User:Nick-D/Drafts13

The Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire had a long and eventful history in Australian service.

European service
Four RAAF squadrons

Retirement
The RAAF's Spitfires were rapidly retired at the end of World War II.

In 1947 the British Ministry of Supply considered modifying eight of the Spitfire VIIs in Australia to high speed remote controlled target aircraft. However, it was eventually decided to use Mustangs for this purpose.

The last Spitfires to serve with the Australian military were 13 Mark VIII and one Mark VC aircraft which were transferred to the Royal Australian Navy in October 1948. These aircraft were stationed at HMAS Albatross near Nowra, and were used to train personnel to handle aircraft on aircraft carrier flight decks. In this role the Mark VIII Spitfires were fitted with three-bladed propellers and taxied around simulated flight decks. All of these aircraft were destroyed at a fire dump during 1952.

More than 550 Spitfires were flown to RAAF Station Oakey in Queensland to await disposal. Austral Bronze purchased about 250 Spitfires for £30 each and scrapped them on-site. The aircraft were removed from the RAAF registry between 1948 and 1949 Several Australian Spitfires were preserved, however, and eventually found their way into the hands of museums or private collectors.