In February 1944, the RAF’s No. 1411 Met. Flight was handed over to the REAF, having been operated and commanded by Egyptian personnel since August 1943 and thus, ceased to be a British unit. Amongst its machines were one or two unarmed Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vcs, including the JK835, reconstructed here: it retained its RAF markings for a while, while the other, probably JK629, was given Egyptian markings. Early in 1947, No. 1144 Flight may have been handed back to the RAF, but its Spitfires were retained by the Egyptians: as of mid- 1948, it consisted of four antiquated Hurricanes. The fate of the Spitfire JK836 remains unknown, but when sighted for the last time it wore an overall bare metal finish, had its guns removed and a wire-braced vertical pylon on the wing, containing meteorological measuring equipment. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)