The Mk.V version of the Spitfire was the first to see extensive use overseas, as well as on the Channel front where it came up against the initial models of the Focke-Wulf Fw-190. Against this aircraft, the Supermarine aeroplane struggled and it was not until the introduction of the Mk.IX that parity was restored.
The aircraft shown comes from 243 Squadron, reformed in Britain after its near –annihilation in the Far East while flying Brewster Buffalos. The unit was to fly the Mk.V in North Africa and Malta, as well as Britain throughout 1942 until replacement Mk.IX’s arrived in 1943, by which time the unit was to be found in Sicily.
