The British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Supermarine Spitfire was facing several challenges by mid-1942. The debut of the formidable Focke-Wulf Fw 190

Focke-Wulf Fw 190

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...

 in late 1941 had caused problems for RAF fighter squadrons flying the latest Spitfire Mk Vb. By this time Rolls-Royce engineers were already working on a new version of the Merlin

Rolls-Royce Merlin

The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled, V-12, piston aero engine, of 27-litre capacity. Rolls-Royce Limited designed and built the engine which was initially known as the PV-12: the PV-12 became known as the Merlin following the company convention of naming its piston aero engines after...

 incorporating two-stage supercharger

Supercharger

A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...

s; the combination of the improved Merlins and the Spitfire Mk VC airframe in a "stop-gap" design allowed the RAF to combat the Fw 190 on equal terms. In a second stream of development Supermarine was working on an improved, reinforced Spitfire airframe which incorporated several new features and was designed specifically for the Merlin 60 and 70 series engines. This new airframe later formed the basis for the Rolls-Royce Griffon

Rolls-Royce Griffon

The Rolls-Royce Griffon is a British 37-litre capacity, 60-degree V-12, liquid-cooled aero engine designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited...

 powered Spitfires.

This article presents a history of the Spitfire powered by two-stage engine variants and also describes some of the "drawing board" projects and experimental Spitfires. The Griffon powered variants are described in a separate article.

Wing types

The majority of the Spitfires from the Mk VIII on, used three basic wing types; C through to the E types

C type

Also known as the "universal wing" the new design was standard on the majority of Spitfires built from mid 1942. This wing was structurally modified to reduce labour and manufacturing time plus it was designed to allow mixed armament options; A type, B type, or four 20 mm Hispano cannon.

The undercarriage mountings were redesigned and the undercarriage doors were bowed in cross section allowing the legs to sit lower in the wells, eliminating the upper-wing blisters over the wheel wells and landing gear pivot points. Stronger undercarriage legs were raked 2 inches (5.08 cm) forward, making the Spitfire more stable on the ground and reducing the likelihood of the aircraft tipping onto its nose. During production of the Mk VIII and Mk IX a new undercarriage leg was introduced which had external v-shaped "scissor-links" fitted to the front of the leg; this also led to small changes in the shape of the undercarriage bay and leg fairings. Because the Spitfire was no longer to be used as a night fighter

Night fighter

A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility...

 the retractable landing lights were no longer fitted.

The Hispano Mk IIs were now belt fed from box magazines allowing for 120 rpg (the "Chattellerault" system). The fairings over the Hispano barrels were shorter and there was usually a short rubber stub covering the outer cannon port. Redesigned upper wing gun bay doors incorporated "teardrop" shaped blisters to clear the cannon feed motors, and the lower wings no longer had the gun bay heating vents outboard of the gunbays. The first series of Spitfire Mk IXs retained the bay doors first used on Spitfire VCs; these incorporated large blisters to clear the feed motors of two Hispano cannons. All later Spitfires had smaller, more streamlined blisters. In order to provide room for the belt feed system of the cannon the inner machine gun bays were moved outboard to between ribs 13 and 14.

Several versions of the Spitfire, starting with the HF Mk VIIs had extra 13 gallon integral fuel tanks added to the wing leading edges between the wing-root and the inboard cannon bay.

Although many earlier Spitfires had been modified to carry bomb racks capable of carrying 250 lb (113 kg) bombs the first Spitfires to be specifically modified for the fighter-bomber role (known as Modification 1209) were those of the Second Tactical Air Force.

RAF Second Tactical Air Force

The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...

 The first Mk IX Spitfires started being used in the role in June 1944.

D Type

These were specifically made for the Photo-Reconnaissance Spitfires, including the PR Mk X and XI; no armament was fitted and the "D" shaped leading edges of the wings, ahead of the main spar, were converted into integral fuel tanks, each carrying 66 gallons. To avoid the expansion of fuel in hot weather damaging the wing, pressure relief valves, incorporating small external vent pipes, were fitted near the wing tips.

E type

Structurally unchanged from the C wing. The outer machine gun ports were eliminated, although the outer machine gun bays were retained and their access doors were devoid of empty shell case ports and shell deflectors. The inner gun bays allowed for two weapon fits;

• 2 × 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannon with 120 rpg in the outer bays.
• 2 × .50 cal Browning M2 machine guns, with 250 rpg in the inner bays.

or

• 4 × 20 mm Hispano cannon with 120 rpg

The .303 machine guns mounted in the outer wings were no longer fitted as most aircraft at that time had armour impenetrable by .303 bullets. During a turning combat the effectiveness of the outboard machine guns was low because if the aircraft was pulling 'g' the flexing of the wings meant that the rounds scattered in a large cone. The 20 mm Hispano cannon

