picture 182331

Another of Egypt’s mysterious aeroplanes was this ‘anonymised’ Spitfire F.Mk IX, flown by Squadron Leader Muhammad Abu Zaid during a clandestine reconnaissance mission over Tel Aviv on 12 May. Probably assembled from parts drawn from several Seafires and Spitfires abandoned at different air bases in Egypt by USAAF and RAF at earlier times, it received a rudder of an earlier, rounded form, a smaller underfuselage scope, had parts of its camouflage pattern in ocean green overpainted in dark green and roundels almost certainly consisting of RAF undercoat green. According to unconfirmed sources, it was one of two (the other was 642) equipped with a reconnaissance camera. (Artwork by Peter Penev)