Supermarine Spitfire. African Users. Part Two. Rhodesia.

 

To type about the Rhodesian usage of the Spitfire means to type the history of both nos. 237 and 266 squadrons of the RAF.

On 22nd April 1940, No.1 Squadron Southern Rhodesian Air Force was taken into control by the RAF, it was renamed as No.237 (Rhodesian) Squadron and put to serve through various campaigns like Abyssinia, Northern Africa or Persia. 

Equipped with various aircraft types like the Westland Lysander, Gloster Gladiator, Hawker Hurricane and, in December 1943 while stationed in Egypt, the Supermarine Spitfire. 

From December 1943 until April 1944 they were tasked with aerial defence and convoy protection duties, flying from RAF Idku. In April they replaced the Spitfire Mk.V with the Mk.IXc and were rebased to the French island of Corsica, in order for them to operate in Northern Italy and Southern France, in preparation for Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of Southern France. 
Once the operation was over, they were rebased to south-eastern France but, as the Allied armies linked up quickly with the ones that disembarked in Normandy, the associated aerial units were rebased again, so No.237 was rebased to Italy where they spent until the end of the war, flying occasional fighter sweeps over Po Valley. On 1st January 1946, they were renamed as No.93 Squadron, still operating from Italy. 
Ian D. Smith, who would later be Prime Minister of Rhodesia, flew in the No.237 Squadron, before being shot down over Italy.

The other Rhodesian squadron that operated the Spitfire, albeit not as much as No.237, was No.266 squadron. This unit was activated in October 1939 as part of the Rhodesian gift, and was equipped with the Spitfire Mk.I in January 1940. They saw action for the first time during the evacuation of Dunkirk on 2nd June 1940. During that same year they were based in south-eastern England where they took part in the Battle of Britain. In September they were rebased to RAF Wittering, where they remained until May 1942 when their Spitfires were replaced by the Hawker Typhoon.

After World War 2, in 1947, the Southern Rhodesian Air Force was re-established with a mixture of various aircraft, including twenty-two Spitfire F.22. They were flown to SRAF Cranborne, Salisbury (capital city of Rhodesia) in 1951. Their service with the Southern Rhodesian Air Force (SRAF) was, however, short as the SRAF was preparing to move into the jet age by purchasing various De Havilland Vampire fighters.
The Spitfires, therefore, which were them all assigned to the No.1 Squadron, were allocated to the ground attack role. With the unification of both south and northern Rhodesia in 1953, the SRAF became the Royal Rhodesian Air Force on 15th October 1954 and, by then the Vampires were already being relegated to the ground attack roles, relieving the Spitfire from its role. 

On 18th December 1954 the Spitfire was officially withdrawn from service with the RRAF. Some few machines were kept as gate guards and exposition material until the 1970s.

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesian_Air_Force

2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._237_Squadron_RAF

3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._266_Squadron_RAF

4th http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/237_wwII.html

5th http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/266_wwII.html

6th https://www.key.aero/article/rhodesian-fledglings

Airspeed AS.10 Oxford, part six, African users

The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a British twin-engined multi-role aircraft that served in great numbers through the World War 2 and after. With more than 8.500 machines manufactured, it saw service with many air forces throughout the world. Among them the following ones:

• Belgian Congo: In April 1944 six Oxfords were acquired by the Force Publique (Public Force - the local Gendarmerie and Military force of the Belgian Congo). They served in the photo reconnaissance and light transport role until July 1955 when the Belgian Air Force declared the Oxfords as obsolete given the poor condition of their wooden fuselage. They were all moved to Brussels to be scrapped.
• Egypt: During World War 2 the Royal Air Force loaned some Oxfords T.1 (the trainer variant) to the Royal Egyptian Air Force. They were assigned to the No.4 Squadron. The loaning continued after the war and until 1948 when the last one was transferred. They were used most probably during the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948 as makeshift bombers but any further detail about their fate is unknown.
• Southern Rhodesia: As part of the Empire Air Training Scheme many flying schools present in Rhodesia during the World War 2, operated with the Oxford. These were the Nos.20, 23 & 21 SFTS (Service Flying Training Squadron), at Salisbury and Bulawayo respectively, No.24 Bombing Gunnery and Navigation (previously known as No.24 Combined Air Observation School), No.29 Elementary Navigation School all of them at Moffat, in Gwelo and the Rhodesian Central Flying School (AKA Rhodesian Air Training Group), No.33 Flying Instructors School and the Central Flying School (Southern Rhodesia), all of them based at Norton.
• South Africa: As part of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the South African Air Force was allocated around 700 Oxfords which arrived to South Africa in November 1940. They were assigned to many training units all around South Africa such as the 21, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 62, 65 and 66 Air Schools. Due to the intense training many of them, 256 machines, were lost in accidents. Most of them were withdrawn in 1945 when the war ended and were sold two years later in 1947.

