Spitfire Mk IXC from Polish Fighting Team

Polish Fighting Team was formed on February 5, 1943 in the Polish fighter base at Northolt.
After crossing the Mediterranean by ship and some further travel, arrived at Bu Gara airfield, 150 miles west of Tripoli, on March 13. The pilots were attached to No. 145 RAF Squadron as the 'C' flight, and equipped with six Spitfires Mk. V.
The Team achieved operational readiness on March 17, but it wasn't till March 28 that Polish pilots for the first time engaged enemy planes over African soil. By then the Team had been re-equipped with the latest British fighters of the time, Spitfires Mk. IX.

The picture shows mechanics at work on a PFT Spitfire ZX-1. Aircraft of the PFT shared No. 145 Squadron's code letters (ZX) but received numbers 1 to 6 instead of letters for individual identification.