Messerschmitt Bf.110. Part two. The Bf.110 in Romanian hands.

 

Romania acquired twelve Bf.110C-3 during later 1942 which were assigned to Escadrila 51 Vânâtoare de Noapte (Night Fighter Squadron 51), which was later renamed as Escadrila 1. This unit was, for the time, experimental for the Aeronautica Regala Romana (Royal Romanian Air Force - ARR for short) and was created to defend the country against the fore coming Allied night raids. In spring 1944, however, the Bf.100C-3 was gradually replaced by the Bf.110F-4 which was more powerful.
The Escadrila 51 acted integrated within the Luftwaffe ranks and saw plenty of action during the American raids. One of their first actions took place on 1st August 1943 when American B-24 bombers attacked the country and the ARR scrambled many fighters, including the Bf.110Cs of Escadrila 51, to fight them. During this action the Squadron Commander, Cpt. Av. Ghica' Marin claimed one American bomber, however his aircraft was shot down by the B-24's gunners and he couldn't bail out from the burning Bf.110C, where he perished. His rear-gunner managed to bail out. 
Shortly later, on 10th August 1943 Slt. Av. Mihail Brâncoveanu, an aristocrat from an old family of Romanian rulers, who was married to the daughter of the Spanish ambassador to Bucharest, with his radio operator Maistru Paun Busuioc and rear-gunner Maistru Dumitru Gologan scrambled to intercept another formation of American bombers detected over the town of Nis, Yugoslavia, on route to Ploiesti, Romania. However, due to the lack of experience with radio-assisted direction finding, they got lost and eventually ran of out fuel near Sinaia, north-west of Bucharest, both radio-operator and rear-gunner bailed out safely but Brâncoveanu died.
On the 4th April 1944, another raid took place. By this date the Escadrila 51 had already became the Escadrila 1 Vânâtoare de Noapte and was integrated into Luftwaffe's command as 12./Nachtjagdgeschwader 6. That day two Bf.110 belonging to Escadrila 1 took off to intercept American bombers. The Bf.110 bore German markings and too-off from Zilistea airfield, following orders from the German command. One of those two machines, crewed by Adj. Av. Ioan Popescu as pilot and Serg. Georghe Dumitru as radio operator and rear-gunner took fire in the left engine and made a forced landing west of Caracal, south-west of Romania. The other Bf.110C-3 with Slt. Av. Gheorghe Stânciucu and rear-gunner Serg. Gheorghe Drâgan was shot down six kilometres from the village of Rediu, killing both crew members and completely destroying the aircraft.  
The following day, on 5th April another interception attempt took place, also in Zilistea, when one Bf.110C-3 took-off and joined the aerial battle that was taking place west of Ploiesti, but it was shot down too, killing its pilot. 
On 10th June 1944 a formation of 100 Lockheed P-38 Lightining fighters from the USAAF made a low-level attack, so, in order to protect the fighters on the ground, the German command ordered the fighters to be dispersed on various airfields.
During the summer 1944 the Bf.110F had already replaced the Bf.110C and some other interception attempts took place with similar results, as the ARR couldn't cope with the overwhelming aerial superiority of the USAAF.
When Romania signed the armistice on 23rd August 1944 and switched sides, most of the Bf.110 that were still intact were confiscated by the Soviets. However, at least one Bf.110F was kept and was used for liaison purposes, during April 1945 at Trencin, Czechoslovakia. 
There's only one Bf.110F documented to have flown with Romanian markings, this machine, coded as 2Z+AW was flown by Lt. Av. Ion Simion with Constantin Octavian as his rear-gunner and was part of Escadrila 51. It was based at Otopeni airfield, close to Bucharest.

Sources:
1st Mushroom Model Magazine - White Series 9111 - Romanian Fighter colour 1941-1945
2nd https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hyperscale/info-on-romanian-bf-110-fs-t201430.html
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_110#Operators

Messerschmitt Bf.110. Part one. The Bf.110 in use with the Regia Aeronautica

 

