Following the Italian Armistice on 3rd September 1943, Allied command decided to reinforce the friendly Co-Belligerent forces with British and American aircraft, including the Spitfire Mk V. These were assigned to the 20th Gruppo of 51st Stormo at Leverano. In 1945, the 20th Gruppo was moved to Lecce-Galatina, where they operated reconnaissance missions and fighter escort for allied bombers along with the rest of the 51st Stormo, equipped with C.202s and C.205s. They were also involved in the strafing of a German convoy near the Balkans, during which one of the 3 attacking Spitfires was downed by anti-air fire. The Italian Spitfire Mk Vs were replaced by Mk IXs between 1946-1948.