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Spitfire W3457 - Aircraft Details - Aviation Directory

Spitfire W3457


Type : Spitfire
Mark : Vb
First Flew : 10th July 1941
Built at : Eastleigh
Powered by : Merlin 45
Known Codes :
YQ-C


Pilots and Aircrew who flew : Spitfire Vb W3457
A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking their name.
NameInfo
Johnson, Johnnie
Click the name above to see a profile of Johnson, Johnnie

   Died : 30 / 1 / 2001
Johnson, Johnnie

Johnnie Johnson joined 92 Spitfire squadron in August 1940, but it was with 616 squadron that he scored his first victory on June 26th 1941 while flying with Douglas Baders Tangmere Wing. He was squadron leader of 610 squadron in July 1942, but it was as Wing Commander of the Kenley Wing in 1943 that his scores really started to mount. He was W/C of 144 wing during D-Day and led 127 and 125 wings until the end of the war when we has the topscoring allied fighter pilot with 38 air victories. Inspired by the great British WW 1 aces like Bishop and Ball, Johnnie Johnson dreamed often as a child of becoming an R.A.F. pilot. The young Johnson enthusiastically joined the Volunteer Reserve at the first opportunity. After completing his initial flight training Johnson was posted to 616 Squadron at Kenley. However, this Squadron had been hit hard with the loss of six pilots and five wounded, and the unit was withdrawn to Coltishall prior to Johnson encountering combat. With only 12 hours of flight time in a Spitfire this was no doubt advantageous. In February 1941 Billy Burton moved the Squadron to Tangmere. Douglas Bader then arrived to take over the Tangmere Wing, and fly with the 616 Squadron. Johnnie, Alan Smith and Cocky Dundas were chosen to fly with Bader. During the summer of 1941 the Battle of Britain was at its peak. Bader took the time to instruct Johnson carefully in both the art of flying and the skills necessary to attain success in aerial combat. Bader's idea of an afternoon off duty, according to Johnson, was to take his section over the Channel in hopes of running into Adolph Galland and his Abbeyville Boys. On August 19, 1941 Bader failed to return from a mission when 616 Squadron was hit hard by a group of Messerschmitt 109s. Johnson flew on in Baders absence, and in the summer of 1942 he was promoted to command of the 610 Squadron. In 1943 he was promoted again to Wing Commander of the Canadian Spitfire Wing in Kenley. By that time Johnson had attained eight confirmed victories. During the spring and summer of 1943 Johnnie led the Canadian unit on more than 140 missions over Northwest Europe. Johnsons squadron attained more than 100 victories during this period, and Johnnies own personal score rose to 25. After a short leave, Johnson was posted to lead the 144 Canadian Spitfire Wing. On D-Day Johnson led his Wing on four missions in support of the Allied invasion. On June 8, Johnsons Wing was the first Spitfire group to land in newly liberated France. Johnson continued fighting in France through September 1944 when he achieved his 38th and final victory. Patrolling the Rhine Johnsons unit jumped nine 109s which were flying beneath them in the opposite direction. Five of the 109s were downed. Early in 1945 Johnson was promoted to Group Captain and put in command of the 125 Wing, which was equipped with the Spitfire XIV. Flying from former Luftwaffe airfields the 125 Wing assisted in the final Allied push to Berlin. Johnson attributed much of his aerial combat success to his ability to make tight turning maneuvers. Johnsons tightest call came on August 19, 1942 when he was unable to dislodge an Me-109 from his tail during the raid on Diepppe. Johnson raced his Spitfire flat out at a group of Royal Navy ships. The usual barrage of flak and tracer fire came right at him, and fortunately for the ace, missed his Spitfire but effectively eliminated the brave pilot on his tail. During the Korean War Johnson flew fighter-bombers with the USAF. Following his retirement from the R.A.F. in 1966 Johnson founded the Johnnie Johnson Housing Trust that has provided homes for more than 4000 disabled and elderly persons, and his sixth book Winged Victory was published in 1995. Johnson flew many of the Spitfire models. His favorite was the beautiful Mark IX, the best of them all. Johnnie passed away in 2001 at the age of 85, in Derbyshire, England.



Squadrons for : Spitfire Vb W3457
A list of all squadrons known to have flown Spitfire Vb W3457. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
SquadronInfo

No.41 Sqn RAF

Country : UK
Founded : 15th April 1916

Seek and destroy

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No.41 Sqn RAF

Founded in 1916, 41 Squadron was disbanded at the end of World War One, but reformed on 1st April 1923.

No.501 Sqn RAF

Country : UK
Founded : 14th June 1929
Fate : Disbanded 10th March 1957
County of Gloucester, City of Bristol (Auxiliary)

Nil time - Fear nothing

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No.501 Sqn RAF

Full profile not yet available.

No.616 Sqn RAF

Country : UK
Founded : 1st November 1938
Fate : Disbanded 10th March 1957
South Yorkshire (Auxiliary)

Nulla rosa sine spina - No rose without thorns

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No.616 Sqn RAF

616 squadron was formed at Doncaster on 1st November 1938 as the last of the Auxiliary Squadrons. Formed initially as a bomber squadron equipped with Hawker Hinds, it was re-equipped with Gloster Gauntlets in June 1939 and transferred to Fighter Command. The squadrons first Spitfires arrived in late October. 616 first saw action and claimed its first victories whilst covering the evacuation from Dunkirk in May 1940. Returning to Yorkshire, the squadron claimed further enemy victims with 15th August standing out as a memorable day. 616 intercepted a large force of unescorted German bombers off the Yorkshire coast and claimed eight enemy aircraft destroyed. They moved to Kenley to join 11 Group at the height of the Battle of Britain, and destroyed 15 aircraft and claimed a further 15 as probables or damaged. During February 1941, 616 joined the Tangmere Wing led by Wg Cdr Douglas Bader. Flying Spitfire II fighters, they flew circus and ramrod sweeps over Northern France, and re-equipped with Spitfires Vb during July 1941. For the next two years 616 continued as a front line fighter squadron and was heavily engaged during the Dieppe expedition and later flying beach-head patrols on D-Day. In July 1944, 616 re-equipped with Gloster Meteor jet fighter thus becoming the first and only Allied squadron to operate jet aircraft in World War II. The squadron destroyed a number of V1 flying bombs whilst operating from Manston before joining the 2nd Tactical Air Force. In January 1945, 616 moved to the continent and operated in the ground attack role before being disbanded at Lubeck on 29th August. The squadron was re-formed at Finningley on 31st July 1946 equipped with Mosquito NF XXX night fighters which were replaced with Meteor F 3 day fighters a few months later. 616 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force was finally disbanded at RAF Worksop on 10th March 1957 whilst equipped with Meteor F8 aircraft.

No.65 Sqn RAF

Country : UK
Founded : 1st August 1916
Fate : Disbanded 30th June 1992
East India

Vi e tarmis - By force of arms

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No.65 Sqn RAF

Flew Mustangs from December 1943.



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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