In early 1942, Italy had a serious night aerial defence problem. Every attempt to develop a domestic night fighter was fruitless and the night fighters of the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Italian Air Force), namely the Fiat Cr.32 & Cr.42, were clearly outdated. 
The Regia Aeronautica asked to their German ally for help, so in January 1942 an aeronautical commission led by gen. Attilio Biseo visited some German anti-air installations, such as radar sites and night fighter units of the Luftwaffe. 
That commission reached to the conclusion that the purchase of twenty-four Bf.110C-3s was urgent, as an interim night fighter, while Italian aircraft, such as the Caproni Ca.331B was put into mass production. 
During this time the Regia Aeronautica's night fighter operational structure was deeply modified too; On 15th February 1942 the Comando Intercettori Leone was formed, based at Tortona, in Piedmont with two operational training units assigned, 1º Nucleo Addestramento Intercettori, with base at Treviso, in the Veneto and the Scuola di Volo Senza Visibilità (Blind Flying School) at Linate airfield, Milan. All those units were intended to train personnel for the 41º Stormo (the Italian unit equivalent to a Wing in the British Royal Air Force -RAF-), for which the unit was changed from a bombing unit to a fighter one, composed of two squadrons, the 59th and the 60th Gruppi (the Italian equivalent to a squadron).
In June 1942 the first Italian crews were sent to Germany to train and obtain the qualification on the Bf.110C-3, which they got the next month and came back to Italy, with the first two Regia Aeronautica's Bf.110C-3.
During July, a German commission suggested to change the remaining undelivered Bf.110Cs for the Dornier Do.217J, as Messerschmitt had ceased production on the Bf.110C-3. This decision wasn't well received by the Italian pilots as the Do.217J had some setbacks in the night fighter role, owning to their bomber nature and were , just like the supplied Bf.110s, second-hand machines, in spite of its heavier armament and being radar-equipped. 
In August the 235ª Squadriglia (the Italian unit equivalent to a flight in the RAF), which was part of 60º Gruppo, was equipped with both Bf.110 and the Do. 217. 
On 15th September 1942 the 59º Gruppo was rebased to Venegono Inferiore airfield and assigned to the night aerial defence of Milan and Turin and on 21st October the 60º Gruppo was rebased to Lonate-Pozzolo.
When the 235ª Squadriglia achieved its combat readiness, it was composed of two Do.217J-1 and two Bf.110C-3 plus one unserviceable Bf.110C-3.
The first operational order for the unit took place on 25h October 1942 and the Bf.110Cs were kept on the night fighter patrols, without much success or activity of the Bf.110Cs as they were barely employed because most of the unit was equipped with the Do. 217J.
When the Italian armistice took place, the aircraft of the 235ª Squadriglia were taken over by the German at Lonate-Pozzolo and moved to Germany.
It seems that in 1943 a single Bf.110G-4/R3 was offered to the Regia Aeronautica for night-fighting evaluation purposes and later, in the spring of 1944, the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (the air force of the Italian Social Republic) received at least two Bf.110G-4/R3, which were assigned to the 170ª Squadriglia Caccia Notturna, based at Albenga-Villanova, on the Gulf of Genoa. However, as we couldn't find any graphical evidence of those fighters, we decided not to draw them.

Sources:
1st Bancarella Aeronautica - Ali Straniere In Italia 4 - Gli Altri Tedeschi (translated)
2nd https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_110 (translated)

Supermarine Spitfire. At Royal Air Force's service. Part eight. The Battle of Malta, part two.

 

This is a direct continuation from our previous post.
When the Spitfires were being delivered via aircraft carrier to Malta, the situation reached a point when it was considered dangerous for the carriers to operate on the western Mediterranean region, fearing U-boat and Luftwaffe attacks, so from late October to November 1942 a total of twelve Spitfire Mk. Vc were equipped with a single 170 gallon drop tank and flew direct from Gibraltar to Malta, covering a distance of 1.000 miles (1609.34 Km) in a ferry flight which lasted more than 5 hours.
All those Spitfires fought, and eventually won, the constant aerial attacks from the Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica on Malta. The most successful Spitfire pilot in Malta was the Canadian Plt. Off. George Beurling of No. 249 Squadron, who shot down 26 and a third German and Italian aircraft between June and late October 1942.
It was there, in Malta, where the Spitfire was modified to carry underwing bombs. One machine numbered EP201 from No. 229 Squadron was fitted with one 250 lb bomb under each wing in September 1942 and were employed as improvised bombers to raid fortifications and airfield in Sicily, where their bombs were released at 7,000 feet (2.134m) diving at an optimum 60º angle.

