This unusual photograph of Spitfires over Snodland, in Kent, was taken on 21 December 1940 by a high-flying Bf 110C reconnaissance aircraft of 7(F)./LG 2 that the RAF fighters were trying to intercept. Twenty-three Spitfire I/IIs from Nos. 64 and 611 Sqns took part in the mission and they claimed to have damaged their opponent, which they wrongly identified as a ‘Do 215B’. Although the Bf 110’s gunner was indeed shot dead, the Messerschmitt escaped to make a crash-landing at Mardyck, near Dunkirk. Spitfires climbing hard to engage high-flying reconnaissance aircraft and Bf 109/110 Jabos were a feature of the final weeks of 1940. (Dr Alfred Price)
Photo and caption featured in Osprey Duel 67 Spitfire II/V vs Bf 109F Channel Front 1940-42 by Tony Holmes
