I was lucky to receive a number of kind e-mails this week, following our Mustang article on last weekends Newsletter, saying how much they enjoyed the feature – I am extremely grateful for your comments. I was also asked if I would do something similar regarding the Spitfire this week, particularly as this year is destined to be a big year for our most celebrated fighter, as we mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Who am I to argue – the Spitfire it is! Unlike last week though, I wanted to look at the Spitfire in a different way and focus on an aircraft that appeared on the UK Airshow circuit in a unique scheme, for its involvement in a very exciting project, so here we go.
The Island fortress of Malta must have been a very dangerous place to live during the Second World War and at best, a slightly dubious place for a military posting. This strategically essential island was a major Royal Navy base during the war, even though the threat of air attack from the Italian mainland dictated that their main Mediterranean base had re-located to Egypt. These fears were well founded, as Malta was to gain the reputation of being the most bombed place on earth, during the siege of Malta – indeed the RAF airfield at Takali became the most bombed Allied airfield in the history of warfare!
As the first Italian bombers appeared over Malta, the RAF response was as determined and professional as you would expect, but they were seriously underprepared for war. The initial defence was mounted by a small number of surplus Navy Sea Gladiators, which were to write their glorious exploits into the history books. These venerable old fighters were soon joined by a few Hawker Hurricanes. Both of these aircraft acquitted themselves extremely well against the Italian Air Force, but when the battle hardened Battle of Britain veterans of the Luftwaffe arrived in early 1941, the RAF were very much on the run. As many Hurricanes were being destroyed on the ground as in the air, as the full force of the Luftwaffe was hurled at Malta and conditions for anyone living on the island became almost unbearable and certainly extremely dangerous. Fortunately, Malta was defiant in her resistance and against all the odds, it survived this withering onslaught.
Operation Calendar – Spitfires to Malta
Malta needed Spitfires and probably a miracle – history will show that they got both! Spitfires began to arrive from 1942 and this weeks header image is a fantastic representation of one of these first Spitfires to arrive on Malta. Operation Calendar saw 48 Spitfire Mk.V aircraft loaded aboard USS Wasp, at Glasgow, in this Anglo-American operation to supply the much needed Spitfires to Malta. Known as a ‘Club Run’, the aircraft carrier would take the relatively short range Spitfires to a distance close enough for the aircraft to take off and fly across the Mediterranean Sea to Malta, as the area was still extremely treacherous for Allied shipping The aircraft needed to use modified long-range fuel tanks for the journey, which leaked constantly and were a real problem for both pilots and ground crew alike. Indeed, the Spitfires were found to have a number of faults, particularly with guns and radios, which seriously undermined the considerable effort employed in getting them to Malta.
As the Spitfires would be flying for some considerable distance over the sea, it was decided that the standard Mediterranean theatre camouflage scheme of two tone brown would not afford them adequate camouflage protection and something had to be done. Whilst on board USS Wasp, the Spitfires received a temporary blue top surface paint, which was made up of watered down US Navy paint stocks, designed to allow the Spitfire to blend more readily into the colour of the Mediterranean Sea, when viewed from above. I am sure that you will agree that this unusual scheme for a Spitfire is rather pleasing on the eye and makes the already beautiful lines of Britain’s favourite fighter even more attractive, if that were at all possible. Unfortunately, this fantastic story was to end poorly for the Wasp Spitfires, as the Luftwaffe were prepared for the arrival of the aircraft and had a not so friendly welcoming party planned for them. On 20th April 1942, USS Wasp launched all of the Spitfires it was carrying, with her Wildcat fighters flying top cover for the operation. The Spitfires headed across the ocean towards Malta, but the island was ill prepared for their arrival. Within minutes of their arrival, there were massive Axis air raids on the airfield receiving the Spitfires and many aircraft were destroyed straight away. Any Spitfires that did manage to fly over Malta in the coming days were dogged by the problems of jamming guns and non-working radios and the initial arrival of the Spitfire on Malta was something of a non-event. Thankfully, lessons were learned over this fiasco and the Spitfire would enjoy much better days in the skies above Malta.
Merlins over Malta – The Defenders Return
During 2003/2004, there had been some tentative discussions on how fantastic it would be to take a Spitfire and Hurricane back to Malta, to commemorate the significant contribution made by both aircraft in defence of the island. Following many months of hard work, much discussion and I am sure a little begging, a small group of committed pilots and enthusiasts began to bring this dream to reality and Malta began to get very excited at the possibility of seeing these classic British fighters flying above Grand Harbour once more. In 2005, pilots Clive Denney and Charlie Brown took off from Duxford airfield and headed for Malta, on what was to become an epic and highly memorable ‘Return of the Defenders’ – I am not usually this lucky, but thanks to a very good friend of mine, I was actually present on the day. It was quite an emotional for me, so I can only imagine how fantastic a day it was for the MOM team, as both aircraft took the the skies, returning minutes later to give us all a series of formation flypasts, before heading off on the first leg of their journey.
I remember that the Historic Aircraft Collection’s Spitfire Vb BM597 (G-MKVB) was very much in demand during the Summer of 2005 and it is not difficult to see why. In support of the Merlins over Malta project, she received the temporary blue paint was that was applied to the Spitfires of Operation Calendar and she was very much a vision in blue. Looking so different to other Spitfires on the display circuit, she obviously has a busy summer, with her commitments in Malta, but I still managed to catch her a couple of times at Duxford. Unfortunately, her blue scheme was all too temporary and it was removed late in the season and she reverted to her more usual RAF No.317 (Polish) Squadron colours. This extremely interesting period in her history was now just a memory, but if you were lucky enough to catch her in her ‘blue period’, you will always remember how attractive she was. The picture below was taken at the Merlins over Malta departure day at Duxford. With well known Warbird display pilot Charlie Brown at the controls and all pre-flight checks completed, blue Spitfire BM597 is just about to take off on her epic return to Malta.
