N3200 itself was first flown, also from Eastleigh, on 29th November 1939. After spending time with 8 Maintenance Unit at RAF Little Rissington for acceptance checks and preparation for service, the Spitfire was posted to its first operational unit – 19 Squadron at RAF Duxford – on 19th April 1940 where the code ‘QV’ was applied to the fuselage sides. On May 26th 1940, just 5 weeks after it entered service, 19 Squadron commanding officer Sqn Ldr Geoffrey Stephenson was flying N3200 over Northern France on a sortie to protect British troops whilst the evacuation of Dunkirk was ongoing. He shot down a JU-87 Stuka but the Spitfire was then hit in the radiator and had to ditch on Sangatte beach. Stephenson was taken prisoner: after multiple escape attempts, he ended up in the infamous Colditz Castle but survived the war. The aircraft had remained largely complete in the forced landing and period photographs show N3200 became something of a local attraction as numerous German soldiers took turns to pose with the downed Allied aircraft.
More information about N3200 restoration can be found on the wonderful Aircraft Restoration Co
