Supermarine Spitfire. European Users, part nine. Dutch Spitfires.

 

The Supermarine Spitfire was also employed by the Dutch. The first Dutch unit to be equipped with the Spitfire was the No. 322 (Dutch) Squadron. This unit was formed in June 1943 from Dutch staff from other Royal Air Force's units, specially No. 167 Squadron which was notorious for having many Dutch personnel. 
Since its inception, the squadron was active operating from RAF Woodvale, in Liverpool and patrolled over the Irish Sea in the defensive fighter role. In December 1943 it was sent to RAF Hawkinge, in Kent, to provide aerial coverage for sea convoys. 
Two months later, they were sent to Scotland to undergo some training and then, in April 1944 they were sent to Acklington to take part in Operation Overlord and its preparations. In June 1944 the unit was allocated to anti V-1 (German flying bomb) defence and, in August they were assigned to the ground support and bomber escort roles. Since January 1945 the unit operated from Dutch air bases, until April 1945 when they were rebased to Varrelbusch. 
On 7th October 1945 the unit was disbanded at Wunstorf, Germany, but a new 322 squadron was created by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNAF) after the war.

During 1946-1948 the Netherlands bout a total of 55 Spitfire Mk.IX and three Spitfire T.IX. The Mk. IXs were given tactical numbers preceded by the letter 'H'. Of those, 35 fighter (H-1 to H-35, plus three T. IXs (H-97 to H-99) were assigned to training units in the Netherlands. 
The remaining Mk. IXs, were shipped to Java where they took part in combats against the Indonesian rebels.
Oddly enough, during a packaging error in England one Spitfire received a complete tail section from a Seafire and on another curious note, the first Spitfire assembled in the Dutch East Indies, MH434, is still flying nowadays in the colours of The Old Flying Machine Company.
The personnel of 322 Squadron arrived in Java in October 1947. During the Indonesian War of Independence, the Spitfires were used to attack ground targets and to supply Dutch ground troops from the air. After Indonesia achieved independence, the whole Dutch East Indies Air Force went under the rule of the newly founded Indonesian Air Force, except for 322 Squadron which was never formally assigned to the Dutch East Indies Air Force and it remained part of the Lucht Strijdkrachten (Netherlands' Air Force), so in December they flew back to the Netherlands with all their equipment. 
On Dutch soil the 322 squadron continued to employ the Spitfires, transferred from the fighter school (Jachtvliegschool), as that unit had switched to jet trainers. In 1952 fifteen Spitfire Mk. IX were sold to Belgium.
Additionally, back 1946 and 1947 a dozen or so of unserviceable Spitfires of various marks (Mk V, IX, XI, XIV, XVI, XIX and 22) were purchased or leased for technical personnel training.

Sources:
1st AJ-Press - Monografie Lotnicze 40 - Supermarine Spitfire Part 3 (translated)
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._322_(Dutch)_Squadron_RAF
3rd http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/322_wwII.html
4th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Supermarine_Spitfire_operators#Netherlands

Fairey Firefly, Dutch users

 

The Fairey Firefly is a British World War 2 era fighter and anti-submarine aircraft that was produced during and specially after the World War 2. With more than 1.000 exemplars, it was exported to various countries, among them the Netherlands, which is the subject of this post.

The Dutch Naval Aviation service showed interest about the Firefly already in 1945, when they ordered 30 Fireflies F.1 which would be delivered on January 1946. The first 15 of that order served with the 860 Naval Air Squadron, assigned to the HNLMS Karel Doorman (R81) aircraft carrier which was deployed, during the late 1940s in the Dutch East Indies, as part of the forces countering Indonesian nationalists. When talks broke down in July 1947, the Fireflies were deployed to bases located close to Surabaya, from where some aerial strikes were launched and three Fireflies were shot down by ground fire. 
After that, the eleven surviving Fireflies were returned to their homeland where seven of them were later converted into T.1 trainers. Meanwhile, back in 1946, the Dutch Naval Aviation had ordered fourteen new aircraft (of the FR.4 series) and later another fourteen FR.5, in 1949. These new aircraft were deployed at Dutch mainland, in Netherlands Antilles and Dutch New Guinea. In this last territory they were deployed in as late as 1960 in response to territorial demands and threats issued by Indonesia. As Indonesian forces began to infiltrate the territory, the Fireflies FR.4 carried out ground attack operations during early 1962, and these strikes continued until a political settlement was negotiated between the two countries. 

Shortly later, the Dutch Fireflies (some of which were had been converted into target tugs) were written off, and most of them were scrapped. 

Sources:

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

2. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Firefly#Paesi_Bassi (translated)

3. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 28 - Fairey Firefly

4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

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