RAF No 340 (GC/IV/2 'Ile de France') Squadron Spitfire photographs

Aircrew RAF 340Sqn French pilots gather at the duty office Westhampnett 01

Aircrew RAF 340Sqn pilot Bernard Duperier French sits in his Spitfire GWS 1942 01

Spitfire LFXVI RAF 340Sqn GC4/2 GWY TB702 Linge Drope Germany 1945 01

TB702 LFXVI M266 33MU 25-2-45 340S 26-4-45 103FRS 16-5-51 3CAACU u/c hit gate on approach swung on landing Exeter FAC3R 11-5-54 SOC 13-5-54

Spitfire LFXVI RAF 340Sqn GWP France TB528 Mar 1945 01

Spitfire MkIXb RAF 340Sqn GWB taking off in the early morning from Biggin Hill Kent IWM CH8114

Spitfire MkIXb RAF 340Sqn taking off in the early morning from Biggin Hill Kent IWM CH8114

Supermarine Spitfire Mark IXBs of No. 340 (Free French) Squadron RAF taking off in the early morning from Biggin Hill, Kent, for a daylight sweep over France.

Imperial War Museum IWM CH 8114 https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205210306

Spitfire MkIXc RAF 340Sqn GWB Denys Boudard MJ966 TC15015 Supermarine Spitfire MkIX Page 16

Spitfire MkIXc RAF 340Sqn GWB Denys Boudard MJ966 TC15015 Supermarine Spitfire MkIX Page 17

Spitfire MkIXc RAF 340Sqn GWS Bernard Duperier BM324 England 1942 0A

Spitfire MkIXc RAF 340Sqn GWY BS394 TC15015 Supermarine Spitfire MkIX Page 18

Spitfire MkIX RAF 340Sqn GWG Biggin Hill Oct 1942 01

Spitfire MkIX RAF 340Sqn GWP Nastupcem Duperiera BS244 England 1942 01

Spitfire MkIX RAF 340Sqn GWS Bernard Duperier BS392 England Oct 1942 01

Spitfire MkIXc RAF 340Sqn GWS SLdr Bernard Duperier BS392 Biggin Hill England 1942 profile by Eduard 0A

Info Eduard: Bernard Dupérier, commanding officer of No. 340 Squadron RAF, instructed ground crews to paint Donald Duck artwork on several of his aircraft, including this Supermarine Spitfire BS392, as well as his Douglas DB-7 and another Spitfire, BM324. As the squadron commander’s aircraft, BS392 carried a pennant painted on the fuselage along with the Lorraine Cross, the symbol used by the Free French squadrons. In black-and-white photographs, the Ocean Grey camouflage appears unusually light, suggesting that a non-standard paint mixture may have been used when standard Ocean Grey supplies were temporarily unavailable. Dupérier, an ace credited with seven victories, assumed command of No. 340 Squadron on April 10, 1942, after the previous commanding officer, Philippe de Scitivaux, was shot down and captured. Dupérier flew BS392 only occasionally between October 25 and November 7, 1942, before later taking command of No. 341 Squadron RAF. After the war, he entered politics as a supporter of Charles de Gaulle. BS392 subsequently served with several units before its career ended on September 9, 1944, when Vojtech Skreka-Baudoin of No. 310 Squadron RAF overran the runway during landing, forcing the aircraft to be written off.

Spitfire MkIX RAF 340Sqn GWY Robert Gouby BS394 England Oct 1942 01

Spitfire MkVb RAF 340Sqn GWK Gaston Kerlan W3457 during the Dieppe landing Hornchurch 19th Aug 1942 0A

Spitfire MkVb RAF 340Sqn GWS Bernard Duperier BM324 Dieppe Raid 1942 01

Spitfire MkVb RAF 340Sqn GWS Bernard Duperier BM324 England 1942 01

Spitfire MkVb RAF 340Sqn GWW Marcel Albert AR363 England June 1942 01

Spitfire MkVb RAF 340Sqn GWX Biggin Hill Oct 1941 01

Spitfire MkVb RAF 340Sqn GWX Marcel Albert W3127 Westhampnett Chichester June 1942 0A

Spitfire MkVb RAF 340Sqn GWY Marcel Albert EN908 Westhampnett Chichester July 1942 0A

Spitfire MkVb RAF 340Sqn GWY Marcel Albert Westhampnett Chichester 6th July 1942 01

BL803 Vb CBAF M45 33MU 13-2-42 340S 'GW-L' 17-3-42 CAC ops 15-7-42 shot down by Fw 190's nr Le Touquet 5-9-42 FH176.05 Capt F de Labouchere DFC killed

BM343 Vb CBAF M45M LFLRVb LFLRVb FF 26-3-42 5MU 28-3-42 340S 'GW-P' 29-4-42 VASM 18-9-42 fuel syst elev and rud mods S type pt MkIII IFF bomb carrier wing stiff M55M install 322S 11-1-44 350S 'MN-W' 13-3-44 CAC ops 7-6-44 ASTE 1687Flt 2-12-44 Reid Sigrist refurb to Portugal 9-6-47

Spitfire MkVb RAF 340Sqn GWS SLdr Bernard Duperier BM324 RAF Westhampnett West Sussex July 1942 0A

Info Eduard: Bernard Dupérier, whose real name was Leon Sternberg de Armella, enlisted in the Free French Air Force in New York on 15 January 1941 under his mother’s maiden name. After serving with No. 242 and No. 615 Squadrons RAF, he joined No. 340 (Free French) Squadron (GC II/4 Île-de-France) in October 1941 as leader of B Flight (Versailles). On 1 May 1942 he assumed command of the entire squadron. From December 1942 he served at FAFL Headquarters, before being given command of No. 341 (Free French) Squadron (GC III/2 Alsace) on 30 August 1943. From September 1943 he also commanded the Biggin Hill Wing. On 25 June 1944 he was parachuted into Brittany, where he took command of the 3rd Headquarters of the FFI. On 6 August 1944, during the liberation of Saint-Brieuc, he was severely wounded. He returned to duty in April 1945. After the war he held several positions, including director at Air France. In 1958 he entered politics and was elected a member of the French Parliament in 1962. The white stripes on the nose and horizontal tail surfaces of his Spitfire BM324, in which he scored two victories, were applied for the cancelled Operation Rutter scheduled for 7 July 1942. These markings are often mistakenly attributed to Operation Jubilee, in which No. 340 Squadron also participated.