Shark mouth Spitfire

A portrait of Spitfire Mk VIII A58-631 coded ZP-V with 457 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force. The aircraft carried the "Grey Nurse" squadron's striking shark's mouth insignia.

457's Spitfires had been shipped out to the squadron from the UK, arriving in their standard RAF camouflage pattern. The Australians changed the original red, white and blue roundels and fin flashes to their own white and blue, differently-sized versions and patched up the camo with local Foliage Green and Dark Sea Grey. Yellow wing leading edges initially were painted white, but when word came down to drop that, they were overpainted too. The result was a motley finish that varied from aircraft to aircraft.