Allied – Spitfire DP845

An intriguing emergency landing at Apse Heath caused by engine difficulties in a prototype Spitfire, which is claimed to have originated from Boscombe Down. However, the incident has not been authenticated. Gilliam was the one who addressed and understood the private notes of H.J.T. Leal, and those notes imply that the aircraft in question was certainly a prototype of the Spitfire equipped with the new Griffon engine.

It also demonstrates that because there were no complaints of damage on the 5th of May that were suffered in this emergency landing, that the aircraft was dutifully placed back into test mode without any delay. This is shown by the fact that there was no delay. In later years, it was to be transformed into the very first F Mk XII Spitfire.e.

Note: All images are merely representative of the aircraft and not specific.

• All images are of similar aircraft and not the specific plane in question
• Wight Air Wrecks – A T Gilliam ISBN 0-7524-2376-2
• Battle in the Skies – H J Leal (IWCP)