Griffon Spitfire aces

100 Pages·2008·34.18 MB·English

by  Andrew Thomas

ANDREWTHOMASisone
ofBritain'spre-eminentRAF
researchers, havingpublished
numeroussquadronhistories.
Presentlyaservingofficerin
theRAF,thisishisseventh
bookforOsprey,andheis
currentlyworkingonavolume
(withco-authorWarren
Thompson)detailingthe
exploitsofUSNightfighter
acesforpublicationinthis
seriesinSeptember2008.
ArtistCHRISDAVEYhas
illustratedmorethan20titles
forOsprey'sAircraftofthe
Aces,CombatAircraftand
EliteUnitsseriessince1994.
BasedinMansfield,
Nottinghamshire,andoneof
thelasttraditionalairbrush
artistsinthebusiness,hehas
becometheartistofchoice
forbothUSAAFfightersand
RAFsubjectmatter.
OSPREY AIRCRAFT OF THE ACES • 81
Griffon Spitfire Aces

SERIES EDITOR~: TONY HOLMES
o 5 PRE Y A IRe RAFT 0 F THE· ACE 5 • 8 .1
FrontCover FirstpublishedinGreatBritainin2008byOspreyPublishing
ByearlyApril1945,No41Sqn, MidlandHouse,WestWay,Botley,Oxford,OXlOPH
whichformedpartofNo125Wing
443ParkAvenueSouth,NewYork,NY, 10016,USA
ofthe2ndTacticalAirForce(TAF),
wasbasedattheDutchairfieldof E-mail:[email protected]
Twente,towhichithadmoveda
weekearlier.Theunitwasledby ©2008OspreyPublishingLimited
SqnLdrJBShepherd,anacewith
twoandthreesharedvictoriestohis
name.Hehadassumedcommand Allrightsreserved.Apartfromanyfairdealingforthepurposeofprivate
on18Marchfollowingthe study,research,criticismorreview,aspermittedundertheCopyright,
disbandmentofNo610Sqn,with DesignandPatentsAct 1988,nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,
whomhehaddestroyedseven
storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,
V1flyingbombstheprevious
summer.UnderJohnShepherd's electronic,electrical,chemical,mechanical,optical,photocopying, recording
leadership,No41 Sqncontinued orotherwisewithoutpriorwrittenpermission.Allenquiriesshouldbe
maraudingovertheshrinking
addressedtothepublisher.
territoryoftheThirdReichondaily
armedreconnaissancemissionsat
lowandmediumaltitude.Atsuch ISBN 13:978 184603298 1
heights,theunit'ssuperbGriffon
enginedSpitfireXIVsweresuperior
EditedbyTonyHolmes
tothepiston-enginedfighters
fieldedbytheLuftwaffe. PagedesignbyTonyTruscott
Earlyontheeveningof14April, CoverArtworkbyMarkPostlethwaite
ShepherdledRedSectionona AircraftProfilesbyChrisDavey
patrol,althoughhisflightoffour
ScaleDrawingsbyMarkStyling
aircraftwassoondowntothree
whenoneofthepilotswasforced IndexbyAlanThatcher
toreturntobasewithengine PrintedinHongKong
trouble.Theremainingtrioof
SpitfiresflewontotheBremen
08 09 10 11 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
area,where,onthesecondlegof
theirsweepshortlyafter1930hrs,
theyapproachedNordholzairfield ForacatalogueofallbookspublishedbyOspreypleasecontact:
at7000ft.Apairofenemyaircraft NORTHAMERICA
thathadjusttakenoffwerequickly
OspreyDirect,C/oRandomHouseDistributionCenter,
spotted,theleadingmachinebeing
aBf110nightfighterfrom7./NJG3. 400HahnRoad,Westminster,MD21157
ItwastowingaMe163Kometof E-mail:[email protected]
II./JG400,pilotedbyOberfeldwebel
WernerNelte(aseven-victoryace
ALLOTHERREGIONS
whohadflownontheEasternFront
with1./JG54).Therocketfighter OspreyDirectUK, POBox140Wellingborough,Northants,NN82FA,UK
wasbeingtowedtotheunit'snew E-mail:[email protected]
baseatHusum,ontheSchleswig
Holsteinpeninsula.OtherMe163s
hadbeenflownthereundertheir www.ospreypublishing.com
ownpowerearlierthatsameday.
