CELEBRATING THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN 75TH ANNIVERSARY SPITFIRE AUCTION FOR CHA S
eventy five years ago, the British people became involved in one of the most important fights in our country’s history,
and one of the most notable conflicts that occurred during the Second World War: the Battle of Britain.
The lives of everyone in the country – men, women and children – were affected by the conflict to an immeasurable extent. The nature of war had rapidly changed form; gone were the days of trench warfare in distant European fields. New technology meant wars could be waged on – or rather, above – home territory. Hitler recognised this and, having gained control of France, turned his sights towards beating Britain from the sky.
Recognising that German control over the airspace of South England would be essential for any sort of victory over Britain, Hitler demanded that the RAF be beaten down to such an extent that they could no longer put up a reasonable fight. It seemed, on paper, an entirely reasonable plan; the Luftwaffe’s planes and pilots outnumbered Britain’s. The RAF, though, were in possession of radar technology. Their planes had a greater range. Most famously – and perhaps most importantly – the RAF had a very special plane in particular: the Spitfire.
Perhaps one of the most iconic aircraft – indeed, one of the most successful fighter designs – in the history of the RAF, the Spitfire was undoubtedly an essential part of Britain’s victory in the Second World War. After entering RAF service in 1938, with No. 19 Squadron, they feature extensively in accounts
of the Battle of Britain, defending the country and its civilians from numerous German air attacks and subsequent damages and fatalities. Remaining in production for twelve years, these important aircraft were produced in copious amounts. 20,341 Spitfires in 22 variants were created over the years.
Now, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the momentous Battle of Britain, just two original Mk.1 Spitfires are still flying – and one is being auctioned for charity this year. Restored to its original specifications by its owner, American philanthropist Thomas Kaplan, Spitfire P9374 will be sold at Christie’s on the 19th July 2015. The proceeds, estimated to be between £1,500,000 and £2,500,000, will be shared between two charities – wildlife conservation organisation Panthera, and the RAF Benevolent Fund. After emerging from underneath the sands of Calais beach in September 1980, it was discovered that this plane - as with all of the people, aircraft and machines of the Second World War – has quite a story to tell.
The Spitfire’s story Early in the morning, on 24th May 1940, 92 Squadron was scrambled. Among the pilots present was Pilot Officer Peter Cazenove and, on that eventful day, P9374 was his Spitfire. Destined for a patrol between Calais and Dunkirk, the squadron encountered some
enemy bombers; while the squadron managed to avoid the bombers’ fighter escort, they still found their arrival unsurprisingly met with heavy objection and defiance. The crossfire of this encounter was instrumental in P9374’s downfall and, to this day, no one is certain of precisely what happened to the aircraft. Was the fuel supply damaged? Was the cooling system destroyed? The discovery of the Spitfire in such remarkable condition tells us that there was no serious structural damage, but just one round was more than enough to cause a concerning injury. With a return across the Channel to Britain out of the question, Cazenove belly-landed his plane on Calais beach.
Unscathed by the event, Cazenove radioed a fellow pilot to confirm that he was unhurt. “Tell mother I’m OK,” he reassured. Shortly afterwards, however, he was captured as a
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Envoy Summer 2015
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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