News & Articles
Which WWII pilot flew the most number of Spitfires?
2025-08-07
As you can see on this site, we like to match pilot to aircraft, for a given date. If contributors add a note, the line becomes a mini-ORB entry (sortie details). But once the serial is added, it links to the actual Spitfire page which in turn lists all the pilots who have flown it.In the case of this pilot, she was one of the ATA pilots flying Spitfires from factories to various RAF airfields. Her name, now quite well known of course, is Marry Ellis (NEE Wilkins). Our chief editor Kevin Charles has added many or most of the serials flown he could find for 1/Off Ellis, and you can see the list of her Spitfires flown as part of her ATA duties on her page on this site here.
When one clicks the serials she delivered, a list of other pilots who later flew that Spitfire in training or combat is then shown (if added to this site). Often times, there are images of this aircraft, taken at a later date before or after operations.
This pilot has flown, along with other ATA pilots, a very large number of Spitfires (and other aircraft too) in WWII, ... read more ...
e-bay WW2 Battle of Britain Photo Album from N Franks
2025-07-22
One of our users alerted us to a very rare photo album for sale from WW2 Battle of Britain pilot N Franks. There are various pilot / squadron images of interest.The listing is here for as long as it's available.
Various pilots in the album are on our site already, and, we've placed some of these photo snippets to the pilots page before they are lost to the online world. So if nothing else, this was a good source for one of our contributors.
When a piece of Spitfire pilot related history is placed for sale, and, we're alerted, we'll put a link up here so that Spitfire enthusiasts from this site may consider it. The provenance / authenticity of something on e-bay is not a given, so it's up to buyers to do their due diligence.
Kurt read more ...
Would you like one of these?
2025-02-11
We have a locally made tote bag with outer Spitfire fabric pocket and an attached custom tag with pilot details. Made by one of our volunteers, who uses a mix of new (liner), new Spitfire pattern fabric (for pocket), and up-cycled tote fabric for this very unique item. A laser engraved tag may be created which can be placed on the outside or inside with pilot name and number, along with an airforce logo of choice.There are 2 designs, one with a beige/black Spitfire fabric done in spotter design, as the front pocket fabric, on an outer fabric that is closer to light military grey. The other tote bag design is as shown. Carefully stitched by hand and reinforced. Both feature a plaid liner and an outer pocket with a repeating Spitfire design. Take that out with you on your errands - you never know what conversation you may end up having as a result.
Just use the contact us below to let us know your interest. Cost is quite fair, it's done to help cover hosting.
Kurt - founder read more ...
Your favourite Spitfire Videos?
2024-12-06
If like me, you search youtube every now and again to get a glimpse of the Spitfire either in WW2 or in other settings, then you may also have collected a few favourites. What about the Spitfire combat scenes from the movie 'Dunkirk', 'Dark Blue World', or perhaps the clips from the movie Pearl Harbour, or just the iconic "Battle of Britain" movie shot in 1969. This one below is captivating because of the linkage between the factory workers who made the Spitfire and the pilots via their gun camera footage. The contributor put Battle of Britain in the title, which attracted lots of comments because most of the footage isn't, but just the same, I like the introduction. A boy asked his Gran what she did in the war. She explains that she built Spitfires. What planes the boy asks? "They called them Spitfires". The video goes on to show dramatic gun camera footage set to equally dramatic music. It takes you beyond the aesthetic of an airshow flypast to the frantic moments of combat.
Here it is: Gran's job in the war along with gun camera footage
Do you have some clips of interest? Send them ... read more ...
Completing pilot bios and related ORB entries for pilots in 73 and 74 squadron.
2024-07-13
Happening now! One of our users Justin Worrell is completing pilot bios and related ORB entries for pilots in 73 and 94 squadron.Justin’s great grandmother Rose O’Keefe’s son Henry was in 94 and 73 squadron. When he visited Greece in his 20's he visited Phaleron War Cemetery and found his headstone along with reading most of the others there as well. Over the years he tried to find out what happened to Henry and those who flew with him. With the internet things become a lot easier.
We’ve seen this pattern before, as the ORBs (publicly available at IWM) become a source of great detail to understand what type of flying a relative would have done. In the case of 73 and 94 squadron pilots, at that later stage of the war, in the North African, Italian, Yugoslavian (via Italy), and Greek theatres - it was less air to air combat and more convoy patrol, ground strafing, and bombing. Flying in at close range, flak took many and occasionally a bomb hangup as well.
Read more about 73 and 94 squadron pilots here and read about the Spitfire serials flown and the missions ranging from escort, formation ... read more ...