Onsightingtheenemy,SqnLdr
Shepherdimmediatelyledhis wideleftturn,beforefinallydiving destructionofaKomet,albeitnot
sectiondown,asherecounted straightinaboutthreefieldsaway whenunderrocketpower.
afterwardsinhisCombatReport; fromtheMe110.' ShepherdledNo41Sqnwith
'1recognisedthemasanMe163, InfactWernerNeltemanaged distinctionuntilVE-Day,achieving
beingtowedbyanMe110.Iwas topulltheMe163outofitsdive sixmorevictories.Thesekillsmade
closingveryrapidly,butmanagedto atthelastmomentandcrash-land, himthefourthmostsuccessfulpilot
getashortburstinontheMe110, althoughthetowingcrewwere ontheGriffon-enginedSpitfire.
obtainingstrikesontheportengine killedwhentheirBf110crashed Thisspeciallycommissioned
andcockpit.TheMe110wentinto inflames.Thebriefcombatwas paintingbyMarkPostlethwaite
aleft-handdivingturn,flippingonto witnessedbyShepherd'sNo3, showsJohnShepherd'sSpitfire
itsbackandcrashingintoafield, FitLtAWJolly,whoconfirmed flyingpasttheburningBf110asit
whereuponitburstintoflames. hisCO'sclaimfortwovictories. divestoitsdestruction,whilstNelte
'TheMe163appearedtobreak Shepherdthusbecametheonly performsacrash-landinginhis
awayfromtheMe110andmakea RAFpilottobecreditedwiththe powerlessKomet
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
A NEW FORCE 6
CHAPTER TWO
DEFENDING THE REALM 10
CHAPTER THREE
TO THE RHINE 29
CHAPTER FOUR
NEMESIS OF THE LUFTWAFFE 50
CHAPTER FIVE
THE LAST RITES 66
CHAPTER SIX
A KIND OF PEACE 76
APPENDICES 86
COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY 91
INDEX 96
5
L.U A NEW FORCE
Z
o
ex:
L.U
~
a..
<!
:r:
u Duringlate eveningof17April 1943, aSpitfirefrom No 41 Sqn
tookofffrom its baseatHawkinge, on theKentChannelcoast,
fora'JimCrow'patrolthatwouldseeitspilotlookingforcoastal
shippingto attackofftheenemy-heldcoastbetweenCalaisandOstend
some 20 miles away. The post-flight Combat Reportsubmitted bythe
Spitfire'spilot,FIgOffDickieHogarth,readasfollows;
'SlightflakcamefrompointsonthewestsideofDunkirk.Isawasmall
shipinOstendasIpassed,soIwentintoasteepturntoporttolookatthe
vesselagainmoreclosely.IwasabouttwomilesnorthofOstend,flyingat
320mphIAS(indicatedairspeed)at200ft.HalfwayroundmyturnIsaw
aJu 88 painted black crossing my path from port to starboard. In a
secondIfoundmyselfrightonhistail,soIpressedthebuttonforaten
secondburst,closingrapidlyfromabout500yardstojust10yards.Iwas
missingbehind,buthitthetailandIthinkthefuselage.Thetailcrumpled
TheGriffon-enginedSpitfire'sfirst
up, and I broke offto starboard and made a quarter attack closing to
operationalsortiewasanuneventful
astern, firing about 2-3 seconds ofmachinegun ammunition- all that scrambleon3April1943,ledby
Ihadleft. FigOff'Jumbo'Birbeck,whowould
subsequentlymakefiveclaimswith
'Allowing quarter ring deflection on this attack, I set fire to his port
theMkXII,includingtwodestroyed
engine. Hethenglideddownintothesea, burningwellontheportside. (No41Sqnrecords)
Iwashitbyfirefromonerearmachinegun,andhadaboutthreeorfour
bullets pass through the wing. This did not affect the flying qualities
TheSpitfireXIImarriedtheMkV
ofmyaircraft, however, and I subsequentlyreturned to Hawkinge and
airframewithaGriffonenginethat
pancakedat2100hrs.' washousedinare-contourednose.
HogarthwasflyingEN235- oneofthenewlydeliveredSpitfireXIls Withclippedwings,theMkXII
retainedtheeleganceoftheearly
fittedwithapowerfulRolls-RoyceGriffonIIIengineproducing1735hp
Spitfirevariants,andproveda
at 1000 ft. He had just claimed the Griffon-engined Spitfire's first
formidablelowaltitudefighter
victory.No41 Sqnhadbegunre-equippingwiththispotentnewfighter (author'scollection)
6
optimisedforlow-leveloperationswhilebasedatLlanbedr, on thewest »
z
coastofWales,withthefirstexample(EN228) havingbeendeliveredto
m
theuniton24February. ~
Afterabriefworkingup, No 41 Sqnflew the type's first operational o"
sortieson3Aprilwhen,at1600hrs,FIgOff'Jumbo'BirbeckinEN601 :n:JJ
andSgtJStonierinEN609werescrambledfromValley,althoughthey m
foundnothing.TendayslaterthesquadronmovedsouthtoHawkinge,
and48hoursafterthat,onthe15th,theSpitfireXIImadeitsoperational
debut over occupied Europe when 'A' Flight commander Flt Lt Rex
Poynton, in EN601, led a patrol over Dieppe. Eight days later, again
whileflyingoffDieppe, Poyntonfailedtoreturnfrom amissioninthis
aircraft,whichdulybecamethefirst Griffon-enginedSpitfireto belost
onoperations.
