Pink Spitfires at Arnhem
Between May and December 1944, 16 Squadron flew pink
Spitfire FR IX
s as well as the
blue
Spitfire XI
s. Painted "the palest pink you can imagine", to blend with low cloud at
sunset, they were equipped with sideways facing F-24 cameras to work in the 'dicing' role.
Pilots disliked them, according to
Jimmy Taylor
, and they saw little operational use except
at Arnhem. They were armed with cannon, although they did not always carry ammunition.
Sources:
Hugh Rigby
,
Jimmy Taylor
,
Mike Horsfall
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