laststandonzombieisland

A Spitfire of the 307th Fighter Squadron “Stingers” after an emergency landing on the beaches of Paestum, Italy. In the background, LST 359 is beached at shore. (Incidentally, the 307th still exists, flying the F-15E Strike Eagle from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina while the ship, USS LST-359 was sunk by torpedo attack, 20 December 1944, by the German submarine U-870 in the eastern Atlantic.)

Yes, you read that correctly, a British Supermarine Spitfire in U.S. Army Air Force service. It happened as sort of reverse lend-lease. In 1942-43, the U.S. had a lot of excellent warplanes in the pipeline: the P-51 Mustang, the P-47 Thunderbolt, et al. However, we were making pilots faster than planes during that time and with only so many advanced P-40 Warhawks and P-38 Lightnings to go around, we had daring young fighter pilots with nothing to do. This resulted in nine fighter squadrons (2nd, 4th, 5th, 307-309th, and 334-336th) as well as two photo recon units being qualified, trained on, and issued Spitfires. They flew them in combat in North Africa and Italy, then by 1944 transitioned to P-51s and P-47s. But yes, it happened. In all, U.S. pilots flew over 300 Spitfires in WWII, in addition to the three Eagle Squadrons formed in the RAF of American volunteer pilots prior to 1942 (some of whom went on to fly the same types in USAAF service post-Pearl Harbor).

There was also a U.S. Navy Scouting squadron that flew the planes.

What?

Yup, Scouting Squadron Seven (Cruiser), VCS-7, traded in their quaint Curtiss SOC Seagull float-planes for the more commonly supportable (and survivable) Supermarine Spitfires in 1944 so that they could direct naval gunfire support for the Normandy invasions. Their Seagull biplanes were beached in rainy England for the rest of the campaign.

(You gotta love the Invasion stripes and combination USN/RAF flight gear)

And now you know.