Andy Fletcher

I think it was down to personal preference. In the early days of the PRU there was no cockpit heating in Spitfires and there are many photos of pilots in Sidcot suites etc. That said there are also many photos with just Irvin jackets, although as John alludes to above they may have had multiple layers on underneath. I've read accounts of PR pilots wearing tights under their uniforms as well as multiple layers of gloves. The biggest jump in morale at 1 PRU came when a cockpit heating system was introduced on the production Spitfire V PR Type D (PR.IV) during the latter half of 1941. From then onwards all PR Spitfires and Mossies had cockpit heating systems, but how effective they were I don't know. Cheers Andy Fletcher

You are correct. X4784 was a PR.VII not a PR.IV

Hi Paul, The 4 May 41 date comes from the 1 PRU ORB and is the earliest reference I can find to its use in any primary source. The light green/off white colour reference comes from the image of X4944 which is described in primary documentaion as white or green. The photo was sent to me by the late Wg Cdr Roy Buchanan who described it as white as opposed to the slighly darker green (camotint) dicers that were also in use at the time. Cheers Andy Fletcher

Those converted from the PR.VII retained 8x .303, whilst those from the F.Vb had the cannon removed and retained 4x .303. Not sure if the machines that ended up with the FAA still retained eight guns.

Type B Spitfires had a camera in each wing, up to a focal length of 8in. The vertical camera in the rear fuselage was introduced in the Type C.

Fantastic work. You are probably aware but just in case P/O McDonald was a member of 'D' Flt 1 PRU and flew a total of five operational sorties, including his last, with the unit.

I have had a quick look through the 680 Sqn ORB. 23Jan44: Tingwell arrived from 74 OTU. 31 Jan44: 4 Hurricane I and 0 Hurricane II listed as being on strength (no serials) 29Feb44: 2 Hurricane I and 4 Hurricane II listed as being on strength. During Feb the unit received the following Hurricane IIs from 135 MU: BP510, HV479, HW663, LD204.

Do you have access to a copy of Tingwell's log book? What date(s) are given for him flying the Hurricane. I can look in the ORB as I recall it is quite good for listing the serials of aircraft being received/despatched from/to maintenance etc, even non-operational types.

Initially PR Hurricanes operated by 2 PRU and 680 Sqn were camouflaged with the unit's unique Royal/Bosun blue scheme. By the time Tingwell flew with 680 Sqn (from early 1944 onwards) the unit's aircraft were camouflaged standard PRU blue. As to what colour any hack would have been it is difficult to say. If it was an old PR Hurricane it was probably PRU blue but if it was a fighter variant it would probably have been standard day fighter scheme for the theatre.

The PDU were experimenting with various shades of blue during the spring/summer of 1940. What became known as PRU Blue was in widespread use by the PRU on its Spitfires from summer 1940 onwards.

The source for the info is the 1 PRU ORB (AIR 29/414-415). V5376 was lost on a sortie to the Dutch coast to look for shipping, not an uncommon task for the PRU/1 PRU in 1940 and early 1941.

The Blenheim IV was used in a limited operational capacity by 1 PRU for low/medium level operations when cloud conditions were suitable. They took over from the unit's Hudsons but like their predecessors they lacked the performance to be effective and fell out of use by mid 1941. Blenheim IVs known to have been used operationally by 1 PRU include: V5376, V5455, V5456, V,5458, V5635, Z5806. Other Blenheim IVs used by 1 PRU included: T2444, V5428, Z5807. I believe some of the Blenheim IVs were PRU blue as were 1 PRU's Marylands.

Z5806 is often listed as "Green Blenheim Z5806" in the Form Mauve for 1 PRU from early 1941. Some Type G Spitfires are also listed as green and this would correspond to the early Camotint Green scheme used by the PDU/PRU.

Hi DoD, The info comes from AP1565M, P, Q & R, which covers the Spitfire PR.IV, PR.VII, PR.XI and PR.XIII The last sentence of para 7 of the introduction states: "Seat armour protection is provided on all marks." I have no direct physical hands on knowledge of PR Spitfires but it was my understanding that most of the armour was deleted in PR types with the exception of the seat armour. Wasn't the pilot's headrest attached directly to the armour plate at the back of the seat? The headrests are clearly visible on many images of PR Spitfires, though that in and of itself is not proof of the armour at the rear of the seat being fitted. Regards

Seat armour protection was retained on all marks.

I can't speak for the installation in the FR Spitfires but the addition of the starboard panel on PR Spitfires was to allow access to the rear camera (between fuselage frames 14-15) of the split pair.

As far as I'm aware it was just PR Spitfires that were so modified. From the Type D (PR.IV) onwards it was done on the production line as opposed to fighter versions being converted to PR machines.

Hi Giorgio, With the original Spitfire I PR Type C (P9308), the first to feature a vertical fuselage camera, the main delay to its introduction was the re-routing of the flying control linkages to allow room for the fuselage camera installation. However, by the end of the war it would have been a well known modification and easily incorporated as opposed to early 1940 when the PDU were making it up as they went along.

The Spitfire PR.X definitely had a whip aerial on the spine. As Ray says it is often very hard to make out in photos but the one above is probably the best example to clearly show it.

The Spitfire PR.X was based on the high altitude F.VII airframe retaining the pressurised cockpit and armoured windscreen.

In reality PRU Pink was little more than an off white and is often described as white in various documents. The colour was used on some Spitfire Type Gs when it (the colour) was introduced for dicing in 1941. It was later used on 16 Sqn's FR.IXs when they started to fly more low level sorties. The colour was found to better blend into low cloud under certain light conditions.

Same with the invasion stripes, the PR pilots hated them.

Hi Ross, The info comes from AP1565M, Vol I. It is dated Sep 43 with amendments dated Dec 44. I think you are correct about it being a later mod as I'm fairly certain the early Type Ds and Type Gs didn't have the mud flaps (at least I have never seen any reference) but I have no idea when it was introduced. If you PM or e-mail me I will send you the diagram from the AP as I can't work out how to post it on the forum. The diagram also shows the recessed optical flats for the rear fuselage. Cheers Andy

You are correct. The PR.IV, VII, XI, XIII and PR.XIX all had jettisonable mud flaps over the rear camera ports, although they were prone to jamming when released.

By the time BP880 was delivered to India in Sep43 it would be standard PRU Blue, the Bosun Blue scheme was a left over from the earlier machines transferred from the Middle East at the end of 1942.