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Spitfire R6686 |
Type : Spitfire Mark : Ia First Flew : 31st May 1940 Built at : Eastleigh Powered by : Merlin III Known Codes : DW-D |
Known information | |
24th August 1940 | Shot down and crashed near Eastbury. Sergeant Arnfield injured. |
Pilots and Aircrew who flew : Spitfire Ia R6686 | ||
A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking their name. | ||
Name | Info | |
Arnfield, Stanley John Click the name above to see a profile of Arnfield, Stanley John
| Arnfield, Stanley John Sergeant S.J. Arnfield Stanley John Arnfield was born on 3rd October 1913 and was initially educated in India before going to the Royal Masonic School at Bushey, Hertfordshire. He joined the RAF as an aircraft apprentice in January 1930, passing out as a Fitter of Aero Engines in December 1932. By 1933 he was based at Abingdon with the rank of Leading Aircraftman, he was then posted to Quetta in India in 1935 where he helped with the earthquake tragedy that struck Baluchistan at that time. (It is estimated that between 30-60,000 people died when a force of 7.7 Mw was recorded). During 1936-37 he was involved in assorted supply drops and minor bombing. In June 1938 he began flying Westland Wallace aircraft and carried out a variety of bombing exercises. He had his first flight in a Hurricane on 30th September 1938 and then transferred to 610 Squadron shortly afterwards, flying Spitfires. During 1939 he trained intensively on this aircraft. On the 26th January 1940 flying Spitfire L1006 force landed in the region of ten to twelve miles north of Driffield after he became lost and eventually ran low on fuel. The aircraft was repaired but may infact have landed with the wheels down and have suffered very little damage. Arnfield returned to his home airfield by train. On 31st May, patrolling over Dunkirk, he claimed a Me109 destroyed. This was followed On 12/06/40 a He111 of Wekusta 51 flown by Oblt Gerd Nissen, the Staffelkapitän, was shot down off Margate. Attacked at 0700 by two Spitfires from 610 Squadron flown by Flt Lt John Ellis (P9451/DW-M) and Sgt Stanley Arnfield (P9495 DW-K) the crippled reconnaissance machine then ditched a few miles offshore. Three of the crew managed to get out before the aircraft sank but two others – Uffz Franz Bolinski and Uffz Willi Stiegelmeier – were lost. However, one of the survivors – Reg. Rat. Dr Hermann Freudenberg, a weather specialist – drowned before help arrived in the form of the fishing boat Golden Spray. Arnfield flew continuously through June and July and was shot up by Me109’s in Spitfire R6621 over Dover on 12th August. The aircraft was written off after he brought it back. In another aircraft he claimed Me109’s destroyed on 15th and 16th August followed by a further two on the 18th. Sgt. Arnfield’s luck ran out six days later on the 24th when in combat over Hawkinge in Spitfire R6686. He was shot down by Hptm. Foezoe of 4/JG51 but managed to bale out, his aircraft crashing in flames at Hammil, near Eastry. He broke his ankle on landing and was admitted to Victoria Hospital at Deal. He was recovering for some time and this may explain the failure to award him a DFM, which normally would have been the due of someone with six confirmed victories. By December 1940 Arnfield had returned to flying duties, serving as an instructor with the Commonwealth Flying Training Scheme in Canada. He had been commissioned as a Pilot Officer on 26th July 1941 and promoted to Flying Officer exactly a year later. In September 1943 Arnfield, now a Flight Lieutenant, made the transition to bombers, training on Wellingtons and progressing to operations on Lancasters with 166 Squadron. His first sortie was Berlin on 16th December 1943, followed by many others including Stettin, Brunswick, Leipzig and Stuttgart. His last sortie was on 22nd April 1944 to Dusseldorf LAC Arnfield returned to the UK in the summer of 1937 and applied for piot training. He was accepted and commenced flight training at the Perth Flying Club, flying in Tiger Moths. By November 1937 Sgt. Arnfield had transferred to 7 FTS at Peterborough. Arnfield returned to training duties and continued in this role until the end of the war. He retired from the RAF on 12th February 1951 as a Flight Lieutenant in the Secretarial Branch, retaining the rank of Squadron Leader. He died of a heart attack on 24th September 1954. |
Squadrons for : Spitfire Ia R6686 | ||
A list of all squadrons known to have flown Spitfire Ia R6686. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
Squadron | Info | |
No.610 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 10th February 1936 Fate : Disbanded 10th March 1957 County of Chester (Auxiliary) Alifero tollitur axe ceres - Ceres rising in a winged car | No.610 Sqn RAF 610 squadron was formed AT Hooton Park, Wirral in Cheshire on 10 February 1936 as one of the Auxiliary Air Force squadrons equipped with the light bomber the Hawker Hart. In May 1938 610 Squadron aircraft were upgraded to the new Hawker Hind. On 1 January 1939 the squadron role was changed into that of a fighter squadron, and on the outbreak of war in September 1939, he Squadron began receiving the new Hawker Hurricane. By the end of that same month it was flying the Supermarine Spitfire. During the Battle of Britain 610 Squadron was attached to No. 3 Group and was initially based at RAF Gravesend but moved to Biggin Hill before the German offensive began and was one of the units bearing the brunt of German attacks. It moved to RAF Acklington for the rest and recuperation at the end of August, having sustained severe casualties. During the Battle of Britain the squadron included Pilot Officer, later Squadron Leader, Constantine Pegge. In 1941, the squadron moved south to RAF Tangmere where it became part of the Tangmere wing, a three squadron wing under the command of Douglas Bader. 610 Squadron remained based in the UK until 1945, when it moved to the continent to provide fighter cover as the allies entered Germany. 610 Squadron was disbanded before the end of the war at RAF Warmwell in March 1945. |
Aircraft type : Spitfire | ||
A profile page including a list of all art prints for the Spitfire is available by clicking the aircraft name. | ||
Aircraft | Info | |
Spitfire
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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