A/c - Somewhere in Italy 1945

[Buckeye30]

Could be a French Spitfire, the cocarde proportions were different to the RAF; there were 4 Spitfire units on Corsica but sometimes operated over Italy. These were "French" not "Free French" ( GC I/3, I/7, II/7, 2/33). Mostly Mk.Vs.
Nick

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Originally Posted by Buckeye30

Could be a French Spitfire, the cocarde proportions were different to the RAF; there were 4 Spitfire units on Corsica but sometimes operated over Italy. These were "French" not "Free French" ( GC I/3, I/7, II/7, 2/33). Mostly Mk.Vs.
Nick

In 1945, there were no more French Spitfires in Corsica, they had moved to NE France. French air units flying over Italy were now based in SE France and were using mainly P-39s, and also P-47s. Most losses were in France but three French P-39s were lost over Italy in 1945. Two pilots baled out and one crashed during an attack on a convoy. No forced-landing. Also the Polish corps was on the east side of the front, far away from the area where French airmen flew during the period.

By the way, according to the book "Pilotes français sur l'Italie", all losses of French Spitfires were either in the sea or in Corsica.

[RSwank]

I am not "totally" convinced it is a Spitfire.

Here are some 3D views of Planes. You can grab the slider at the bottom and move the plane around.
You can get it to roughly the same angle of the photo, (but not at the same altitude above the plane, unfortunately.)

Spitfire:
https://hum3d.com/360-view/?id=160763

P-40:
https://hum3d.com/360-view/?id=203926

Some observations to make. The position of the cockpit and where it starts in relation to the wing. Where the pilot’s head would be in relation to the wing, e.g. in the center of the wing, back half of wing, etc.
How “curved” or straight the leading edges of the wings appear. How curved or straight the trailing edges appear.

The distance from the nose to the start of the wing on the P-40 is roughly half the distance from the back of the wing to the tail. (Two noses equal the tail ;-)

On the Spitfire the tail distance is roughly 3 times the nose distance.

The photo seems to me to be closer to the P-40 measurements than to the Spitfire.

[Revi16]

Look at the wing tips. Also the fuselage was extended on the later P-40's placing the rudder aft of the elevators (as in the a/c on the left). An early short fuselage P-40 in Italy in 45 seems unlikely.

[KrisJG3]

For me main wings (on the end) looks like from Spitfire but tail from P-40 , difficult to say 100% which one is correct

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Like many other members of this board, my humble opinion is that of a Spitfire too...There were several units doing REC-TAC with Mark IX...

A.

[RSwank]

So what Spitfire squadrons would be possible candidates? 601, 417, 241, 145, 92?

Any others?

[Buckeye30]

Rolland. Quite a few, these as of July 1945 in Italy.


92,145,241,601, 417RCAF, 208(TR).
318(Polish), 87, 185, 43, 72, 93, 111.
249, 73, 351(Yugoslav), 253 ( all Balkan AF).
237(Rhodesian), 225 (TR).
PR...682, 680.
SAAF....1,2,3,4,7, 40(FR).

also 2 Greek Sqns. in Greece (335,336).( 417 was disbanded 1 July , 351 to Yugoslav control 15 June).



Nick

[Graham Boak]

PR photos were often taken with film sensitive to the infrared, so that red on them might stand out in ways not expected in most of the photos we see. Remember that by 1945 all RAF wing roundels should have been changed to r/w/b: perhaps not always in the correct proportions. Also white does sometimes "flood" such photos making roundels appear odd in proportion. Perhaps one or a mixture of these three reasons is responsible for the odd appearance of this picture.

Looks very much like a Spitfire to me.