**** DONE: Spitfire MkVIII F/L Edward "Ted" Sly Commonwealth GB

[Wildcat]

User name: Wildcat
Name: Andy
Category: 2, Intermediate
Kit: ICM
Scale: 1/48th.
Accessories: AeroMaster decals "Aussie spitfires part 3"



My entry for this GB will be Spitfire MkVIII A58-614 flown by desert veteran F/L Edward "Ted" Sly. A58-614 was his usual mount flown on operations from Morotai and later Labuan Island during the Borneo Campaign of 1945. As with all 457 sqn RAAF aircraft at this time, it carried the famed "Grey Nurse" label and sharks teeth. I've been wanting to add a sharks teeth spitfire to my collection for awhile now, so this is the perfect chance! The aircraft I'll be doing is shown in the top profile.

[Wayne Little]

Excellent choice Andy!

[ozhawk40]

Brilliant! Great choice Andy. Too cool.

Cheers

Peter

[Crimea_River]

That's gonna be nice. Great pick!

That kit is essentailly the same as the Mk IX that I'm doing so we'll both be able to compare notes. Watch out for warped parts!

[Airframes]

Nice one Andy. I'll be watching this, as I'm building a ICM MkVIII for Max.

[rochie]

nice to have you aboard again Andy, great choice of subject as well

[Night Fighter Nut]

Nice pick. Love to see how these turn out.

[A4K]

Great choice Andy! Love that scheme!

Btw, interesting to note that every GB is dominated by one or two types - looks like the Spitty's gonna be the predominant breed in this one so far.

[T Bolt]

Good choice Andy. I like the looks of a Spit with shark teeth.

[Wurger]

With all here Andy. I can't wait to see the effect.

[tigerdriver]

cool choice, never seen sharks teeth on a spit

[vikingBerserker]

Excellent choice Andy, looking forward to her.

[Vic Balshaw]

Good on ya Andy, nice choice

[Wildcat]

Here's a pic of Ted Sly's autobiography, I'll be modelling that aircraft. More importantly though, here are some progress shots!!

[Wildcat]

Here's a list of missions flown by A58-614. This gives a pretty good guide to the varied work being done by the Spitfires of the RAAF's First Tactical Air Force. I'll be putting bombs under my model as the Spitfires flew many dive bombing sorties over the Halmaheras and Borneo, as you can see -614 flew a handful of these.

Spitfire MkVIII A58-614 ZP-Q 457 sqn RAAF
15 Dec 44 – received by 457 sqn at Sattler, Darwin
Morotai
10 Feb 45 – F/L Sly – strike against aircraft on Galela airstrip
11 Feb 45 – F/L Sly – standing patrol over Morotai
11 Feb 45 – F/O Greaves – standing patrol over Morotai
12 Feb 45 – F/O Ward – sweep over the Halmaheras – barge strafed
21 Feb 45 – F/L Sly – sweep over the Halmaheras
21 Feb 45 – F/L Sly – Evening standing patrol over Morotai
22 Feb 45 – F/L Sly – night standing patrol over Morotai
25 Feb 45 – F/L Sly – Evening standing patrol over Morotai
27 Feb 45 – F/L Sly – fighter cover for US PT boats
1 Mar 45 – F/L Sly – standing patrol over Morotai
5 Mar 45 – F/L Sly – sweep over the Halmaheras – two bridges strafed and AA positions on Miti Island strafed and silenced
5 Mar 45 – F/L Sly – sweep over the Halmaheras – two 20mm AA guns strafed at Oba strip – a/c holed in port outer wing
20 Apr 45 – F/L Rankin – convoy patrol
25 Apr 45 – F/O May – night standing patrol over Morotai
28 Apr 45 – P/O Yates – armed reconnaissance of enemy airfields – one barge strafed
28 Apr 45 – F/O Ward - armed reconnaissance of enemy airfields – recalled to base
2 May 45 – F/L Sly – intercept bogey – nil sightings
17 May 45 – F/L Sly – Bomb Bridge over Lamo River – bridge destroyed
19 May 45 – F/L Bell – Bomb Bridge at Galela – returned early
Labaun Island
20 Jun 45 – F/L Sly – fighter cover for Lutong assault convoy
20 Jun 45 – F/L Sly – as above
21 Jun 45 – F/L Sly – strike against 5 aircraft at Keningau strip
21 Jun 45 – F/L Sly – fighter cover for Lutong assault convoy
23 Jun 45 – F/L Sly – close air support in Miri area – 3 trucks and 1 staff car destroyed, 2 trucks damaged
23 Jun 45 – F/L Sly – scramble – nil sightings
25 Jun 45 – F/L Sly – dive bomb and strafe enemy positions in Seria area
26 Jun 45 – F/L Sly – close air support – enemy weapon pits and buildings strafed
27 Jun 45 – F/L Sly – dive bomb and strafe Lipak and Taniku River area