Aviation Art of No.412 Sqn RCAF

Spitfire
Manufacturer : Supermarine
Built : 20351

Spitfire
Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954.

No.412 Sqn RCAF
Pilot and aircrew signature details

Sqdn Ldr H C Baker
Our estimated value of this signature : £20

Sqdn Ldr H C Baker

Just one month before the Battle began, Henry 'Butch' Baker had already seen fierce fighting over Dunkirk where he shot down one German aircraft and damaged another. After surviving a car accident, he joined 41 Squadron on September 15, viewed by many as Battle of Britain Day, when 17 squadrons fought off a major attack. Flew Spitfires and helped destroy seven Messerschmitts in the Battle.

Lieutenant General Don Laubman DFC*
Our estimated value of this signature : £30
Died : 2018

Lieutenant General Don Laubman DFC*

Born in Provost, Alberta, 16th October 1921. Home in Edmonton. Enlisted there, 13th September 1941. Trained at No.2 ITS (graduated 27th November 1940), No.5 EFTS (graduated 16th January 1942) and No.3 SFTS (graduated 4th May 1941), Awarded wings 4th May 1941 as a Sergeant. Promoted successively to Flight Sergeant and Warrant Officer. Commissioned 1st July 1942. Promoted to Flying Officer, 1st January 1943, Flight Lieutenant, 1st July 1944, Squadron Leader, 6th April 1945. Retained in Canada for home defence duties with No.133 Squadron from 7th September 1942 to 8th May 1943. Arrived in UK, June 1943. With No.412 Squadron, 16th August 1943 to 5th November 1944, and No.402 Squadron 6th-14th April 1945. Briefly POW, 14th April 1945. Released 25th September 1945. Re-enrolled 17th January 1946. Initially with No.6 Communications Flight, NWAC. Command of No.416 Squadron (January 1951 to March 1952). Command of No.3 Wing at Zweibrucken (July 1963 to August 1966). Command of No.1 Air Division (July 1969 to April 1970). Command of Canadian Forces in Europe (April 1970 to Aug. 1971), &. Chief of Personnel, CFHQ (May 1972 to retirement). He died on 20th June 2018.

Wing Commander Roderick Smith DFC*
Our estimated value of this signature : £40
Died : 2002

Wing Commander Roderick Smith DFC*

Flight Commander 412 Sqn RCAF, Flight Commander 126 Sqn RAF, Squadron Commander 401 Sqn RCAF. One of Canada's most skillful Spitfire pilots, his victory total included a shared victory over an Me262 jet fighter.Born in 1922, he joined the RCAF and was sent to Scotland for training on the Spitfire Mk.I. He was posted to Malta with No.126 Sqn, where his older brother was already serving. His brother was killed in action during theit time in Malta, and Roderick himself was forced to bail out of his burning aircraft. On D-Day, he flew over the Normandy beaches as Flight Commander of No.412 Sqn RCAF. He returned to Canada in December 1944 and retired the next year. Sadly, Roderick Smith died on 16th April 2002.

Aces for : No.412 Sqn RCAF
A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking the pilots name.
Name	Victories	Info
George Frederick Beurling	31.50
Donald Currie Laubman	15.00	The signature of Donald Currie Laubman features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available.
Roderick Illingworth Alpine Smith	13.20	The signature of Roderick Illingworth Alpine Smith features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available.