List of Supermarine Spitfire operators
The RAAF Fighter Squadrons mentioned above used the Spitfire in Europe, North Africa, Australia, New Guinea and the Pacific War.
When it was assigned to defend the Nile Delta area in 1943, it operated Hurricanes and a detachment of Spitfire fighters for high-altitude interceptions.
They saw a lot of combat over the first twelve months fighting Japanese bombers, recon, and fighter sweeps.
RAAF 79th Squadron was used in New Guinea and the Solomons campaign for protection of the airfields which the American heavy bombers used.
Unfortunately the Spitfire plane was not rugged enough for the flying conditions of Northern Australia and the Pacific and had numerous technical and mechanical failures.
It did not help that supporting Spitfire squadrons on remote Pacific islands proved to be a nightmare due to poor logistics.
After the war, Spitfires FR.14 variants were supplied to the Belgian Air Force and flew with Nos.
By 1948, the fleet of the new air force included 40 Airspeed Oxfords, 16 de Havilland Tiger Moths, four Austers, and three Supermarine Spitfires transferred from the RAF.
Israel sold second-hand Spitfires to Burma, which had acquired them from Czechoslovakia and Italy and they remained operational until the 1960s.
The new communist government was supplied with Soviet fighters and hastily get rid of the Spitfires, selling them to Israel.
More were received from RAF surplus or were transferred from France The French Aviation purchased Seafires to operate from ex-Royal Navy aircraft carriers H.M.S.
Aviation naval Seafires operated from land bases and from Arromanches on ground attack missions until January 1949.
IAF was highly successful in flying the Spitfire for bombing operations in the last stages of the war.
These Spitfires spent most of their career in the IAF as advanced trainers, although they were used in action during the invasion of Kashmir in light bombardment and tactical reconnaissance to interdict enemy lines of supply.
The Irish Air Corps operated 12 LF.III Spitfires, in its de-navalized Seafire model between 1947–1955, and were at once very popular with the crews.
Israel bought 59 Spitfire LF IXC from Czechoslovakia in 1948 to address its lack of fighters.
During the October offensive, Spitfires escorted Beaufighters and B-17s to attack El Arish airbase and other targets.
In 1952 an additional 35 LF IXC/E aircraft were purchased from Italy, at which time the Spitfire in IDF service was known as the "Yorek".
Britain answered to Stalin's request and sent 143 second-hand Spitfire Vb fighters to the Soviet Union.
Due to these aircraft being misidentified frequently as Bf 109s by Soviet anti-aircraft artillery batteries and VVS fighters, a number of Spitfires were lost to "friendly fire".
V was withdrawn from combat duties after only three months of service as part of defensive operations in the Kuban sector.
IXs were therefore assigned to air defense units, using the high altitude performance to intercept and pursue German bombers and reconnaissance aircraft.
Soon after the end of the Second World War, the Swedish Air Force equipped a photo reconnaissance wing, F 11 in Nyköping (just south of Stockholm), with 50 Mk XIXs, designated S 31.
[14] Several S 31 photographic missions in the late 1940s entailed flagrant violations of Soviet – and, at least once, Finnish – airspace in order to document activities at the air and naval installations in the Baltic and Kola regions.
Seafire fighters were operated from British carriers and played a vital role in Task Force 57's mission to protect the southern flank during the Okinawa campaign.
The Spitfire was one of only a few foreign aircraft to see service with the USAAF, equipping four groups in England and the Mediterranean.
In May 1944 VCS-7 Cruiser Support Squadron trained to fly Spitfire VB's instead of their floatplanes, extremely vulnerable to flak guns and enemy fighters to be found in D-Day.
VCS-7 flew around 200 sorties with Spitfires, from D-Day landings to the capture of the port of Cherbourg, which made naval fire support no longer needed.
