'The Saint' Spitfire Vc, JG891 - 249 (Gold Coast) Squadron, RAF - Malta 1943

Comanche Warbirds Vickers Supermarine Spitfire VC, JG891, filmed at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, airfield on 9th July 2021, while being flown by John Romain. The aircraft is said to be in the colours of a 249 Squadron Spitfire, serial JK879, coded T-B and to be the personal aircraft of Flight Sergeant J.G. 'Jack' Hughes (RCAF) while based in Malta during 1943. This may be incorrect as there doesn't appear to be any reference of Sergeant Hughes having flown the aircraft in the Squadron ORB and there is a reference online suggesting that there's no record of him flying that aircraft within his personal log book. Would a Flight Sergeant have had a 'personal' aircraft? It's also probable that the fuselage code T-B was adopted by previous owner, Tom Blair, when the aircraft was put into 249 Squadron colours upon restoration in 1999? (research ongoing!)
This aircraft was completed at Vickers-Supermarine’s factory at Castle Bromwich at the end of 1942. Her first RAF posting was to 39 Maintenance Unit at RAF Colerne on January 2, 1943, moving on to 215 MU later that month at Locharbriggs in Scotland. She was assigned RAF serial JG891. There she was loaded aboard the SS Tijuca on February 4th for onward shipment to Australia along with a number of other Spitfires for service with the Royal Australian Air Force. After arrival in Australia in mid-April, 1943, she entered the RAAF as A58-178, passing through No.1 Air Depot (AD) at RAAF Laverton, before joining her first operational unit, RAAF 79 Squadron, on May 7, 1943, coded ‘UP-G’. She was nicknamed "Tasmanian Devil" with the nose art of a map of Tasmania with a devil superimposed over the top on the left cowling. 79 Squadron formed up at Laverton, and began moving to the frontline base at Vivigani Airfield on Goodenough Island in New Guinea. The unit moved to Kiriwina, one of the Trobriand Islands now belonging to Papua New Guinea, during August, 1943. Kiriwina, at the time, was the closest Allied airfield to Japanese units then based at Rabaul. The Spitfire was involved in an accident at Kiriwina on January 12th, 1944. While landing in gusty conditions without flaps on a wet summer’s day, F/Sgt Dudley Gringlington flipped the Spitfire on her back.
No. 11 Repair & Salvage Unit assessed the aircraft with a view to returning her for service, but declared she was a write-off soon after, whereupon they stripped her for parts, and dumped the remains on site. Here the carcass lay until 1973 when Monty Armstrong recovered her remains, along with the wreckage of two other Spitfires on Kiriwina, shipping the remains to New Zealand.
Don Subritzky acquired the Spitfire in 1975 and began a restoration incorporating parts from another RAAF Spitfire, A58-149 (ex RAF EF545). Subritzky eventually sold the project to Karel Bos, who contracted his company Historic Flying Ltd to carry out the restoration in 1999.
JG891 was back in the air again on February 11th, 2006 for new owner, Tom Blair/Spitfire Ltd.
The Spitfire flew in England until May 2008 before moving to the USA, along with the rest of Blair’s British fleet of Spitfires.
Blair sold her to Dan and Tom Friedkin’s Comanche Fighters in summer 2009.
The Friedkins had the aircraft modified into a clipped-wing variant and repainted her desert camouflage with a standard temperate scheme representing a Spitfire once flown by the legendary British ace, Robert Stanford Tuck. She flew in the USA carrying registration N5TF.
In July, 2017 JG891 suffered a slight mishap, departing the runway when landing in Marana, Arizona. Comanche Fighters subsequently de-registered the aircraft in the USA towards the end of 2017, and shipped her to England, where they registered her as G-LFVC. While at Duxford, the Spitfire has received a lot of care, and had her wingtips re-installed.
A fresh coat of paint returned her to the desert markings said to represent JK879, a 249 Squadron aircraft flown from Malta by Flt Sgt John G. “Jack” Hughes (RCAF).
She is based in the UK for the foreseeable future.
Nowhere in Jack Hughes's logbook is it recorded that he ever flew T*B JK879. The only T*B he flew had the last three of '119' and this is also confirmed by the 249 Squadron ORB.
A Spitfire serial 879 coded T-B flew with 249 Squadron in Malta from 1/6/43 to 3/7/43, when it was ferried to Saffi swapped out with a Spitfire IX coded 256, which then took on the code T-B. (research ongoing).
to be continued...
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[@pat36a]

Thank you for the video and her story. To me , the story behind the plane can be as entertaining as the aircraft.

[@HighFlight]

My pleasure. Yes, the history can be quite fascinating - I feel another film coming on!

[@gregmctevia5087]

Pretty Spit. Great catch.

[@derekdee9592]

Wonderful sound long may it fly !

[@453421abcdefg12345]

An excellent video, you must have a privileged ticket into Duxford to get such wonderful shots! An interesting and chequered history on this one, that is what happens when you start out with just a data plate, but at least it is another one in the air, and a nice one as well, with it's wing tips on. Stay safe! Chris B.

[@HighFlight]

Thanks Chris. Thew beauty of Duxford is that's what you can see from the public side once you've entered the museum and there's usually something going on. Back in 2007 this was in the same scheme, but with a vokes tropical air filter fitted under the nose, making it look quite different. It then went to the current owner in the USA and was repainted in WW2 European theatre markings and had the vokes filter removed. In 2017 it was damaged in a landing accident at Marana, Arizona and that brought it back to the UK for repair and major overhaul when it was put back into the previous desert scheme (but without the vokes air filter). Take care. Steve.

[@bw_digitalphotography]

those are some very interesting looking exhaust ports on this spitfire, i assume they where designed like that to protect the engine from sand? it makes the aircraft sound unique aswell

[@HighFlight]

The 6 exhaust ports on each side are fitted with 3 flame dampers each side, covering 2 exhaust ports each. Looking at pictures of other Mk. V's these appear to be fairly standard and are not just fitted on topicalised or desert Spitfires. They prevent the glow of heat or flame from the exhaust being seen, especially at night. There was much work done by RAE Farnborough to design and test various exhaust flame damper options. They were also successfully used to divert heat to the guns to prevent the guns from icing up at height, but this Spitfire doesn't have that modification. They would also have protected the engine from sand and dust, although primarily this was achieved by the fitting of a special air filter, called a Volks Filter, below the nose. This aircraft did have such a filter fitted in 2007, but it has since been removed.

[@andressini4829]

These Exhaust type is called the "fishtail" type" because of his shape,most of the mark VB's and C's had them fitted during all his operational carrer's,a number was modified with diferent merlin's variants and they fit them with mark IX's Exhausts in This subtypes in some aircraft

[@andressini4829]

This one have the guns heater tube installed behind the cowling with al the nesessary equipment and correct holes in the cowling when was at kiriwina prior her accident,but for some reason This feature was not installed during the restoration

[@HighFlight]

@@andressini4829 Thanks for this interesting information. 👍