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Re: Jimmy Thach and Jimmy Flately
What happened over Darwin was linked to the unusually high altitude of the intercepts. This led to a (well-known) technical failing in the type of propeller used and jamming of the cannon. When both worked, the Merlin 46-engined Spitfire Mk.Vc had a distinct superiority over the Japanese fighters despite being the overweight dragmaster of the Spitfire family. You can certainly add inexperienced pilots and poor leadership, which didn't help. Anthony Cooper's Darwin Spitfires is a highly recommended read although to my mind he rather pulls his punches when it comes to criticism.
The Seafire Mk.IIIs that were successful against the A6M on the final day of the war were basically much the same airframes as those maligned over Darwin, but it seems rather less is made of that.
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