Arbroath war effort inspires RAF Spitfire tartan tribute

A Spitfire bought for Britain in 1942 by the people of a small Scottish town which went on to battle the Luftwaffe in the skies over occupied France has been granted its own tartan.

The people of Arbroath in Angus started a “Spitfire fund” during the Secondworld War to raise £5,000 to buy a plane to help with the war effort. They succeeded and a Mkvb Spitfire was built by Vickers Armstrong at Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory in the West Midlands.

The Spitfire was delivered to the RAF at Burtonwood on 24 May 1942 and was named the “Red Lichtie” after the people of Arbroath who had made its construction possible. The inhabitants of Arbroath are known as “Reid Lichties” from the distinctive round window in the south transept of Arbroath Abbey, which was originally lit up red at night as a beacon.

The Red Lichtie Spitfire (EP121) Tartan has been specifically created to pay tribute to the Spitfire – the flagship aircraft of the RAF.

The tartan’s asymmetric design of green and grey represents the Spitfire’s camouflage; the red, white, blue and yellow stripes form a representation of the historic RAF roundel and the tail liveries on the aircraft. The single red stripe in the tartan becomes a mark of respect for the “Red Lichties”.