1944 - RETURN TO FRANCE

The D-Day, 1944 campaign includes 220 missions and the following:

On 1 January 1944, there were six squadrons of Spitfires in the Far East, two with Mk VCs and four with Mk VIIIs, the latter version being considered superior to the Zero. By March, the VCs had been replaced and there was a total of seven squadrons of Mk VIIIs. During the 80-day siege of Imphal, for which the garrison's survival depended upon resupply by air, the defending Spitfires were so successful that only three Allied transports were shot down.

In Europe, the Mk XIV entered service with No 610 Squadron early in the year. Attacks on the enemy's road and rail communications were stepped up in preparation for the invasion of Normandy, and although the Germans knew an invasion was imminent, the wide dispersal of targets throughout the Channel area and inland gave no clue as to where it would be mounted. D-Day, 1944

On D-Day, 6 June, the RAF's Order of Battle included 55 squadrons of Spitfire fighters, plus two squadrons of Spitfires and four of Seafires engaged in air spotting duties and a further four air sea rescue squadrons which had some Spitfires. Marks ranged from Mk Vs to Mk XIVs.

The first Allied fighters to operate from Normandy after the invasion were the Spitfire Mk IXBs of No 222 Squadron, which landed at St. Croix-sur-Mer on 10 June. These were refuelled and re-armed by a Servicing Commando Unit, before taking off to continue their patrol. On 17 July, Spitfire Mk IXBs of 602 Squadron strafed a staff car. The car, containing Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, Commander of the German defences, turned over into a ditch and the Field Marshal was taken to hospital with severe fractures to his skull.

The breakout from the Normandy beachhead was achieved by a classic pincer movement between British and American troops, which forced the retreating German Army into the Falaise Gap. Here, 22 squadrons of Typhoons and Spitfires decimated the enemy forces, attacking with rockets, bombs and guns. The Luftwaffe hardly put in an appearance, thus enabling the RAF to operate their aircraft in pairs with little hindrance. No sooner were they refuelled and re-armed than they were back in the fray, some pilots flying up to six sorties a day. In this classic example of the use of tactical air power, the enemy lost the equivalent of eight infantry and two armoured divisions.

On 12 June, the first V-1 flying bombs bean to fall on England. Eleven fighter squadrons were called upon to deal with the threat, including those operating Spitfire Mk IXs, Mk XIIs and Mk XIVs, but the only aircraft capable of catching a V-1 in level flight was the Tempest V. To try to improve the Spitfire's speed the armour and some of the guns were removed and the whole aircraft polished, after which the Mk XIIs and Mk XIVs did well.

Apart from shooting down the missiles, another technique was to edge the tip of one wing beneath that of the V-1 so that the disturbed airflow tipped the V-1 over to one side and toppled its gyro, causing it to fall to earth. Spitfires were also employed in attacks against the launch sites as fighter-bombers, a technique which had been tried out first by No 126 Squadron in Sicily. A Wing of four squadrons of Mk XIVEs was formed specifically for this task, each aircraft carrying two 250lb or one 500lb bomb. Other Spitfire squadrons escorted formations of heavy bombers against the same targets.

Spitfires also acted as fighter-bombers in support of the British Second Army's drive to the Rhine. During the ill-fated Arnhem operation and on subsequent resupply flights, they escorted the transport aircraft. On 5 October, the first Me-262 jet fighter to be shot down was credited to the Spitfires of No 401 Squadron.

It's Badge, a wolf's head erased. The wolf is a fierce and powerful antagonist, indigenous to most parts of Canada.

This was the first Canadian squadron formed overseas that had no ties to any previous flying unit. Created on 1 March 1941 as 403 Fighter Sqn, the unit flew fighters for the duration of the war until it was disbanded at Fassberg, Germany on 10 July 1945.