July 7, 20233 yr I recently had a 'discussion' with someone from the USA, who was adamant that both Bell and Vought built Spitfires under licence ( he actually believed both companies took over development from Supermarine - I kid you not! ). Having disabused him of that nonsense, I started thinking; were any built (or assembled from kits) in Canada or Australia ? I'm sure I've read that the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Australia either assembled some from kits sent from the UK, or built some from scratch. I've searched the web, but can't find a definitive answer. Does anyone have some facts and figures ? Surely not everybody was kung fu fighting. https://rationalwiki.org
July 7, 20233 yr 11 minutes ago, Paul K said: I'm sure I've read that the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Australia either assembled some from kits sent from the UK, or built some from scratch. The Australian ones arrived pre built with wings removed. Most were newly built however there were a number of EX RAF frames. CAC built the P51's from scratch under license Matt NT - AUSTRALIA
July 7, 20233 yr Author 1 minute ago, jeansy said: The Australian ones arrived pre built with wings removed. Most were newly built however there were a number of EX RAF frames. Matt, thanks very much. Do you have an idea of how many ? Is there a website that covers it ? 1 minute ago, jeansy said: CAC built the P51's from scratch under license When I was a boy in Australia, a P-51 ( and I think it was a CAC aircraft ) was restored and flown from the nuclear test site at Maralinga to Parafield, just down the road from where we lived. They had to cannibalize some other aircraft for spare parts. Paperwork and officialdom meant that it eventually went to the USA. Surely not everybody was kung fu fighting. https://rationalwiki.org
July 7, 20233 yr Canada built Hurricanes, Sea Hurricanes, Blenheims, and Lancasters, but no Spits as far as I'm aware.
July 7, 20233 yr Author 18 minutes ago, Bunkie said: Canada built Hurricanes, Sea Hurricanes, Blenheims, and Lancasters, but no Spits as far as I'm aware. Yes, that's the impression I get - thanks for the confirmation about the Spitfires there. The Canadian-built Lancasters were designated Mk.X - the IWM has one at Duxford. Surely not everybody was kung fu fighting. https://rationalwiki.org
July 7, 20233 yr I think I recall the very 1st Victory Aircraft built Lanc was still called a B. Mk. III, but could be wrong on that. I do believe there were discussions about Spitfire production in Canada, but after Castle Bromwich and the other shadow factories got into their stride, the requirement simply wasn't there. The UK production was sufficient to meet the need. The suggestion by your US friend sounds like he's confused the backstory of the Mustang and carried on from there... total speculation of course!
July 7, 20233 yr 2 hours ago, Paul K said: I started thinking; were any built (or assembled from kits) in Canada or Australia ? I'm sure I've read that the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Australia either assembled some from kits sent from the UK, or built some from scratch. I've searched the web, but can't find a definitive answer. Does anyone have some facts and figures ? I used to know a lot about this sort of thing but as I've got older....etc, etc. So....the voices in my head are telling me that Spitfire airframes were only built in the UK. Around 650 Spitfires of various marks were sent to Australia by war's end. They weren't sent in kit form as such. Every aircraft was flight tested in the UK before being broken down to be crated for shipping.
July 7, 20233 yr Assembled is one thing, built a different league... AFAIK they were built only in England. Learning to fly gliders since 1980AMD Ryzen 5600x, 32GB DDR4, RTX 3060Ti (8GB), GIGABYTE B550 AORUS Elite AX V2 mobo, 1TB + 500GB nvme m.2 disks
July 7, 20233 yr Author 4 hours ago, DD_Arthur said: They weren't sent in kit form as such. Every aircraft was flight tested in the UK before being broken down to be crated for shipping. Yes, you're right - kit form and dismantled for shipping are definitely two different things. I think I've arrived at my answer for the Spitfires - thanks all. However, didn't Canada also build the Westland Lysander ? Surely not everybody was kung fu fighting. https://rationalwiki.org
July 7, 20233 yr 10 hours ago, Paul K said: Matt, thanks very much. Do you have an idea of how many ? Is there a website that covers it ? this will give you the history of every Spitfire that was under the RAAF in Australia and UK http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a58.htm Matt NT - AUSTRALIA
July 7, 20233 yr 7 hours ago, DD_Arthur said: I used to know a lot about this sort of thing but as I've got older....etc, etc. So....the voices in my head are telling me that Spitfire airframes were only built in the UK. Around 650 Spitfires of various marks were sent to Australia by war's end. They weren't sent in kit form as such. Every aircraft was flight tested in the UK before being broken down to be crated for shipping. close 👍 773 shipped to Aus for both RAAF(758) and RAN(15) I'm not going to count the loaned Spits for 451, 452, 453 and 457 Squadrons RAAF Matt NT - AUSTRALIA
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