Original art print of a Supermarine Spitfire Mk IIb, in the markings of No. 303 (Polish) Squadron Royal Air Force.
The Spitfire Mk II iterated upon the original Spitfire with a more powerful Merlin XII engine, which provided an additional 120 horsepower, and was the first mark to enter production at Supermarine's Castle Bromwich facility, which would go on to build many thousands of Spitfires, 920 of which were Mk IIs. The Mk IIb was equipped with the B-type wing, which sported a 20mm Hispano cannon in place of the two inner .303 machine guns. The A-wing and B-wing would both be superseded from the Spitfire Mk V onwards by the universal C-wing, which carried a much heavier armament.
Depicted in this illustration is Spitfire P8331, RF-M, as piloted by Flt Lt Pitor Łaguna. During the Battle of Britain, Łaguna had led A Flight of 302 (Polish) Squadron, and he later rose to Acting Wing Commander of No 1 Polish Fighter Wing, which comprised of 303 (Polish) and 308 (Polish) Squadrons, and later 306 (Polish) Squadron as well. On 27 June 1941, Łaguna - piloting RF-M - was shot down during a sweep over northern France. The crash proved fatal, and Łaguna was buried in Pihen-le-Guines, and awarded with the Cross of Valour and Silver Cross of Virtuti Militari. His memory, and that of all the Polish pilots who flew with the Royal Air Force, is honoured by the Łaguna's Spitfire Legacy project.
This Spitfire illustration by Rob Wisdom is a high quality Giclée art print on cotton-rich fine art paper.
12x16" art print shown. Cropping and title position (if applicable) may differ slightly on 'A' size art prints.
