South West Pacific[edit]

Supermarine Spitfire VIII in the markings of No. 457 Squadron RAAF

The Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Indian Air Force and the RAF also used Spitfires
against Japanese forces in the Pacific theatre. The first Spitfires in the Far East were two photoreconnaissance (PR IV) aircraft which operated from airfields in India from October 1942.
In the far east they Spitfires found a worthy adversary in the A6M "Zero" long-range fighter that, like
most Japanese fighters, excelled in manoeuvrability. To fight it Spitfire pilots had to adopt a "slash
and run" policy and use their superior speed and diving superiority to fight, and avoid classic
dogfights.
Japanese air raids on Northern Australia hastened the formation in late 1942 of No. 1 Wing RAAF,
comprising No. 54 Squadron RAF, No. 452 Squadron RAAF and No. 457 Squadron RAAF, under
the command of Wing Commander Clive Caldwell, flying the Spitfire Vc(trop). The wing arrived
at Darwin in February 1943, and saw constant action until September. The Mk Vc versions received
by the RAAF proved unreliable and, initially at least, had a relatively high loss rate. This was due to
several factors, including pilot inexperience, engine over-speed due to the loss of oil from the
propeller speed reduction unit (a problem resolved by the use of a heavier grade of oil), [175] and the
practice of draining glycol coolant before shipment, resulting in internal corrosion of the Merlin
engines.
Another factor in the initial high attrition rate was the relatively short endurance of the Spitfire: most
of the sorties were, as a matter of course, flown over the wide expanse of ocean between
Australia, New Guineaand Timor. Even when fitted with drop tanks the Spitfires could not afford to fly
too far from base without the danger of running out of fuel over water. As a result, when an incoming
raid was detected, the Spitfires were forced to climb as fast as possible in an attempt to get into a
favourable position. In the prevailing hot, humid climate this meant that the Merlin engines were
often overheating even before combat was joined. The Spitfires were fitted with the Vokes tropical
filters which reduced performance: in an attempt to increase performance the filters on several
Spitfires were removed and replaced by the standard non-tropicalised air intake and lower engine
cowlings which had been manufactured by the base workshops. The experiment proved to be a
failure and the Spitfires were quickly refitted with the tropical filters.

Two No. 79 Squadron RAAF Spitfire VCs and ground crew in April 1944

Many of the Australian and British airmen who flew in 1 Wing were experienced combat veterans,
some of whom who had flown P-40s with the Desert Air Force in North Africa, while others had flown
Spitfires over Europe. They were used to being able to outmanoeuvre opposing fighters and were
shocked to discover that the Zeros they were now flying against were able to outmanoeuvre the
Spitfire. Several Spitfires were lost before the pilots learned not to attempt to get into a turning
dogfight with the agile Japanese fighters. In spite of these problems the Spitfires were reasonably
successful and at times were able to catch the Mitsubishi Ki-46 reconnaissance aircraft which had
hitherto flown fast enough and high enough to evade interception.[176]
The first of 410 Spitfire Mk VIIIs started replacing the Mk Vcs from Octob