Through the medium of period photography, Star-Spangled Spitfires
chronicles the combat operations of the USAAF units equipped with the
iconic Supermarine fighter whilst employed in both the European and
Mediterranean theaters of war, from the summer of 1942 right up to the
end of the conflict.
Only a handful of British combat aircraft wore the stars and bars of the
USAAF during the Second World War, with the Beaufighter, Mosquito and
Spitfire being the key types to see action with American crews in
American squadrons. The Spitfire was, by some margin, the most widely
used of the three, and the Yanks that flew it in combat rated the
fighter very highly. Employed primarily by the six squadrons of the 31st
and 52nd Fighter Groups, initially from airfields in the UK and then in
North Africa and Italy, the Spitfire was used both as a fighter and
fighter-bomber until it was replaced by the P-51 Mustang from the spring
of 1944.
The final star-spangled Spitfires in the frontline were the Eighth Air
Forces high-flying and unarmed PR XI photo-reconnaissance aircraft,
flown by to the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group alongside F-5
Lightnings from November 1943\ Ranging as far into Germany as Berlin,
the PR Blue Spitfires provided critical target imagery both pre- and
post-strike for the Mighty Eighths heavy bombardment groups through to
April 1945.
All feature here across a series of black and white and color images
that all capture some unique aspect of the star-spangled Spitfire's
illustrious service career.
