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Spitfire BL336 |
Type : Spitfire Mark : Vb Built at : Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory Powered by : Merlin 45 Known Codes : RS-T |
Pilots and Aircrew who flew : Spitfire Vb BL336 | ||
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 | |
Stanford-Tuck, Robert Click the name above to see a profile of Stanford-Tuck, Robert
| Stanford-Tuck, Robert Bob Stanford Tuck was a flamboyant fighter pilot, Tuck was born in Catford, SE London. After a less-than-stellar school career he left St Dunstan's College, Catford in 1932 to join the Merchant Navy as a sea cadet (seaman's Discharge Number R112769) aboard the ss.Marconi from 19 May 1933 before joining the RAF on a short service commission as an acting pilot officer in 1935.[5] Following flying training, Tuck joined 65 Squadron in September 1935 as an acting probationary pilot officer. He became a pilot officer on probation in September 1936 and his pilot officer rank was confirmed in early 1937 (which was backdated to December 1936). On 17th January 1938 Tuck was involved in a Mid air collision flying Gladiator I K7940 he had to bail out of the aircraft over Ridgewood, near Uckfield, Sussex . The other Pilot was not so lucky, also of 65 Squadron in Gladiator K8014, Sgt Geoffrey Edwin Gaskell (24) was killed In September 1938 he was promoted to Flying Officer Tuck led his first combat patrol on 23 May 1940, over Dunkirk, claiming three German fighters shot down. The following day he shot down two German bombers and as aerial fighting intensified over the next two weeks his score rapidly mounted. Tuck was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 11 June and received it from King George VI at RAF Hornchurch on 28 June. His combat successes continued into July and August as the Battle of Britain gathered pace, although he himself was forced to bail out on 18 August. While attacking a formation of Junkers Ju 88s over Kent, he shot one down and damaged another. However, during the head on attack at Ju 88, when he overtook it, cannon shells hit his Spitfire and he was forced to bail out near Tunbridge Wells. He fell at Tucks Cottage, near Park Farm, Horsmonden. In another incident on 25 August Tuck's Spitfire was badly damaged during combat with a Dornier Do 17 bomber, which he destroyed 15 miles off the coast. His aircraft had a dead engine, but he glided it back to dry land and made a forced landing To the British public he was a hero in the mould of the knights of old, and today his name is legend. In the early stages of the Battle of Britain Bob fought with 92 Squadron flying Spitfires, quickly becoming one of the leading aces. Promoted to command 257 Squadron, now flying Hurricanes, Bob's dashing style of leadership inspired his pilots to great success. He went on to command the Duxford and Biggin Hill Wings, taking his personal score to 29 air victories before being shot down by ground fire over Northern France in 1942. Tuck then spent the next couple of years in Stalag Luft III at Żagań (Sagan), before making a number of unsuccessful escape attempts from several other prisoner of war camps across Germany and Poland. In company with the Polish pilot Zbigniew Kustrzyński, he finally escaped successfully on 1 February 1945 as his camp was being evacuated westwards from Russian forces advancing into Germany. Tuck's Russian, learned from his childhood nanny, was now crucial as he spent some time fighting alongside the Russian troops until he managed eventually to find his way to the British Embassy in Moscow. He eventually boarded a ship from Russia to Southampton, England. He died on 5th May 1987. |
Squadrons for : Spitfire Vb BL336 | ||
A list of all squadrons known to have flown Spitfire Vb BL336. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
Squadron | Info | |
No.124 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 1st February 1918 Fate : Disbanded 1st April 1946 Baroda Danger is our opportunity | No.124 Sqn RAF 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. | ||
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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