During late 1942 eighteen Spitfires, which were ordered before the beginning of the war, were delivered to Portugal, to form the bulk of their Aeronáutica Militar (Military Aeronautics - Portuguese Army's aerial branch). Those Spitfires were given the registration numbers of 370 to 387 and were assigned to equip Squadron XZ. Portuguese squadrons were marked with a set of letters that also served as a code painted on the aircraft.
By virtue of the treaty that granted the Allies the right to use the bases in the Azores islands, Portugal was going to receive, for free, 36 Spitfire Mk. Vb, among many other aircraft.
Those 36 Mk. Vb were shipped between October 1943 and January 1944.
Eventually thirty-three aircraft were delivered, were given the registration numbers of 1 to 33 and were assigned to aerial base of Ota (located in a civil parish close to Lisbon and officially called as 'Base Aérea Nr. 2'), where they were employed to form two new squadrons (Squadrons RL and MR) that were part of the Fighter Group stationed there.
In 1947 sixty more Spitfire Mk. Vb (mostly of the LF sub-variant) were bought from Royal Air Force's surplus. This new batch received the numbers of 34 to 92.
Some were assigned to form a new squadron, Squadron ZE, while the rest were sent to supplement the numbers of the already existing ones.
By virtue of the treaty that granted the Allies the right to use the bases in the Azores islands, Portugal was going to receive, for free, 36 Spitfire Mk. Vb, among many other aircraft.
Those 36 Mk. Vb were shipped between October 1943 and January 1944.
Eventually thirty-three aircraft were delivered, were given the registration numbers of 1 to 33 and were assigned to aerial base of Ota (located in a civil parish close to Lisbon and officially called as 'Base Aérea Nr. 2'), where they were employed to form two new squadrons (Squadrons RL and MR) that were part of the Fighter Group stationed there.
In 1947 sixty more Spitfire Mk. Vb (mostly of the LF sub-variant) were bought from Royal Air Force's surplus. This new batch received the numbers of 34 to 92.
Some were assigned to form a new squadron, Squadron ZE, while the rest were sent to supplement the numbers of the already existing ones.
On 1st July 1952 the Portuguese Air Force (Força Aérea Portuguesa) was created and, as a result, the Aeronáutica Militar ceased to exist, resulting in a deep reorganization of every Portuguese aerial unit.
Three Spitfire squadrons were merged into two (Squadrons 20 and 21), this time designated with numbers and still based at Ota. At the same time, the aircraft designation system was changed, with the Spitfires receiving a four digit code, in which the first digit indicated the category of the aircraft (in the case of the Spitfire it was the number 4 - 'fighter'), the second the type within the category (Spitfire - 3), while the other remaining two were the aircraft's own number. Example given, the previous Spitfire number 26, was now 4326.
Anyway one year later, in 1953, the Spitfires were written off service.
Three Spitfire squadrons were merged into two (Squadrons 20 and 21), this time designated with numbers and still based at Ota. At the same time, the aircraft designation system was changed, with the Spitfires receiving a four digit code, in which the first digit indicated the category of the aircraft (in the case of the Spitfire it was the number 4 - 'fighter'), the second the type within the category (Spitfire - 3), while the other remaining two were the aircraft's own number. Example given, the previous Spitfire number 26, was now 4326.
Anyway one year later, in 1953, the Spitfires were written off service.
Sources:
1st AJ-Press - Monografie Lotnicze 40 - Supermarine Spitfire Part 3 (translated)
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Supermarine_Spitfire_operators#Portugal
No comments:
Post a Comment