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Kind Regards to The Fighter Collection and Jane Larcombe jlarkstfc@hotmail.com for therre co-operation with this page.

ML417 joined 443 RCAF Sqn in spring 1944 and was one of the first Allied aircraft to land on French soil shortly after D-Day, having been based at Ford, in Sussex, on joining the Squadron.

In one hectic week she severely damaged an Fw190, scored a probable Me109 and destroyed a further pair of Me109's - picking up some flak damage in the process.

After repair work, she was shared amongst the Canadian Spitfire squadrons as a Group resource and not flown by any one particular individual. We have been able to piece together a view of her activities during that mad scramble across Europe through the diaries of one of her pilots, a young Flying Officer by the name of Rooney Hodgins.

His account is a fascinating addendum to the story of ML417 as well as being a moving insight into the life of a young Canadian as he and his colleagues lived through bombings, scrambles and first hand combat experiences in the skies of Europe.

After the war she was modified by Vickers to a two-seat configuration on behalf of the Indian Air Force where she was to spend the next 25 years of her existence.

Little is known about her Indian history - unless anyone out there can prove otherwise, but she was rescued from India by a US Senator who took her back to the USA for a potential rebuild.

The rebuild ran into problems within a couple of years and she was acquired by TFC, who had the rebuild done by Personal Plane Services at Booker, UK.

This included the removal of the rear cockpit, and meant moving the front cockpit back about 13 inches and removing all the duplicate controls and instruments from the fuselage - no mean feat.

ML417 was one of the first aircraft to join The Fighter Collection, the aircraft has always been painted in the colours of 443 (Hornet) Sqn, complete with the Hornet motif on the port engine cowling.

As an LFIXe she has clipped wingtips and is reputed to be able to out roll most other Spitfires. Missing out on the Battle of Britain film because of her Indian service, ML417 has starred in the UK TV series Piece of Cake and A Perfect Hero.