 1943] The above puts the change over mark I to II in October 1941 and mark II to III in February 1944, assuming aircraft built in serial order. Canadian Military Aircraft by J.A. Griffin has W, DK and early HS serial Swordfish serving with the RCAF as mark II, a total of 99 served between 5 January 1943 and 12 July 1947, along with 6 mark III, retaining their British serials. https://www.silverhawkauthor.com/post/canadian-warplanes-1-fairey-swordfish lists HS268 as a mark IV, local conversion? If Blackburn produced 834 mark I then the mark I to II change over was in April 1943, again assuming aircraft built in serial order, Blackburn Swordfish production to end March 818, to end April 863. First successful Swordfish rocket attack on 23 May 1943. ASV radars were carried from around October 1941. A change of mark for ASV carriage in 1941 matches 300 mark I built, but not for rocket carriage, a mark number change in April 1943 for rockets seems too late to enable the aircraft and trained crews to be in the Atlantic in May, Paul Kemp in U-Boats destroyed reports the rockets had been issued for front line service three weeks previous to the first successful attack.

Try https://www.designation-systems.net/usmilav/original-docs/ the 1945 and 1946 Model Designations of Army Aircraft are a good start, but the 1945 one does not cover the later P-51 versions and the 1946 one had less detail. Note the lack of entry for the NA-73 Mustang mark I, while the P-51 was the Mustang mark IA. I have not seen a copy but check out P-51B Mustang: North American’s sweetheart Stepchild that Saved the Eighth Air Force By James William "Bill" Marshall, Lowell F. Ford to see if it has the level of detail some people have reported. See if you can find a copy of "index of AF Serial numbers assigned to aircraft 1958 or prior", the downloadable PDF does not seem to be where I thought it was.

Thanks for that, I was wondering how many local tyres made it onto Spitfires and whether that influenced the number of smooth versus treaded tyres seen.

No Sunderland in Malaya or around the Indian Ocean in December 1941. For example the British Official history Order of Battle for 7 December 1941 only mentions Catalina, 3 with 205 squadron, 2 in reserve, Air 22/231 as of 27 December 1941, no Sunderland in the Far East, but 7 Catalina were with 205 squadron. I agree with Alan there were no Sunderland until much later, see also Short Sunderland in World War II by Andrew Hendrie. Since for some reason this ended up as the first page of my file, as of 30 June 1945, Sunderland squadrons under Air Command South East Asia, 222 Group, 205, 209 squadrons RAF and 35 SAAF, 222 Group, 346 Wing, 270 squadron RAF.

Back to RAAF Spitfire tyres. In December 1943 the RAAF began durability tests for locally made tyres on Spitfire A58-315 and found they were worn through to the canvas in 10 flights using concrete taxiways and runways but did better on non concrete runways. Any further details?

Vought O2U Corsair, Vought F4U (etc.) Corsair, Vought A-7 Corsair II. Go from a seaplane doing 150 mph downhill, a fighter doing 450 mph or more to a jet capable of 700 mph. P-47 Thunderbolt, A-10 Thunderbolt. Hawker Typhoon and Eurofighter Typhoon. Even the German numeric system in WWII reused some numbers, the Bf162 and the He162 for example. Unique names would work, like unique designations, but that would mean world wide agreement amongst designers and manufacturers.

According to the RAF Serial Registers MZ379 is not a valid serial, the block ends with MZ378. Assuming no typos in the listings, According to 77 Squadron records "H" was MZ700 as of 24 December 1944, lost an engine 14 minutes before target and then damaged by flak, radio operator wounded, landed at Woodbridge As of 28 December 1944 "H" was PN379, which is a valid serial, Taken on Charge 18 December. the aircraft being described as a (Y) type. No information on what that designation means. The aircraft did not take off for the operation. As of 29 December "H" was MZ369 or MZ379 (one of the 6 or 7 being an over type) the aircraft also being described as a (Y) type, which continues every time "H" is mentioned. As of 30 December "H" was back to PN379, which continues until 1 January 1945 we are back to "H" as MZ379, which continues until 12 January we are back to "H" as PN379. which continues until 16 January we are back to "H" as MZ379, which continues until 22 January we are back to "H" as PN379. I only checked December 1944 and January 1945 77 Squadron Record of Events. via https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/advanced-search "77 AND squadron AND record", restricting the selection to files available for download, which you can preview. They list serial, letter and crew, so you can check for the personal connection. You should still be able to order copies of the files for free. Generally the tail markings were applied to formation leaders for use in daylight operations, so not all aircraft in a squadron had them. As an aside for those after a possibly very different looking Halifax III, PN369 to 371 are reported as going to India (ACSEA) in March 1945. There were others.

According to the USN they accepted from Goodyear 2,001 FG-1, 1,997 FG-1D, 8 XF2G-1, 5 F2G-1 and 5 F2G-2. As already noted there was no Vought equivalent of the F2G, which used a different, more powerful, engine and had a bubble canopy. I believe the F2G-1 was for land bases, the -2 for carriers.