The Australian Spitfire Association

The Australian Spitfire Association was founded by the pilots 457 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force. In March 2022, the Association celebrated 60 years of service to its members and the community.

The Spitfire Association remains strong, despite less than a handful of pilots and support crews remaining. We actively work to help Australia remain resilient and work to our motto of “Carry the Spirit Forward” for the founders of the Association and all who were involved in the success of the Spitfire.

Just as the capability of the Spitfire evolved, so too has the aim of the Spitfire Association. Now, we look to the future and what it can do, through the Spitfire Memorial Defence Fellowship and its other fund-raising efforts to help keep Australia resilient.

Recognising the need to be ever vigilant, the Spitfire Memorial Defence Fellowship was conceived by pilots of 457 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), including the late AVM Lyndon Compton AO OBE, the late FLTLT Edward (Ted) Sly DFC, the late FLTLT Peter Watson DFC and the late Lifetime Vice President FLTLT Lysle Roberts, a key committee member right through until his passing in 2019. Their vision for the Fellowship was as an ongoing living memorial rather than a traditional granite and bronze monument.

The Fellowship is presented each year by the Governor General of Australia, at Government House in Canberra. It demonstrates the importance of the close relationship between the Spitfire Association and the Australian Defence Force, in funding innovative research across the domains of land, sea, air, space and cyber.