Supermarine Spitfire. African Users. Part One. Egypt.

 

In February 1945 Egypt acquired a total of 26 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vc Trop to update their fighter squadrons. Deliveries began that same month and all of them were scond-hand aircraft, some of them being worn out or even damaged, having to be repaired.  Some of them received some ad-hoc field modifications like having six exhausts, instead of the standard three the Mk.V was equipped with. All of them belonged to the 'Trop' sub-variant which was equipped with a Vokes dust filter, giving them that characteristic appearance.
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the Mk.Vs were employed to patrol quieter coastal areas far from the frontlines.
One year later, in 1946 the Royal Egyptian Air Force (REAF) bought 38 Spitfire Mk.IX which operated both in Nos. 1 and 2 squadrons and were employed during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War in a wide variety of combat related roles, where they clashed with their Israeli foes in more than one occasion.
It is reported that the REAF also got at least one T.Mk.IX (a  two-seater trainer conversion of the Mk.IX) in 1950. This order was supplemented by a batch of 20 Spitfire F.Mk.22 on 1st May 1950, however, it is believed that only 19 were delivered and the last one was replaced by the aforementioned T.Mk.IX. 
Although little information is known about Egyptian usage of the Spitfire Mk.22, it is believed that at least one was used during the 1956 Suez Crisis to perform reconnaissance flights over the Sinai Peninsula. 
In any case, by that time, October 1956 they were already retired from service and, most probably, scrapped.

Sources:
1st Hellion & Company - Middle East at War 54 - Air Power and the Arab World 1909-1955 Volume 8 The Revival in Egypt and Iraq 1943-1945
2nd https://www.destinationsjourney.com/historical-military-photographs/supermarine-spitfire-in-egyptian-service/
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_operational_history
4th https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/egyptian-spitfires.38588/