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Spitfire EN950 - Aircraft Details - Aviation Directory

Spitfire EN950


Type : Spitfire
Mark : Vb
Last Flew : 6th June 1944
Built at : Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory
Powered by : Merlin 45M
Known Codes :
FU-A


Known information
23rd June 1942Joined No.453 Sqn RAAF with code FU-A.
14th October 1942Damaged in flying accident.
31st March 1943Joined No.222 Sqn.
19th May 1943Joined No.167 Sqn.
20th July 1943Joined No.322 Sqn.
12th October 1943Joined No.416 Sqn RCAF.
13th November 1943Damaged on operations.
19th May 1944Joined No.350 Sqn.
06th June 1944Suffered glycol leak and abandoned south west of Friston. Flight Lieutenant Francois August Venesoen DFC killed.



Pilots and Aircrew who flew : Spitfire Vb EN950
A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking their name.
NameInfo
Venesoen, Francois August
Click the name above to see a profile of Venesoen, Francois August

   Died : 6 / 6 / 1944
Venesoen, Francois August

Francois August Venesoen DFC, a pilot from Belgium, who flew Spitfire with No.235 Sqn RAF, No.350 Sqn RAF, died on this day 6th June 1944 François Venesoen was born on 19th October 1920 and as he grew up he developed a longing to become a fighter pilot, so in the late 1930's he enlisted into the Belgian Air Force (Aéronautique Militaire). However his dreams were shattered in May 1939 when he failed pilot training, but despite this setback he re-mustered to become an air-gunner. François was sent to Nivelles aerodrome to a squadron within III Groupe of the 2e Regiment d' Aéronautique to fly in obsolete Fairy Fox two-seat biplane fighters. After Belgium was defeated Venesoen boards on June 23thd the HMS Ettrick in Saint-Jean-de-Luz and manages to escape across the English Channel, arriving in England on the same day, where he immediately sought to enlist in the Royal Air Force. It was not until 27th August that François was posted to serve as an NCO air-gunner with the Bristol Blenheim MkIVF's of No.235 Squadron based at Bircham Newton in Norfolk. The Squadron usually had the task which consisted mainly of convoy protection patrols and reconnaissance missions over the North Sea with occasional forays to attack the French Channel ports. The squadron suffered comparatively light losses of 6 aircraft on operations from July to October of 1940, and with claims for at least 12 Luftwaffe aircraft, achieved what could be considered a good return! Sadly however most of the crews No.235 Squadron lost went missing, but François survived the Battle of Britain as one of the Belgians to have proudly served amongst the ranks of 'The Few'. He applied for pilot training whilst with No.272 Squadron, which had reformed in November 1940 at RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland for shipping escort duties. He began his ab-initio pilot training with No.13 Service Flying Training School, and on successfully completing his elementary flying moved to No.5 Flying Training School at RAF Sealand near Chester on 9th July 1941, where he was soon granted a Commission. In October Pilot Officer Venesoen at long last realised his dream, for he gained his 'wings' and went to No.61 Operational Training Unit at Heston in Middlesex, to convert onto the Spitfire. On 18th December he joined the newly formed No.350 (Belgian) Squadron flying Spitfire MkIIA's at RAF Valley on the island of Anglesey for operational defensive duties and convoy escorts over the Irish Sea. In April 1942 the squadron moved to Southern England to join the Debden Fighter Wing for the hazardous task of fighter sweeps over occupied Northern France. To test the German defences and to lift the spirits, plans were put together for an amphibious attack on the heavily defended port of Dieppe under the codename of Operation Jubilee. The day of the attack on 19th August proved costly for the Allies with heavy casualties both on the beaches and in the air, with RAF Fighter Command losing around 100 aircraft whilst covering the assault. Valuable future lessons were learned from the ill-fated operation, but Venesoen achieved success for himself that day when he claimed the destruction of 2 Focke-Wulf Fw190's - his first personal victories over the Luftwaffe. During the squadrons fourth sortie of the day François had a wingtip on his Spitfire shot away, but he returned safely. His next success came on 16th November when he shared in the destruction of a Junkers Ju52 over St.Aubin airfield in France during a Rhubarb sortie. In March 1943 No.350 Squadron moved north, but François remained in the frontline with a posting to No.610 Squadron and soon would claim another victory on 29th March when shot down a Fw190 off the coast near to Brighton. On 24th September, 1943, François Venesoen achieved his last credited victory when he shared in the shooting down of a Messerschmitt Bf110 at Cap St-Mathieu near Caen in Normandy. Prior to the Normandy invasion, Venesoen went back to his countrymen of No.350 Squadron to conduct offensive missions with the Second Tactical Air Force, in readiness for the invasion of Mainland Europe. On 6th June at 04:35 hours, François took off for an early morning patrol over the Normandy beachhead. south west of Friston F/Lt Venesoen had bale out of Spitfire Mk.Vb EN950 owing to an internal glycol leak. His parachute opened alright and he was last seen by his Number 2 (F/O L. Siroux) alighting on the rough sea and struggling in the water, trying to inflate his dinghy. After F/O Siroux had pulled up to lead 3 launches to the spot, no trace of F/Lt Venesoen could be found". He is now commemorated on Panel 203 of the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede. He also got a memorial plaque on the 'Ereperk' in Evere with the notification 'disparu' (missing). Killed on June 6th 1944 after his Spitfire Mk.Vb EN950 of No.350 Sqn suffered a glycol leak and he baled out . His name is on the Runnymede Memorial.



Squadrons for : Spitfire Vb EN950
A list of all squadrons known to have flown Spitfire Vb EN950. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
SquadronInfo

No.167 Sqn RAF

Country : UK
Founded : 18th November 1918
Fate : Disbanded 15th September 1958
Gold Coast

Ubique sine mora - Everywhere without delay

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No.167 Sqn RAF

Full profile not yet available.

No.222 Sqn RAF

Country : UK
Founded : 1st April 1918
Fate : Disbanded 30th June 1964
Natal

Pembili bo

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No.222 Sqn RAF

Full profile not yet available.

No.322 Sqn RAF

Country : UK
Founded : 12th June 1943
Fate : Disbanded 7th October 1945
Dutch

Niet praten maar doen - Actions not words

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No.322 Sqn RAF

Full profile not yet available.

No.350 Sqn RAF

Country : UK
Founded : 12th November 1941
Fate : Disbanded 24th October 1946
Belgian

Belgae gallorum fortissimi - The Belgae, bravest of the Gauls

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No.350 Sqn RAF

Full profile not yet available.

No.416 Sqn RCAF

Country : Canada
Founded : 22nd January 1941
Fate : Disbanded 19th March 1946
City of Oshawa

Ad saltum paratus - Ready for the leap

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No.416 Sqn RCAF

Full profile not yet available.

No.453 Sqn RAAF

Country : Australia
Founded : 13th May 1941
Fate : Disbanded 21st January 1946

Ready to strike

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No.453 Sqn RAAF

Full profile not yet available.



Aircraft type : Spitfire
A profile page including a list of all art prints for the Spitfire is available by clicking the aircraft name.
AircraftInfo

Spitfire



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Manufacturer : Supermarine
Production Began : 1936
Retired : 1948
Number Built : 20351

Spitfire

Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954.



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