THE SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE

224169778
Order this image under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Purchase & License

If you are interested in the full range of licenses available for this material, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team.
910850772
Order this image under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Purchase & License

If you are interested in the full range of licenses available for this material, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team.
184632530
Order this image under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Purchase & License

If you are interested in the full range of licenses available for this material, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team.
1394363719
Order this image under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Purchase & License

If you are interested in the full range of licenses available for this material, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team.

Description

Object description

Spitfire Mk Ia R6915 preserved in its original wartime OTU livery. This aircraft served with No. 609 Squadron in the Battle of Britain.

History note

Ordered as part of contract B19713/39, Aug. 9, 1939. Built by Supermarine Aviation at the Wooston works, Southampton, 1940. - Merlin III fitted. - First flight at Eastleigh. Pilot George Pickering, July 11, 1940. Delivered to RAF as R6915. - BOC: July 7, 1940. - Delivered to 6 MU at RAF Brize Norton in preparation for service, July 11, 1940. Between 20 July and 7 Oct 1940 it made 57 operational sorties, at heights varying from 4000 to 25000 ft. The aircraft was flown during this period by 13 different pilots. (records of these on file).. - Transferred to 609 (West Riding) Sqn, 'B' Flight Blue Section at RAF Middle Wallop. Coded PR-U, July 21, 1940. --12 August 1940. One Me 110 damaged while being flown by P/O Miller 1200-1300 hrs over Swanage at 15,000 feet. --13 August 1940. Two Ju-87 damaged - P/O Ostaszewski: 1530 - 1645 hrs over Portland 20,000 feet. --25 August 1940. One Me110 destroyed. P/O Agazarian: 1700 - 1745 hrs -- Damage sustained in action. Hit in oil sump by He111. Forced landing at White Waltham. Pilot Plt Of Noel le C. Agazarian, Sept. 7, 1940. --25 September 1940. One He111 destroyed. P/O Agazarian: 1600 - 1650n hrs --26 September 1940. One Bf-109 destroyed. Two Do-17 'probables'. Over Bournemouth at approx. 1630 hrs. P/O Agazarian. --27 September 1940. One Me110 destroyed. P/O Agazarian. -- Damage sustained in action. North of Warmwell. Hit in glycol tank by He111. He11 claimed 'damaged'. Returned to base. Pilot Plt Of Noel le C. Agazarian, Sept. 30, 1940. -- Squadron moved to RAF Warmwell, Oct. 2, 1940. -- Damaged sustained in action over Dorchester. Hit by cannon fire by a Bf 109, one Me110 destroyed. Returned to base. Pilot Flg Of John Dundas, Oct. 7, 1940. - Transferred to No 1 CRU for repairs at Cowley, Oct. 14, 1940. - Transferred to 12 MU at RAF Kirkbride, Dec. 12, 1940. - Transferred to 602 (City of Glasgow) Sqn at RAF Prestwick. Coded ZT-, Jan. 21, 1941. January - May 1941 aircraft assigned to and flown by Lt. F K Thornton RAFVR. -- Squadron moved to RAF Ayr, Apr. 14, 1941. - Transferred to 61 OTU at RAF Heston. Coded ?, July 6, 1941. - On charge with No 43 Group at RAF Hendon, July 22, 1941. - Transferred to General Aircraft Limited at Hanworth, July 29, 1941. - Transferred to 45 MU at RAF Kinloss, Oct. 2, 1941. - Transferred to 5 MU at RAF Kemble, 19??. - Transferred to No 1 CRU for repairs at Cowley, Apr. 2, 1942. -- Repaired awaiting collection, Apr. 15, 1942. - Transferred to 6 MU at RAF Brize Norton, Apr. 28, 1942. - Transferred to 61 OTU at RAF Rednal. Coded UU-, June 21, 1942. -- Damaged. Flying accident. Repaired on site, Apr. 20, 1943. - Transferred to 57 OTU at RAF Eshott. Coded ?, June 13, 1943. -- Damaged. Flying accident, Sept. 21, 1943. -- Repaired, awaiting collection, Dec. 10, 1943. - Transferred to 39 MU at RAF Colerne, Dec. 25, 1943. - Transferred to the Royal Naval Development Unit, Jan. 1944. - Transferred to 39 MU at RAF Colerne, Feb. 24, 1944. - Transferred to 82 MU at RAF Lichfield, May 10, 1944. - Transferred to 52 MU at RAF Cardiff Aircraft packing unit, Aug. 25, 1944. - Recorded in the RAF Census, Mar. 21, 1946. - SOC: June 21, 1947 Imperial War Museum, London. Aug. 28, 1946-2002. - Suspended by cables from ceiling.

Object Details

Category: Vehicles, aircraft and ships
Related period: Second World War (production), 1945-1989 (production)
Creator: Vickers Armstrong
Production date: 1940
Dimensions: Wing Span: Height 3.5 m, Length 9.1 m, Load 0.26 kn/m, Weight 2218 kg, Width 11.2 m
Catalogue number: 2010.285.1

Object associations

Associated people and organisations

Royal Air Force, 57 Operational Training Unit
Royal Air Force, Station, Great Orme
Royal Air Force, 602 Squadron
Royal Air Force, Maintenance Unit, 69
Associated events

Battle of Britain 1940: Second World War
Associated items

.303inch Browning Mk2*
.303inch Browning Mk2*
.303inch Browning Mk2*
.303inch Browning Mk2*
.303inch Browning Mk2*
.303inch Browning Mk2*
Wireless Equipment, Transmitter Receiver Type TR 9D, British
6 photographs of Rufus Heard, RAF pilot, and the Supermarine Spitfire F.24 (MK.24) VN485.
Associated subjects

fighter

Our collections information

We have over 1.7 million object records online, and we are adding to this all the time. Our records are never finished. Sometimes we discover new information that changes what we know about an object, such as who made it or used it. Sometimes we change how an object is interpreted. We sometimes make mistakes in our spelling, transcription or categorisation, or miss information out of our records.

Read more about our collections and the information we hold. Developing our collections information

If you have concerns about the language in this record, or you have information to improve it, please share your feedback.

We receive a lot of comments and can't respond to each one, but we do read them all and will respond where we can.

THE SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE

Description

Object description

History note

Object Details

Object associations

Associated people and organisations

Associated events

Associated items

Associated subjects

Our collections information

Related content

How Britain Celebrated Christmas During The Second World War