AB910 Spitfire Mk Vb at Berlin, Schonefeld, Germany - May 2008The Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight operate several Spitfires including Spitfire Mk Vb AB910.
This year AB910 is wearing the colour scheme of the legendary Spitfire Mk Vb EN951 flown by Polish ace Sqn Ldr Jan Zumbach, Officer Commanding No 303 (Kosciuszko) Sqn in 1942.
Jan Zumbach decorated his personal aircraft with a Donald Duck character. The round badge is the 303 ( Polish ) Sqn Kosciuszko emblem. The blue and red flag alongside shows this aircraft to belong to a Squadron Leader. 303 Sqn used the code letters "RF - " with aircraft "D" being Zumbach's own Spitfire.
Zumbach finished the War with 13 1/3 confirmed aerial kills - in latter life he flew as a mercenary pilot in the Biafra War in Nigeria in the late 1960s.
AB910 was built in 1941 by Vickers at their Castle Bromwich factory in the Midlands. This aircraft flew with many different squardrons during WW2 and took part in operations against the German navy battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and also flew at the Dieppe and D-Day landings.
In 1945 this aircraft AB910 actually took off and flew a circuit with a female ground crew member sitting on the rear fuselage holding onto the tail ! Post war she flew as an air-racer until damaged in 1953.
The aircraft was donated to the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in 1965 and has since performed at hundreds of airshows throughout the UK and Europe.
Take a look at the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight website
Take a look at the details about Spitfire AB910 on the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight website
Take a look at the biography of Sqn Ldr Jan Zumbach, Officer Commanding No 303 (Kosciuszko) Sqn on the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight website
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