The Spitfire in die-cast – Everyone must have one!
As with our Mustang feature last week, when you consider the Spitfire in die-cast metal, you have to be talking about one of the most popular models to appear in the hobby. I would stick my neck out here and say that almost every collection of die-cast model aircraft will include at least one Spitfire model, because without exception, I would say that the Spitfire has been the most popular aircraft type to appear in metal. In view of our main feature, it would be extremely rude of me not to look at a pair of Corgi model sets that were produced in commemoration of the Merlins over Malta project, before we look at any other Spitfire models. It was obvious that a high profile historic aviation project of this magnitude would make for a superb model set and Corgi did not disappoint us. Both of the sets included both Spitfire BM597 and Hurricane Z5140, with both also being fully certificated, limited edition releases. AA99182 was produced in Corgi’s Legends style packaging and was a limited edition of 1360 certificated sets – please do not be fooled with this set. You may think that as a Legends series release that this is not collectable – nothing could be further from the truth! Many of these models will have been displayed, with its packaging thrown away and as a consequence, finding one of these sets in mint condition is now extremely difficult.
AA99183 is the other set produced by Corgi and is something very special indeed. With just 600 sets being produced, the box features magnificent Malta battle artwork by Gerald Coulson, which makes this an absolutely spectacular collectors set. Inside, as well as the models themselves, there is a plethora of memorabilia and signed items from the project, including some fabric used to cover the Hurricane – with just 600 certificated models produced, this really is one to add to the collection, if you are lucky enough to find one. If you already have one, you really do need to hold on to it, as it is certain to be amongst the most collectable items in the years to come and with only 600 to go around, they will be tough to find.
It will come as absolutely no surprise that almost every die-cast manufacturer has a Spitfire in their model line-up and I don’t intend to cover every one, as I will be here all weekend. As with last weeks feature though, when you think die-cast Spitfire, it is difficult to look much further than the magnificent models produced in the 1/48th scale Hobbymaster range – they really are addictive. Displaying the unmistakably beautiful lines of the Spitfire to perfection, these handsome models have been very popular indeed since they were first released and probably did more than any other model to ensure the acceptance of the 1/48th scale as a major collector scale. Let’s take a little look at what we are talking about.
Spitfire Summer – Our latest Offer of the WEEK
Our Mustang offer last week was very well received by our readers last week and many of the e-mails I received this week were asking if I would consider offering our remaining Spitfire models in a future offer – well, here is your opportunity. Without doubt, the Spitfire has been the most popular 1/48th scale model we have ever stocked at Flying Tigers and our last remaining models must go this weekend. With both Merlin and Griffon powered Spitfires available, this is your last chance to bag a Spitfire bargain, as many of the lines are now only available in very small quantities. One of the Spitfire models available is HA7806, which is pictured above. This Mk.II machine was the mount of Flt. Lt. Adolphe Vybiral of RAF No.312 (Czech) Squadron, based at Ayr airfield. Featuring the new style day fighter camouflage pattern of 1941, this makes for a superb addition to any collection and at just £34.99 each, we are making our last models available at less than the price of a 1/72nd scale alternative – spectacular value. To see our remaining Spitfire models, please click on this OFFER OF THE WEEK link, to be taken straight to this section. As usual, we will try to manage the remaining models and remove them from the site when they have sold out, but we will allocate the remaining models on a first to order basis, so please place your orders early, as this will be your final opportunity.
Deal of the Day review
Our weekly review of all the special deal offers we have announced this week begins with our Corgi Fighter offer, which went live on Monday. These sold steadily throughout the week, to a point where we have seen some sell outs and the remaining models are only available in ones and twos – the remaining models can now be found in our PROP SALE section. Tuesday saw us offer a Thunderbolt throughout the ages deal, with both the A-10 and the P-47 offered. We saw very swift ordering activity on this offer and very few models are still available – just as a point of note, we only have ONE No Guts No Glory Thunderbolt left and TWO Francis Gabresky Jugs available. These stunning models are definitely a case of grab them whilst you can!
Our midweek deal saw readers faced with a real JUMBO OFFER, as we made all our remaining Boeing 747 models in 1/200th scale available at very attractive discounts and we were shocked at the speed at which these magnificent models were snapped up. We have very few models still available, but the ones that we have can be found in this CIVILIAN AVIATION SALE link. Our final Deal of the week featured a delightful little model from the Hobbymaster 1/144th scale range, in the form of the beautifully produced Junkers Ju-52 ‘Tante-Ju‘. This iconic aircraft is a firm favourite with the collector and Hobbymaster have managed to cram high levels of detail into these diminutive models, which we are offering at Half Price – we have very limited numbers still available, so if Iron Annie is your thing, or if you would like to breath new life into your 1/44th scale collection, head straight for our Deal of the Day section.
The final word – Some trade for your Spitfire
In support of our main feature this week, it is a well known fact that every self respecting Spitfire needs something to chase and we have just the thing this weekend. The magnificent Focke Wulf Fw 190 was one of the premier fighter aircraft of WWII and was a constant thorn in the side of RAF Spitfires – we have a beautiful example for any collector who wants to display his new Spitfire with one of it’s main adversaries. We are making Focke Wulf HA7403 available at just £29.99 each, whilst our remaining stocks last – this is a fantastic offer on what is a beautiful die-cast model – if displaying it with your Spitfire, just don’t let the 190 get behind it, or things could get a little messy!