Sources:

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

2. http://www.belgian-wings.be/Webpages/Navigator/Photos/MilltaryPics/post_ww2/Airspeed%20Oxford/airspeed_oxford%20frontpage.htm

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force_Publique#Aviation

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_of_the_Egyptian_Air_Force

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Commonwealth_Air_Training_Plan_facilities_in_Southern_Rhodesia

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Commonwealth_Air_Training_Plan_facilities_in_South_Africa

Fairey Battle, part three

The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber designed and manufactured by Fairey Aviation Company. By the end 1940 the type was withdrawn from front-line service and was relegated to training overseas. The overseas user we're covering today are:

• New Zealand: For some unknown reason, two Battles ended up in New Zealand. One of them, registered as P6673 arrived in July 1941 from Canada and was numbered as "Instructional Air-Frame Number 42". The other one, registered as K9177 was sent in November 1941, arrived in February 1942 and was numbered as "Instructional Air-Frame Number 59". However, according to other sources, it was sent on 22nd November 1942 to the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and remained there as an instructional air-frame until May 1943 when it was shipped to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and sent to the ANA (Australia National Airways) Flying School to be used, after being repaired, as a mascot. However it was decided to use it for spare parts. We couldn't find any graphical evidence, so the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Southern Rhodesia: As Southern Rhodesia was part of the Empire Air Training Scheme, they received 25 Battles which were sent to the newly created No.24 Combined Air Observers School which was formed in Moffat, Southern Rhodesia. The school was designated as "No.24 Bombing and Gunnery School" in May 1943. Its main equipment was the Battle Target Tug, with 25 of them listed as active in 1944. In the unit's annual report it was stated, "Other than the extreme age of these machines, calling for constant repairs and replacements, very little trouble has been experienced on the type". The last 12 of Southern Rhodesia's Battles were written off in August 1945. As we couldn't find any photo, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
  Concurrently, the No.266 (Rhodesia) Squadron, was formed in late October 1939 at RAF Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, and were equipped with the Fairey Battle for a brief period of time, until January 1940 when they were re-equipped with the Fairey Battle.
• Denmark: According to some sources, a licensed-production line was already set-up in Denmark to manufacture the Fairey Battle but none of them was completed before the German Invasion in April 1940. Interestingly enough, in the same factory where the Battle was going to be manufactured, it was expected to produce the Fokker G.I too. 
• Finland: During the Winter War, in late November 1939, the Finnish Government asked to the British Government for aircraft. Therefore, 20 ex-RAF Battles were released for delivery to Finland and were expected to arrive between January and March 1940. However, with the end of the hostilities, none were delivered and the aircraft were sent to the RAF.
• Poland: In June 1939 a Polish Military Mission to London was formed under the command of General Ludomil Rayski. After long negotiations, it was agreed that one Spitfire, 10 Hurricanes and 100 Battles would be supplied to the Polish Air Force in a scheduled delivery.
  In fact, a first batch of 30 Battle was intended to be shipped to Danzig (Gdansk), but some archives state that it was one Spitfire and 25 that were loaded. On 18th September 1939 a merchant ship departed from Liverpool's harbour escorted by the Polish Destroyer ORP Blyskawica, arriving the two of the to Gibraltar two days later, as the cargo was expected to be unloaded in Constanta, Romania and delivered to Poland by land. However, Romania had declared that it was throwing in its lot in with the Germans and paralysed the transit of weapons all across its territory. Therefore the ship was ordered to sail to Istanbul, when the fall of Poland was unavoidable. They were offered to Turkey instead.
  At the same time, it seems that when Germany invaded Poland, the UK's Chief of Air Staff offered the immediate release of 20 Battles to be flown to France to be collected by Polish pilots. The proposal was refused on the grounds that deliveries of such small war material would make no difference in the outcome of the battle.

Sources:

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

2. http://www.rathbonemuseum.com/DENMARK/DKPhotos/DKPhotos.html

3. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a22k.htm

4. https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca/canadaairwar/canadaairwar1940.pdf

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._266_Squadron_RAF

6. Aeroplane Database June 2016 - Fairey Battle