Supermarine Spitfire Mk11C – 276 Sqn RAF Air Sea Rescue. Damaged Box

Corgi Aviation Archive 1/72 scale AA31901: Supermarine Spitfire Mk 11C of 276 Air Sea Rescue Sqn RAF. Fitted with a smoke canister dispenser under one wing, these aircraft saved many lives assisting downed airmen during WW2. Limited edition of 4,100 models.

Length 5 inches Wingspan 6.25 inches

PLEASE NOTE: Boxes are slightly damaged with a score line across the box lid. Models are mint.

276 squadron formed at RAF Harrowbeer, Devon on 21 October 1941 equipped with the Lysander and Walrus (Oxford model SW002) with the responsibility of Air Sea Rescue over the Western part of the English Channel and the Bristol Channel. Hurricanes, Defiants, Spitfires and Ansons were then supplied, the fighter aircraft being used for spotting downed aircrew at sea and for dropping dinghies to the downed airmen.

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s. It was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft and was the only British fighter in production throughout the war.

The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works (since 1928 a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong). Mitchell continued to refine the design until his death from cancer in 1937, whereupon his colleague Joseph Smith became chief designer. The Spitfire’s elliptical wing had a thin cross-section, allowing a higher top speed than several contemporary fighters, including the Hawker Hurricane. Speed was seen as essential to carry out the mission of home defence against enemy bombers.

During the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire was perceived by the public as the RAF fighter of the battle, whereas in fact, the more numerous Hurricane actually shouldered a greater proportion of the burden against the Luftwaffe. The Spitfire units did, however, have a lower attrition rate and a higher victory to loss ratio than those flying Hurricanes.

After the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire became the backbone of RAF Fighter Command, and saw action in the European, Mediterranean, Pacific and the South-East Asian theatres. Much loved by its pilots, the Spitfire served in several roles, including interceptor, photo-reconnaissance, fighter-bomber, carrier-based fighter, and trainer. It was built in many variants, using several wing configurations. Although the original airframe was designed to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine producing 1,030 hp, it was adaptable enough to use increasingly more powerful Merlin and the later Rolls-Royce Griffon engines; the latter was eventually able to produce 2,035 hp