The Spitfire Mk. VI was a high altitude variant designed to combat the Luftwaffe high-altitude bombers, such as the Junkers Ju.86P which, in 1940, could achieve higher altitudes than most fighters of the time, so it was decided that a new Spitfire variant would be needed.
During a meeting the Air Ministry asked for a Spitfire provided with a pressure cabin capable of maintaining high pressures at high altitudes.
That cabin was used to counter the physiological problems found by pilots at high altitudes and it was designed to be locked with four toggles and sealed with an inflatable rubber tube. It could be jettisoned by the pilot in case of emergency. The windscreen was the same as the ones from Mk. III and some Mk. V. 
It was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin 47 driving a four-bladed propeller and featured extended and pointed versions of the B-Type wings with an extended wingspan.
However, the threat of the Luftwaffe did not come to fruition and only 100 Mk. VI were manufactured by Supermarine. Eventually only two squadrons, Nos. 124 and 616 were fully equipped with the Mk. VI, albeit many other units employed the type in small numbers as an interim fighter, when transitioning to other marks of the Spitfire or other fighters. 
In most of the cases the Mk. VI were employed at low altitudes, where it was discovered that any given Mk. V could outperform the Mk. VI and, at those altitudes, pilots often flew without the canopy (it was removed before flight) because the cockpit got uncomfortably hot and they were reluctant about its capacity to jettison in case of emergency. 

Sources:
1st Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 39 - Supermarine Spitfire in Action
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_operational_history#Mediterranean_service
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_(early_Merlin-powered_variants)

Supermarine Spitfire. At Royal Air Force's service. Part seven. The Battle of Malta, part one.

 

During January 1942 the first Westland-built Spitfire flew for the first time, pushing the number of manufactured-Spitfires to more than 3300 at the end of the year. By June 1942 there were 59 Spitfire Mk.V squadrons based in Great Britain, and seven additional more in the Mediterranean. In August there were no less than 42 Spitfire Mk. V squadrons to cover the Dieppe Raid.
The Mk. V was the most numerous of the Spitfire variants and eventually equipped more than 100 Squadrons of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It saw action on every battle front were the RAF or Allied' air forces were present.
By 1942 the threat of a land invasion of England fell considerably and the main focus of the war turned to the USSR and the Mediterranean. It was in Malta, where by the spring 1942 the defence of that island was becoming critical. Only the Spitfires could challenge the German fighters on equal terms, so the first tropicalized Spitfires Mk. Vs were delivered via the aircraft carriers such as USS Wasp or HMS Eagle. The first Spitfire flight in the Mediterranean took place earlier, on 7th March 1942 when 15 Mk. Vs took off from HMS Eagle aircraft carrier, off the coast of Algeria to land on Malta. 
Provided with a large and peculiar under-nose fairing over the Vokes Multi-vee filter for the carburetor air intake, the Mk. Vc was also equipped with enlarged oil and radiator intakes to optimize cooling in tropical and desert climates. The improve its range, three sizes of fuselage slipper tanks -30 gal. for short range, 90 gal. for long range and 170 gal. for ferrying could be attached in the belly. 
During the spring months of 1942 around 275 Mk. Vb and Mk. Vcs were delivered to Malta. In order to make possible the Spitfire to take off from an aircraft carrier wooden wedges were used to allow the Spitfires to leave the carrier with partial take-off flap settings, so, when the aircraft gained enough altitude, the pilot opened the flaps completely, the wedges fell out and then the flaps could be closed. 
On 20th April 1942 the code-named "Operation Calendar" took place, when a total of forty-seven Spitfires and pilots from Nos. 601 and 603 Squadrons flew from USS Wasp to Malta. In "Operation Bowery", on 9th May, additional 50 Spitfires flew from USS Wasp and 14 from HMS Eagle, sixty of them managed to land safely on Malta, with one Spitfire with a defective long range fuel tank landing back on USS Wasp, despite not having a tailhook. In "Operation Style", on 3rd June, further 32 Spitfires flew to Malta from HMS Eagle, although they were intercepted while on route and four were shot down. 

Sources:
1st Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 39 - Supermarine Spitfire in Action
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_operational_history#Mediterranean_service

Supermarine Spitfire. At Royal Air Force's service. Part six. The Spitfire Mk.V

 

(This post is a direct continuation from our previous post) 
As we wrote, a new complete redesign was not desirable for Spitfire because it disrupted the production lines, so in February 1941 No. 92 (East India) Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) became the first one to receive examples of the Mk. V which was, at first, considered as an interim fighter. This was followed by No. 91 (Nigeria) Squadron in March. Those machines were part of the initial production order for 1.000 Mk. Vs.
The Mk. V was an Mk. I/II airframe strengthened with longerons to fit a Merlin 45 engine rated at 1470 hp and by June production of the Mk. Va terminated in favour of the Mk. Vb which featured two 20mm cannons plus four 0.303 in machine guns in the wings. 
Early examples of the Mk. Vb had the same span of the Mk. I/II, although, in order to improve performance at low altitudes, clipped wings were introduced later. The number of small improvements that the Mk. Vb got was very high throughout its manufacture lines and at service levels. One of the most significant was a jettisonable cockpit canopy with more bulbous edges, replacement of metal-covered ailerons and the replacement of flame-damping exhaust stubs.
By September 1941 a total of twenty-seven RAF squadron were operating the Mk. Vb, while very operated the Va. In December those numbers rose to forty-six. 

