Greece was defeated and occupied by the Germans in a lightning operation. However, this did not mean they stopped fighting. Pilots from that country managed to escape to Egypt, where, under the command of the RAF, they reformed a fighter squadron that fought alongside the 8th Army, following the entire route from the Egyptian border to the invasion of Italy.
In 1943, equipped with Spitfires modified with the Vokes air filter, they participated in the occupation of Italy, in the poorly organized and even more poorly executed occupation of some of the Dodecanese islands, and flew up the peninsula to the Battle of Rimini, fighting against the Luftwaffe, providing close air support, and patrolling the Adriatic and even the Aegean Sea.
But in September 1944, the German troops unexpectedly withdrew from Greece, so a force had to be urgently sent to fill the void and occupy the territory. Spitfires from the RAF's 335 and 336 Squadrons were sent, and as soon as they arrived back home, they reacquired their national markings. Although by 1945 the old Mark V Troops were already obsolete, they were no longer fighting the defeated Luftwaffe; they were only used for ground tactical support, a role they continued to fulfill until the end of the war.
Modelism
For decades, the only 1/72 scale Spitfire Mk V Trop model was the simple (though many would say rudimentary or prehistoric) model from PM, a Turkish brand somewhat uncommon in the West. They produced it in two versions: a local version with Turkish markings and an export version with USAAF markings. It was a simple model, technologically very similar to the old Airfix Mk IX, with few parts, one-piece wings, a very thick canopy, and practically no interior. However, it was very accurate in proportions and shape.
GALLERY
This is a PM model, but with modern modifications. When I imported these models, I kept this one. I recently assembled it with a new interior, a thermoformed canopy, and modern acrylic paints, all applied by hand using El Viejo Marino paint. It represents the aircraft in 1945, already based in Greece, without camouflage. It was believed that the weight savings improved performance.
