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Posted by Len Provisor
on November 8, 2009, 11:12 am
GEO. S. PARKER 1944 RAF Spitfire MK Vb AD 384 Presentation Spitfire
According to a press release dated July 2, 1941. The Parker Pen Company, through their Canadian and English subsidiaries, contributed 5,000 pounds sterling to the Royal Air Force in support of their war effort against Nazi Germany. The donation was made through the ‘Spitfire Fund’ and was acknowledged with the presentation of a plaque from the Ministry of Aircraft Production to Parker and is on display at their Newhaven, East Sussex facility. The Spitfire Fund encouraged the “purchase” of a variety of war materials.
Over 2,000 aircraft were donated under this plan with the vast majority being Spitfire aircraft. Only one such Presentation aircraft remains now, it is located in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. The Parker Pen Company participation was initially confirmed in the book “Spitfire – The Story of a Famous Fighter” by Bruce Robertson (pp. 115-121) and subsequently confirmed by the Royal Air Force Museum.
The specific aircraft in this case was a Spitfire Mark (Mk.) Vb, serial number AD384. This aircraft was built under a contract intended to build Mk II Spitfire but this was modified to a newer, up-dated specification created to adapt the aircraft to operate in a high-altitude environment. The aircraft was built at the Castle Bromwich plant during the late summer of 1941. Following a test flight the aircraft was accepted by the RAF and assigned to their No.313 (Czech) Squadron in October. Though too late to serve in the Battle of Britain, the aircraft was based at the RAF Hornchurch facility and did participate in a number of significant operations. These included both daylight bomber escort missions and offensive sweeps over enemy positions in Western Europe.
The RAF No.313 (Czech) Squadron is an interesting story by itself as it was originally created to provide a home for some of the many refuge pilots who were forced to leave their regular assignments. When Czechoslovakia and Poland were over run by Germany, their own pilots fled to England in the hope of joining the RAF. No.313 (Czech) Squadron was one of those squadrons formed from members originally from Czechoslovakia. Many of these groups built admirable records in their efforts. Remember too, that the RAF ‘Eagle Squadron’ was comprised of volunteer U.S. pilots flying Spitfire fighters, and were dedicated to helping in the war effort.
To this date no photographs of Parker Spitfire have been found, though many details have been uncovered. Like many Spitfire aircraft it was almost certainly painted Dark Green and Ocean Grey, with Medium Sea Grey undersurfaces. The prop spinner, code letters, and band around the rear fuselage were likely painted Sky in color, with the outer portion of the leading edge of the wings painted yellow, this all according to the RAF Museum. Squadron code letters for the 313 were “R Y”. Considerable effort has gone into learning the specific Geo S. Parker aircraft code letter. Since this code often changed from mission to mission it is almost impossible to know with much certainty. That said, one RAF source has confirmed that the Parker Spitfire did carry the “Z” code on at least one occasion. All Spitfire aircraft donated through the Spitfire Fund bore a name suggested by the donor. Originally official instructions specified how a chosen name was to be applied on the engine cowling but this was rarely followed. By the time the Parker Spitfire was built the official standard specified the use of light grey 2-inch lettering.
While research continues to uncover more details of this aircraft’s service it is clear that on April 12, 1942, while on a mission over France the aircraft was hit and severely damaged by enemy fire from a German Messerschmidt Me-109. The Spitfire pilot, Czech Sgt. Otakar Kresta, was able to guide the aircraft to the ground but was captured by enemy soldiers and spent the balance of the war in a number of prison camps. RAF records paint a somewhat confusing story of this event, however, a Czech book, “I Flew With The 313”, written by one of their most famous pilots during this time, Jiri Raglich, clearly details the mission on the day AD384 was shot down.
© 2004 Len Provisor and Geoffrey S. Parker
Historical research by David Ruderman, Sanford-Europe Great Britain
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