Usage Stats and Update
2023-10-05
Thanks to everyone contributing otherwise "lost to the attics" photos and bio information recently. Family members and others who still have access to photos, documents, and, memories that can be shared tell the story of these pilots. We wish we could do more, for example, have a ground crew database as well, but the efforts to maintain a site like this do have their costs. If anyone has a story worthy of a blog post here for other ranks within ground crew, we'd love to post it.In the meantime, here's where we are at with usage of the site, I think it shows the typical readership, with the UK being the largest and then countries with pilot representation from around the world. Interestingly France is always in the mix, no doubt because of the operations and direct contact with pilots in WWII. From 2nd place United States, it's a descending mix of countries like Canada, Australia, Poland, Holland, New Zealand, Czechia and so on.
Thanks for your support, whether it's imagery, further pilot detail, or a simple donation that helps us offset hosting costs.
Kurt read more ...
Ashton Pub on September 15 B of B Memorial
2022-10-02
After Kevin's thoughtful post relating the IWM Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow to some of the todays events, I followed up with my own recollection of my day on September 15th, 2022.Three years ago in 2019 I cycled the South Downs way with a friend from B.C. Canada for the 100 miles, with a stop at RAF Tangmere. Two days later on September 15th, 2019 I was at Capel Le Ferne on a beautiful September day in very similar weather to Ottawa's weather of September 15th, 2022. I recommend anyone visit Capel Le Ferne on the 15th of September, as you will see a Spitfire fly over the memorial and the white cliffs of Dover. The interactive surround sound and video show in the museum is very impressive.
I was thinking not only of this crucial day on September 15th, 1940 when Britain fought not just for itself but for the whole world. And the whole whole world had to some extent joined in with pilots and aircrew from allied nations such as Poland, Canada, USA, France, Slovakia and many more.
I remember Sept. 15th 2019 for many reasons. One of which was the world in which we lived, ... read more ...
Battle of Britain Flying Display 2022 IWM Duxford
2022-09-13
A grey Saturday morning with sombre music on the radio and black crows lining the telephone wires on the way to Duxford reminding one of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Walking around Duxford the crowds seemed muted.The flying display at IWM Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow started with a two minute silence the only sound being the unmistakable growl of a Merlin engine in the distance rising to a roar as the NHS Spitfire flew in low and fast and climbed into a victory roll. The crowd's silence continued during the display of loops and rolls and there was gentle applause as the display ended.
A fitting tribute to Her Majesty.
Other notable displays were the only flying Blenheim flanked by two Lysanders and a Gladiator, a Vampire a pair of Czech helicopters, (the MI-21 and MI-171) and a formation of nine Tiger Moths, as well as the old favourites the Spitfires, Hurricanes, Mustangs, Bouchons, Wildcat, Bearcat, Corsair, Yak 3 and the magnificent B-17 the Sally B.
As always the displays were professional and very impressive.
At the airshow one of my 'guilty' pleasures is browsing through the old military second hand books and there is usually ... read more ...
F/L HOLLAND, Robert James Henry
2022-09-09
Today we are profiling F/L Holland, as new information has come in from his grand daughter via a friend.F/L Holland's original posting with limited information was posted along with commonwealth graves commission information with KIA date of death as April 2, 1945. But we didn't have much else. Nevertheless, we see this pattern regularly where a relative with information otherwise lost to the attics will find our listing and add more information in memory of.
At the same time, we added a new tag for pilots where a mystery (or questions) remain, i.e. the pilot entry is being researched for further details which are missing or anticipated. F/L Holland is one such pilot where we have gained new information and hope for more.
If you visit his page here, you will see numerous new digital scanned artifacts and clippings (one detailing a train attack), his log-book notes on aircraft flown, which is quite a list, and, various photos.
One squadron and serial are identified in the original post by Ade Mottram a year or two ago. A more complete list will be added soon. F/L Holland flew from 1941 to just a month or so ... read more ...
South Downs, RAF Tangmere, and Camp X - Can you Solve this?
2022-09-01
What an odd title? How could these 3 things have any connection at all? Can you break the code with just this introduction? The South Downs Way is a walking and biking trail of 100 miles from Winchester to the seaside town of Eastbourne. RAF Tangmere was a Battle of Britain Station in Sussex not far from Chichester and for that matter the relief field at today's Goodwood Motor Circuit. Camp X was the secret Special Training School No. 103 commisioned by the BSC for the OSE in Ontario Canada. Any guesses?
Long Answer:
It seems like an eternity since I cycled the 100 miles of the South Downs Way in September 2019. It wasn't the 100 miles that was so tough, it was the 10,000 feet of climbing (note: loved every minute of it). Being from Canada, I had never been to the South Downs before, nor had I been to RAF Tangmere, where the control tower still sits in the corner of a farm field and next to a newer housing development. In my trip planning I had seen pictures of the Tangmere control tower, slowly decaying. Yet it is the one original airfield sentinel left of that ... read more ...