The Spitfire Mk. III was a prototype variant, of which a single example was completed, N3297. It was the first significant redesign of the type and differed from previous marks by having clipped wings, a strengthened fuselage, a retractable tailwheel, an internal bullet-proof windshield and 88 lbs of armour plating. Two additional inches more forward rake was added to the strengthened undercarriage and the wheels were fully enclosed by doors when retracted.
Priority for the Hawker Hurricane Mk. II was given, so the Spitfire Mk. III wasn't put into production and was employed as a test-bed for different engines (among them the Merlin 60 and 61 - the same one that would eventually power the Mk. IX) and armaments until September 1944. 

The Spitfire F.IV was the prototype for the 'F' sub-mark which was powered by the Roll-Royce Griffon engine. Its inception dates back to 4th December 1939 when Supermarine design staff printed a brochure where they proposed the idea of converting the Spitfire to the Rolls-Royce Griffon engine, expecting many performance improvements. However, the problematic development of the Griffon engine meant that the prototype of this machine would not be ready until late 1941.
The Griffon IIB which the Mk. IV was fitted with was a single-stage supercharged engine of 1735 hp. This required stronger longerons to cope with the weight of the engine, as well as bigger radiator and oil cooler, although it kept the asymmetric under-wing radiator layout of the single stage Merlin engine. The lower thrust line and larger capacity of the Griffon engine required a complete redesign of the engine cowling, with more prominent blisters over the cylinder heads and a third tear-drop shaped blister on the upper forward cowling to clear the magneto, and a deeper curve down to the spinner, which was much longer than previous marks. A four-bladed Rotol propeller was employed. This propeller catch a lot of pilots out because it rotated in the opposite direction to that of the Merlin: to the left from the pilot's perspective, instead of to the right, meaning that the sliptstream swung the Spitfire to the right on the ground, requiring the rudder to be turned to the left during take-off.
The Mk. IV DP845 flew for the first time on 27th November 1941 and was equipped with the full-span C type wing. It featured a small tail unit and retractable tailwheel. It had also external bracket hinges under the wings, denoting the installation of braking flaps, which were soon removed and the F.IV was soon also fitted with a mock-up six-cannon armament, three per wing. The aircraft was renamed to 'Mk. XX' to prevent confusion with a PR. Type and, then it became the Mk. XII. 

Sources:
1st Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 39 - Supermarine Spitfire in Action
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_(Griffon-powered_variants)
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_(early_Merlin-powered_variants)

Supermarine Spitfire. At Royal Air Force's service. Part five. After the Battle of Britain.

 

The Spitfire Mk. II was, externally, identical to the Mk. I. It incorporated all the improvements made to the Mk. I. It was powered by the Merlin XII engine rated at 1.175 hp, which employed 100 octane fuel, instead of the 87 octanes one. The Mk. II was manufactured at Castle Bromwich, Birmingham with the first airframe being completed in June 1940 and the first 750 Mk. IIs were equipped with the "a" type wing, while the remaining 170 had the "b" type wing. Cockpit protection was improved and self-sealing fuel tanks were also introduced, albeit many Mk. Is were already retrofitted with them.
Some few experiments were carried out on Mk. IIs, specially aimed to increase Spitfire's operational range of 395 miles (636 km). This was done because the Spitfire was designed as a home-based defence fighter with the smallest possible airframe, so it had little space for extra fuel tanks. Therefore, various external fuel tank configurations were tested, including a 40 gal (151 L) tank faired into the wing leading edge. The Spitfire Mk. II (LR), as it was denominated (LR stands for 'Long Range'), was employed by Nos. 66, 118 and 152 squadrons for a few operations. However, the fact that the tanks couldn't be jettisoned and had an adverse effect on handling the aircraft, caused them to be withdrawn in favour of the fuselage 'slipper' tank.
The Spitfire Mk. II was also the first Spitfire to carry bombs, although of the non-lethal smoke ones. When the last fifty-two examples became Mk. IICs (the letter "C" meant a change in role instead of a wing configuration). These Mk. IICs were officially known as 'Sea Rescue Type E' and carried a small dinghy boat and food supplied to be parachute-dropped. They were employed by five squadrons and redesignated as ASR (Air Sea Rescue) Mk. IIs in late 1942.

