Allied – Spitfire Mk PR V1 X4492

On the 22nd of April in 1942, a photo reconnaissance Spitfire made an unanticipated wheels up landing in the south copse of the Sandown airport.An internal (Glycol) coolant breakdown had occurred in the engine of the aircraft, which was being flown by P/O F.J. Blackwood and which was departing from Benson.

Eyewitnesses have said that the aircraft had a light colour scheme, which was typical for the sort of reconnaissance aircraft that was being described. After some time had passed, the aircraft was eventually recovered and put back into service on June 29th, 1942. The Spitfire had been constructed over at Eastleigh under the designation of Mk f1a, and it made its first flight in the year 1940. It went on to have a career that was rather lengthy and eventually ended up in Canada flying with the RCAF. On July 9, 1945, it was flown over Lake Winnipeg during the operation known as “Eclipse,” which took place in Canada. It reached a record height of 35,000 feet at the time, during which it took photographs of the solar eclipse that were subsequently published in “Life” magazine.

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)