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Operation Big Ben was the title given to the dive-bombing British Spitfire missions against German mobile V-2 rocket launch sites in Holland between October 1944 - April 1945, during World War II. [1]
November 1942 photo of a very early Mk IXb of 306 (Polish) ToruĊski Squadron.. The Supermarine Spitfire, the only British fighter to be manufactured before, during and after the Second World War, was designed as a short-range fighter capable of defending Britain from bomber attack [1] and achieved legendary status fulfilling this role during the Battle of Britain. [2]
The first Spitfire modified to carry bombs was a Malta-based Vc, EP201, which was able to carry one 250 lb (110 kg) bomb under each wing. In a note to the Air Ministry Air Vice Marshal Keith Park wrote "[w]e designed the bomb gear so that there was no loss of performance when the bombs were dropped.
Audio recording of Spitfire fly-past at the 2011 family day at RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire Supermarine Spitfire G-AWGB landing at Biggin Hill Airport, June 2024. The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II.
Although many earlier Spitfires had been modified to carry bomb racks capable of carrying 250 lb (110 kg) bombs the first Spitfires to be specifically modified for the fighter-bomber role (known as Modification 1209) were those of the Second Tactical Air Force. The first Mk IX Spitfires started being used in the role in June 1944. [7]
The first Spitfires arrived at 10:30 a.m. and about half of them were airborne by 11:00 a.m. when Luftwaffe aircraft tried to catch them on the ground as they had the Calendar Spitfires. For a loss of three Spitfires, 37 Axis aircraft were shot down or damaged; the air battle on 10 May becoming known as the Battle of Malta.
Experiments with flash bomb photography at night were carried out pre-war, but did not lead to an operational capability until later in the war. [3] In the United States, apart from the case of small army-cooperation observation planes, the emphasis was almost completely on aerial mapping conducted by long-range bombers.
The first test of the aircraft was in intercepting V1 flying bombs and the Mk XIV was the most successful of all Spitfire marks in this role. When 150 octane fuel was introduced in mid-1944 the "boost" of the Griffon engine was able to be increased to +25 lbs (80.7"), allowing the top speed to be increased by about 30 mph (26 kn; 48 km/h) to ...