Supermarine Spitfire. European Users, part four. Denmark & Spitfire Danish pilots in World War 2.

 

Although there was not a Danish squadron in the Royal Air Force (RAF), there were some Danish pilots serving with the No.234 Squadron of the RAF as the Dane community in England raised funds to buy three Spitfires, to be piloted by Aksel Svendsen, Jorgen Thalbitzer and others. 
There were Danish pilots serving with the No.234 Squadron until the end of the war and it was the closes thing to a pure Danish squadron serving with the Royal Air Force.

The Spitfire also served with the Royal Danish Air Force after the war. During the year 1947 Denmark bought three Spitfire PR.XI (the reconnaissance version of the Spitfire Mk.IX) plus forty-five Spitfire Mk.IX, among them, four airframes for teaching purposes. 
Initially all of them were assigned to the Royal Danish Naval Aviation (Marinens Flyvevaesen), where a special unit called Spitfire Group  was formed at Kastrup Air Base  in August 1947 for pilot training. In January 1948 that unit was moved to Karup airport where it operated until autumn as the Spitfire School. From June 1948 the Spitfire formed the II Luftflotille (2nd Air Flotilla).

Every Spitfire was transferred to the 4th and 5th Squadrons (Eskadrille) of the Danish Army Aviation (Haerens Flyvertropper) until the Royal Danish Air Force was funded (Flyvevabnet) on 1st October 1950, and were passed to 722 and 725 Squadrons (Eskadrille). The first Eskadrille, 722, operated both Spitfire Mk.IX and the PR.XI from January 1951 until 1955 when it was decided to turn the squadron into a SAR unit equipped with helicopters. The Eskadrille 725 operated the Mk.IX only from May to September 1951. 

Sources:

1st https://www.danishww2pilots.dk/articles.php?article=40

2nd  AJ-Press - Monografie Lotnicze 40 - Supermarine Spitfire Part 3 (translated)

3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Danish_Air_Force

4th https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskadrille_722 (translated)

5th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire#Operators

Focke-Wulf Fw.200 Condor. Part One. Foreign Users

 

The Focke-Wulf Fw.200 Condor was a German four-engined monoplane designed by Focke-Wulf as an airliner, which saw service with various countries, among them, the following ones:

• Brazil: In early 1939 the Brazilian airline Syndicato Condor, which was a subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa, bought two Focke-Wulf Fw.200A airliners which, as sophisticated as they were, were employed in the Rio de Janeiro-Buenos Aires international route. When the company was re-organized and renamed to Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul in 1943, the Condors operated together with the American-supplied Douglas DC-3 airliners until 1948 (though some sources claim it was only until 1947) when the Condors were retired and replaced with Douglas DC-3s.
• Denmark: In 1938 the Danish National Airline, Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/B (Danish Air Lines or, abbreviated, DDL) acquired two Focke-Wulf Fw.200A Condor airliners. These were named as Dania and Jutlandia. Dania was seized by the British in April 1940 as, at that time, it was in British territory. It was pushed into service for a brief period of time with the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and with the Royal Air Force, before being damaged beyond repair one year later, in 1941.
  The second one, Jutlandia, survived the whole war and continued serving as an airliner until 4th September 1946, when it had to crash-land in Northolt, London, after landing in crosswinds. Fortunately there were no casualties but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and was written off.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Fw_200_Condor

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_Air_Lines

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serviços_Aéreos_Cruzeiro_do_Sul

4. https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serviços_Aéreos_Cruzeiro_do_Sul (translated)

5. https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Fw_200

6. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 13 - Focke-Wulf Fw-200 Condor

Airspeed AS.10 Oxford, part four, Various Users

The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a British twin-engined multi-purpose aircraft designed and developed by Airspeed Ltd. With 8.504 aircraft made, many of them were exported to various countries. Among them, the following ones:

• Denmark: At the end of 1946 the Royal Danish Air Force received 44 Oxfords that had belonged to the Royal Air Force (RAF). They were used for advanced flying training at the city of Karup, in Jutland. They were also used occasionally for communications and aerial photography and were withdrawn in 1956.
• Free France: The Free French Air Force received five new Oxfords in 1944. They were assigned to the 'Group Artois' (Artois Group) which was based at Pointe Noire (French Equatorial Africa - nowadays Republic of the Congo). They were used in auxiliary tasks, like aerial ambulances, until 1st July 1947 when the unit was deactivated.
• Finland: One Oxford T.1 was sold to a private Finnish owner in Denmark. It served through the 1950s until it was sold to another private owner. The one machine depicted below was equipped with skis. One of the few Oxford to feature such equipment.
• Greece: Due to the British help that Greece received after the World War 2, 19 Oxfords Mk.I/Mk.II were delivered in August 1945. They were followed in 1947 by 13 more and a number of them were equipped with bomb racks. Two Oxfords were equipped with photo-reconnaissance equipment, making them, together with the North American AT-6 Texan, the only dedicated recon aircraft available for the Royal Hellenic Air Force back then.
  They served through the Greek Civil War mainly in the reconnaissance role and were written off in 1948. It's unknown if they were used in the multi-engine advanced training role.
• Netherlands: The Airspeed Oxford was used by both the Royal Dutch Air Force and the Royal Dutch Naval Aviation Service. Initially, back in the No.1316 (Dutch) Communications Flight of the Royal Air Force, there were many Oxfords serving during the latest stages of the War. Additionally, three Oxfords were in service with the No.320 (Dutch) Squadron of the Royal Air Force.
  All those Oxfords, 28 according to some sources, passed on to serve with the Royal Dutch Air Force and were assigned to the AVOT (Additional Twin-Engine Pilot Training unit) at Twente, in Eastern Netherlands. They were also used for training the pilots of the Gloster Meteor, but by 1950 they were replaced by the Beechcraft AT-7.
  The Royal Dutch Naval Aviation Service received in early 1946 three Oxford on loan. They were used for training the so-called 'Detachment Aircraft Carriers, VKS' which was based at RAF Heston, in Middlesex as part of the 701 Naval Air Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm. From there, they performed regular flights to Schipol, Valkenburg and Eindhoven. In July those three aircraft were bought and were based in May 1947 at Valkenburg Naval Air Base, in the Netherlands, for liaison and photo-reconnaissance duties. Shortly later they were assigned to the No.320 Squadron for 'General Purpose Duties'. In 1951 a new squadron, the No.5 was formed and some Oxford were assigned there.
  Anyway, in 1952 and 1953 every remaining Oxford was written off from service as they were in poor conditions. They were replaced in their roles by the Beechcraft SNB-5/TC-45J  Navigator.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Oxford

2. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/airspeed_oxford_&_consul.pdf

3. https://www.haf.gr/en/history/historical-aircraft/airspeed-oxford-mk-i-ii/

4. https://kw.jonkerweb.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=746:airspeed-as-10-oxford-mkii-uk&catid=82&lang=en&showall=1&limitstart=&Itemid=544

Supermarine Sea Otter, Foreign Users

The Supermarine Sea Otter was a British amphibious aircraft designed and built by Supermarine. It was exported to various countries throughout the world:

• Denmark: After the World War 2, the Danish government bought seven Sea Otters to serve with the Royal Danish Air Force (being at the same time the last biplane and the first aircraft with a retractable undercarriage to serve with them) both in the patrol and flying school roles. When serving in the patrol role, it was, most probably, assigned to the 721 Eskadrille (721 Squadron) and served alongside the Consolidated Catalina PBY-6A.
  The Sea Otter had bad reputation among Danish pilots due to the position of the engine over the centre of gravity, which gave some very distinctive flying characteristics to the aircraft.
  The first exemplar was delivered to the Royal Danish Air Force in December 1946 and the last one in November 1947. As their radar was already outdated by those years, it was dismantled and they flew without any radar at all. An eighth one was bought to be used as a source for spare parts. In Danish hands, it served both in the patrol and school role until 3rd May 1952 when it was written off.
• Egypt: Apparently, the Royal Egyptian Air Force had some Sea Otters serving with their Air Force in the aftermath of the Second World War. Not very much is known about them, but they probably served during the First Arab-Israeli War (1948-1949) but saw no combat at all and were phased out as obsolete in the early 1950s. As we couldn't find any source about the Sea Otter in Egyptian hands, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• France: The French Navy received 17 Sea Otters, delivered in two lots. A first batch of 10 aircraft was purchased in 1947 from the British Royal Navy, which were assigned to the Escadrille 8S of the Aéronavale (French Navy's Air Arm) and were inmediately sent to operate in Indochina, based in Cat-Lai. Some hollow fuselages were also bought to serve as sources for spare parts.
  Some accidents struck two Sea Otters, numbered JN 122 and JN 127. They were sent to mainland France for repairs, but, thanks to the spare parts available, the JN 122 was repaired in Cat-Lai and renumbered as JN 1220.
  A second squadron, Escadrille 9S was formed thanks to a second delivery of seven aircraft in 1950 which were also sent to French Indochina.
  The last flight of a French Sea Otter took place on 21st March 1952, when the remaining 10 exemplars that were left in Indochina were written off the Aeronavale.
• Netherlands: The Dutch Naval Aviation Service bought at the beginning of the 1950s eight Sea Otters, three of them being of civilian origins and the rest being ex-Royal Air Force aicraft plus an unknown number of them in late 1950 for spare parts. As some of them were intended to serve aboard the HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81) aircraft carrier, two of them were equipped with a rear hook for deck landing.
  All of them were assigned to the 320 Squadron which was based at the air base of Valkenburg. The last one was delivered in December 1950 and shortly later, in February 1951 the first one was withdrawn from active service due to its poor technical condition.
  In May 1951, with the formation of the S&R (search and rescue) flight, almost every Sea Otter from the 320 Squadron, was transferred there. The Sea Otters were also transferred to Squadron 5 (which was a training one) and some of them were also sent to the newly formed Squadron 8 which a mixed one composed also by B-25 Mitchells.
  During February 1953 the Sea Otters had to perform many S&R missions over the North Sea and shortly later, in August 1953 they were withdrawn from service as their role was overtook by helicopters.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Sea_Otter

2. http://aerophile.over-blog.com/article-le-supermarine-sea-otter-103994429.html (translated)

3. https://kw.jonkerweb.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=567:supermarine-sea-otter-asr-mk1-uk&catid=96&lang=en&limitstart=1&Itemid=558