A58-517, flown by F/O Norm Turnbull, No. 79 Squadron, Morotai Island,
Dutch East Indies, April 1945
B
Norm Turnbull was a skilled fighter pilot with much combat experience from the European theatre. He was a sturdy man, which was the reason why ground
crew members painted the grey elephant on his personal Spitfire. It is now certain that the elephant was grey, not pink as the emblem is often depicted. This
has been personally confirmed by Norm Turnbull himself. Further confusion concerns his name. He legally changed his name to Norm Smithells after his
mother remarried. His aircraft appears quite weathered in the photos taken during the spring of 1945, with many signs of repairs, and pain peeling away
in many places, notably on the wings, where the original RAF yellow leading edge is visible under the new white RAAF paint. On the rear fuselage, the yellow
component of the RAF roundel, the RAF serial and the Sky fuselage band appear to have been overpainted in RAAF Dark Sea Grey. You can find more details
about Norm Turnbull and his aircraft in Eduard´s publication 'Aussie Eight', written by Peter Malone and released by Eduard.
