HornetUK requested a Soviet Spitfire a while ago and I noticed no one had done a Mk Vb yet.
EP 210 was one of the first Spitfires received by the Soviet Union and was a well used ex-RAF machine like most of the early Spitfire deliveries. It was assigned to the 3rd Squadron of 57 GIAP in the Kuban theatre, who began combat operations with the type in May 1943. The Spitfires were painted with the Guards logo on their tail and the regiment's yellow lightning bolt down the side of the fuselage. The latter marking was considered to be too visible in combat and the ground crews were ordered to sand them off, something they only partially succeeded in doing in this case.
There's an interesting article on Kuban Spitfires
here including a photo of this aircraft.