A
MARRIAGE OF NECESSITy----
The development of the Rolls-Royce Griffon and the eclipse of the
SpitfireVbytheFocke-WulfFw190resultedinthemarriageoftheolder
airframe with a powerful new engine as a counter to the Luftwaffe's
increasing superiority in the low-level environment. Featuring clipped
wings, a re-contoured nose to house the newengine and afour-bladed
Thefirstpilotlostonoperations propeller,theinterimMkXIIwasverymuchoptimisedforthelow-level
intheSpitfireXIIwasFitLtRex interceptrole. Thismadethefighter idealfor counteringtheincreasing
PoyntonofNo41 Sqn,whowas
numberofenemyattacksonsouthcoasttowns.
shotdownbyFw190sfromJG26
on24April1943.TheGermanpilots The first Spitfire to be fitted with a Griffon engine was the
involvedinthisactionclaimedthat experimental prototype DP485, which had originally been a Mk III.
theyhaddownedanRAFMustang Followingaseries ofmodifications, itbecamethe prototypeofthe first
(No41Sqnrecords)
Griffon-enginedproductionvariant,designatedtheMkXII.Theaircraft
completeditsfirstflightwithGriffonpoweron27November1941.
ThefirstproductionSpitfireXIIwas ThefirsttrueMkXIIwasEN221,whichmadeitsmaidenflightwithFlt
EN221,whichwastestflownbythe
LtCliveGoslingatthecontrolson13October1942.Thefighterwasduly
IntensiveFlyingDevelopmentFlight
sent toA&AEE (Aeroplane & ArmamentExperimental Establishment)
(lFDF).Theaircraftlaterservedwith
No41 Sqn(viaWojtekMatusiak) BoscombeDownfortestinginearlyNovember. SoonjoinedbyEN222,
7
UJ both Spitfires were tested by the
Z
o Intensive Flying Development
0:: FlightatSupermarine'sExperimen
UJ
le. . talFlightTestairfieldatHighPost,
«
:c nearSalisbury.Amongstthosetofly
u
the aircraft were Polish aces Flt Lt
HenrykPietrzakandFltLtWladis
law Potoki. The evaluation testing
continueduntilFebruary1943.
Just 100 Mk XIIs were built, as
thenextGriffon-enginedvariantin
the form ofthe Spitfire XIV then
cameonline.Thismark,too,wasan
interim solution, pendingdevelop
mentofthedefinitiveMkXVIII.
TheSpitfireMkXIVwasacom
binationoftheMkVIIIairframe,albeitmuchmodified,andtheGriffon AttheIFDFatHighPost,thefirst
65 engine of2050 hp that drove a five-bladed airscrew. This variant twoSpitfireXllswereevaluated
byPolishpilotsFitltsWladislaw
was intended for both high and low altitude operations, hence the
Potoki(left)andHenrykPietrzak,
engine/airscrewcombination.TheGriffon65wasfittedwithatwo-speed bothofwhomalreadyhadseveral
supercharger and an intercooler, and to offset the fighter's lengthened victories.Theylaterbecameaces.
nose, the fin area was also increased. This and other aerodynamic (PietrzakfamilyviaWMatusiak)
improvements greatlyimproved the lateral control for pilots flying the
TheSpitfireXIV'sbeefedup
MkXIV.TheaircraftcouldbefittedwitheitheratypeBwing,mounting
features,includingtheextended
two 20 mm cannon and four 0.303-in Browningmachineguns, or the nosewithmassivefive-bladed
type Ewing, with two 20 mm cannon and apairof0.50-in Browning propellerandthenewtailcontours,
arereadilyapparentinthisexcellent
machine guns. Thus fitted, the MkXIV's operationalweight with full
viewofthefirstproductionaircraft,
fuelandammunitionwas8400lbs- considerablymorethanthe5300lbs
RB140,whichlaterservedwith
oftheoriginalSpitfireI! No610Sqn(PHTGreenCollection)
8