[Brian]

From an article by Jiri Rajlich:

The Prague Spitfire:

The investigation revealed that this particular Spitfire MkVC Trop was one six aircrafts of this type assigned to No. 74 Squadron Royal Air Force and No. 7 Squadron South African Air Force. On October 3, 1943 in the morning hours, these aircrafts got captured by German troops during the successful assault on the Kos island in Dodecanese archipelago, which had been occupied by the Britons and "Badoglio" Italians (operation Eisbar). Subsequently captured all six Spitfires were transported from Kos to Germany to be used in comparative trials, and other technical tests as well as training aids. One of them, the subject of this paper, has at some unspecified point of time reached the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The trophy example, whose serial number has not been fully clarified, got to the Prague - Letňany aerodrome, where it underwent some unspecified testing by the local Flugtechische VersuchanstaltPrag. It remained there, probably in an unairworthy condition, until the end of the War. After the War it was used as a gate-guard at various places around Czechoslovakia. As an unairworthy training aid, the aircraft was not a part of the Czechoslovak Air Force's flying inventory. Hence it is very difficult to trace any official records of it after 50 many years. Nonetheless, there is photographic evidence of its presence at many places, e.g. Mělník. Bratislava and Prague. For our Military History Institute (MHI) it is noteworthy that this Spitfire MkVC Trop served from late 1945 - early 1946 as the Institute's gate-guard. It was placed there at the occasion of the Royal Air Force exhibition held in the building of today's MHI Army Museum in Prague - Žižkov. Today, a T-34/85 medium tank is located on the same place. Further destinies of this Spitfire Mk.VC Trop remain unexplained. According to unverified accounts it eventually returned to Letňany. They have never tried to restore it to an airworthy condition. Besides that, after the Communist coup of 1948, the authorities were not interested in it serving as a memorial of the Czechoslovak pilots who fought alongside the RAF. The aircraft therefore kept decaying in one of Letňany hangars.

Over to you, Alex
Brian