[QUOTE=Dave Homewood]Wow, looking into this and doing my maths, yes it does seem right that this Spitfire and Johnny Houlton must have been with the squadron at the same time. And as Johnny always claimed the OU-V aircraft as it was V for Vicky, his fiance’ then wife’s name, this must have been his I guess.QUOTE]
The following two paragraphs are the opening ones for the story of MH350 taken from the 1986 Edition of “Spitfire Survivors”. New edition due out soon …
MH350 was built at Castle Bromwich during 1943 and completed as an L.F.IXE fitted with Merlin 66 No. 185537 (which it retains to this day) and armament of 2 x 20 mm cannon plus 2 X .5 in. Browning machine guns. It formed part of the batch MH349—390 and its c/n has been quoted as CBAF-IX-5400. Factory records state that it was off contract at Castle Bromwich on 1 July 1943, but its Form 78 records that it was taken on charge by the RAF on 7 August. Delivered by an A.T.A. ferry pilot to No. 485 (New Zealand) Sqdn at Hornchurch on 13 August, the Form 78 states the delivery date was 8 August.
No. 485 Sqdn then formed part of the Hornchurch Wing, together with No. 222 (Natal) Sqdn, and MH350 was allocated to P/O Johnnie Houlton, RNZAF, with code letters OU-V. It served with the squadron until 15 June 1944, when it was transferred to No. 84 Group Support Unit, 2nd TAF, at Aston Down, Wilts. Houlton was, by this time, flying ML407, which also survives — in flying condition with Nick Grace and Chris Horsely in the U.K. (q.v). Another Houlton mount, MK732, survives in Holland (q.v.) and the Royal New Zealand Air Force has restored TE288 in his markings as “OU-V”!
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