After the end of the Battle of Britain, Royal Air Force's (RAF) Fighter Command put to rest many of the squadrons that carried the bulk of the fight and prepared for a campaign of offensive sweeps across the Channel. During this period of time, the Hawker Hurricane was gradually phased out and, in many cases, replaced by the Spitfire. For those fighter sweeps, day fighter squadrons developed a framework of code-names, the most important of which were "Rhubabr" - small scale attacks by fighters of fighter-bombers; "Circus" - heavy escort to light bombers which acted as bait to attract enemy fighters into the battle; "Ramrod" - just like Circus but with the main objective of destroying the bombers' target; "Roadstead" - an attack by bombers with fighter escort on shipping targets; "Rodeo" - a straightforward fighter sweep over enemy territory and finally "Ranger" - a freelance penetration of enemy airspace in squadron or wing strength with the objective of wearing down the defences. 
Such operations were risky for both men and machines and, although the Spitfire squadrons were able to hold against the German Messerschmitt Bf.109E and F variants, the advent of the Focke-Wulf Fw.190 in autumn 1941 and the many ground anti-air fire of all calibres, changed the odds. In fact, many Spitfires were lost to ground fire of all calibre, ranging from rifle rounds to purpose-built flak guns. Among those victims were 'Paddy' Finucane and Bob Stanford-Tuck, aces of the Battle of Britain.
During early 1941, the Spitfire was equipping most operational fighter squadrons and every effort was made behind the scenes, to ensure that it remained at least equal to its Luftwaffe adversaries. Nonetheless, it was undesirable to disrupt production of the Spitfire by introducing radical changes, so a new mark, Mark V was put underway. (To be continued)

Sources:
1st Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 1039 - Supermarine Spitfire in Action
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_operational_history#European_offensive_1941–1943

Supermarine Spitfire. At Royal Air Force's service. Part four. Battle of Britain

 

The Battle of Britain constituted the first major test for the Supermarine Spitfire, whose performance was often compared to that of the Hawker Hurricane, the main fighter of Royal Air Force's (RAF) Fighter Command. 
The Hurricane had thicker wings and its eight 0,303 in machine guns were easier to install and set-up than the Spitfire thanks to having a thicker wing and being closer the one from the other. Some veteran pilots from the Battle of France requested the machine guns to be harmonised, so their combined fire bursts could concentrate in 250 yards (228.6 m) ahead instead of the official 400 yards (365.76 m). This made the Hurricane a better gun platform than the Spitfire.
The Hurricane shot down more enemy aircraft than the Spitfire, thanks to its higher proportion in the skies. In fact, during the Battle of Britain, seven out of ten German aircraft were shot down by Hurricane pilots. However, losses were also higher among the many Hurricane squadrons. According to post-war studies, the kill-ratio of the Spitfire was, however, slightly better than that of the Hurricane.
Most of the Spitfires were armed with a total of eight 0,303 in machine guns, four per wing. It was very common for Luftwaffe's pilots to return home with 0,303 in bullet holes in their fuselages, without having sustained critical damage as their main fighter, the Messerschmitt Bf.109, had received armour plating in critical areas and self-sealing fuel tanks became common in their bombers. 
Those improvements made to German aircraft, required some improvement in armament, so many Spitfires Mk. I of No. 19 Squadron (the first unit to employ them) were fitted with two 20mm Hispano-Suiza cannons. This arrangement, however, proved to be unreliable, as the cannons often failed to fire, or they got jammed very easily. After complaints, those cannons were replaced with conventional machine guns in September 1940. This arrangement was, however, the forerunner of the Mk. Ib variant, which would become standard shortly later and would name, retrospectively, the not-cannon-armed Mk. I variant as the "Mk. Ia". 

The Merlin III engine was rated, theoretically, at 1.030 hp, however it required 100 octane fuel from the United States, which became available only from early 1940. This meant that the emergency boost could last only for five minutes, The extra boost wasn't dangerous as long as the pilot's notes were acknowledged. Anyway, as a precaution, if the boost had been used, the pilot had to report it upon landing, so it could be noted in the engine's log book. This extra boost became standard and more optimized on subsequent variants of the Spitfire. 
Between 1st August and 31st October 1940 a total of 208 Spitfires were lost in combat, seven of them destroyed on the ground and 42 in accidents.

The Speed Spitfire, as we have seen in a previous post, was a speed record variant which was pushed into RAF's service and fitted with photographic cameras, thanks to its high speed. It was one of the fastest aircraft in the world, however it suffered from reduced fuel capacity, so it was, eventually, used as a high-speed hack for the personal use of Air Commodore Boothman. 
It was eventually struck off charge on 14th June 1946 and scrapped. 

Sources:
1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_operational_history#Battle_of_Britain
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_of_the_Battle_of_Britain
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Speed_Spitfire