Page 68 - History of War - Issue 18-15

Operator’s Handbook

pilots for the perils of airborne warfare

he Spitfire is almost ubiquitous when 1944.Asthewarcametoanend,thefighter “AS THE WAR CAME TO AN
discussing Britain’s war in the skies was part of the mass RAF disarmament
Tduring War World II. There were 22 measuresandsoldtotheSouthAfricanAir END, THE FIGHTER WAS
different versions of the classic interceptor Force (SAAF) for £2,000.
InAfrica,ithelpedtrainpilotswhowereto
fighterbuiltduringtheheightofitstimeinthe be sent to the conflict in Korea and prepared PART OF THE MASS RAF
RAF.OneofthesewastheSM520,atwo-
seaterbasedontheTR9model,whichitself them for flying in the American-made SAAF DISARMAMENT MEASURES
came from a Spitfire Mk IX. P-51Mustangs.Afteraseriesofchanges
Theconversionfromonetotwoseatswasa in ownership, the single-seat SM520 AND SOLD TO THE SOUTH
post-war program, with the first SM520 arriving was converted to a two-seater in 2002,
in1948.Theprojecthelpedprovideflight granddaughter)andpassedontotheBoultbee AFRICAN AIR FORCE
renamed G-ILDA (after a previous owner’s
and gunnery practise for new recruits to the
The original British paint scheme was revived (SAAF) FOR £2,000”
RAF, such as the Irish Air Corps (IAC) Seafire Flight Academy, where it is currently located.
fleetandmanyotherairforcesinwhatwasto
become the Commonwealth of Nations. anditisnowinacamouflagegrey/green
This particular model was constructed as scheme as seen on the European Standard Day
aone-seaterTR9inaWestBromwichfactory Fighters that helped Britain defend its borders
andwasfirstdeliveredtotheRAFinNovember initshourofneed.

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