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

 were moved outboard and a more effective .50 calibre Browning .50 cal M2/AN heavy machine gun

Heavy machine gun

The heavy machine gun or HMG is a larger class of machine gun generally recognized to refer to two separate stages of machine gun development. The term was originally used to refer to the early generation of machine guns which came into widespread use in World War I...

 with 250 rpg was added to the inner gun-bay. The first trial installation of the installation (modification 1029) was made in BS118 in November 1943; by mid-March 1944 the first Spitfires to be modified were from 485(NZ), 222 and 349 Squadrons. Spitfires with this armament were referred to as Spifire IX LF .5 and the E suffix was not officially introduced until early 1945. This armament was standard for all Spitfire Mk IXs and XVIs used by the 2nd Tactical Air Force as fighters and fighter-bombers from shortly after D-Day

D-Day

D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

. The improved armament was more effective for both air-to-air engagements and air-to-ground attacks.

Many Spitfires had their rounded wingtips replaced by shorter, squared off fairings to improve low-altitude performance and enhance the roll rate. These are sometimes referred to as "LF" versions, e.g. LF.IX. This designation referred to the low-altitude version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin

Rolls-Royce Merlin

The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled, V-12, piston aero engine, of 27-litre capacity. Rolls-Royce Limited designed and built the engine which was initially known as the PV-12: the PV-12 became known as the Merlin following the company convention of naming its piston aero engines after...

 engine, and, while many "LF" Spitfires had the "clipped" wings, a number did not.

Mark numbers, type numbers

The Mark numbers did not necessarily indicate a chronological order; for example, the Mk IX was a stopgap measure brought into production before the Mks VII and VIII. In addition, some Spitfires of one mark or variant may have been modified to another; for example, several of the first Mk VBs were converted from Mk IBs; the first Mk IXs were originally Mk VCs, converted, in some instances, by Rolls-Royce at their Hucknall

Hucknall

Hucknall, formerly known as Hucknall Torkard, is a town in Greater Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, in the district of Ashfield. The town was historically a centre for framework knitting and then for mining but is now a focus for other industries as well providing housing for workers in...

 facility.

Up until the end of 1942, the RAF designations

British military aircraft designation systems

British military aircraft designations are used to refer to aircraft types and variants operated by the armed forces of the United Kingdom.Since the end of the First World War, aircraft types in British military service have generally been known by a name British military aircraft designations are...

 always used Roman numerals for mark numbers. 1943-1948 was a transition period during which new aircraft entering service were given Arabic numerals for mark numbers but older aircraft retained their Roman numerals. From 1948 onwards, Arabic numerals were used exclusively. This article adopts the convention of using Roman numerals for the Mks I-XVI and Arabic numerals for the Mks 17-24. Type numbers e.g.; (type 361) are the drawing board design numbers allocated by Supermarine.

Features of late Merlin powered Spitfires

With the development of the Merlin 61/63/66 and 70 series engines, with a two-stage, two-speed supercharger

Supercharger

A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...

 requiring an intercooler

Intercooler

An intercooler , or charge air cooler, is an air-to-air or air-to-liquid heat exchange device used on turbocharged and supercharged internal combustion engines to improve their volumetric efficiency by increasing intake air charge density through nearly isobaric cooling, which removes...

, several important modifications were made to the basic airframe and applied to all aircraft powered by these engines. The longer Merlin 61 meant the nose forward of the engine/fuel tank bulkhead was 7 inches (17.8 cm) longer. An intercooler was mounted behind the engine, on the supercharger casing. A small rectangular air scoop for a "Heywood" air compressor was fitted on the starboard upper engine cowling.

The carburettor air intake on early to mid-production Spitfire IXs was a different shape to those of single-stage engined aircraft; they were shorter and had a wider air inlet. From 1943, an "Aero-Vee" tropical filter in a long, streamlined fairing was introduced for the carburettor air intake. This was fitted as standard to all Mk VIIs, VIIIs, PR Mk Xs and Mk XVIs, on mid to late production Mk IXs, and to most PR Mk XIs.

A new 10 ft 9 in (3.27 m) diameter four-bladed Rotol propeller was fitted, housed in a pointed spinner. The exhaust units were changed to six "fishtail" stacks per side. Under the nose, the three piece cowling was changed to a one piece layout. The oil tank was no longer a part of the cowling structure. Early Mk IXs had a teardrop shaped blister for a Coffman engine starter

Coffman engine starter

The Coffman engine starter was a starting system used on many piston engines in aircraft and armored vehicles of the 1930s and 1940s. The Coffman system was one of the most common brands; another was the Breeze cartridge system, which was produced under Coffman patents...

on the lower starboard side cowling, just behind the propeller. This was replaced by an improved electric starter on most two-stage Merlin powered Spitfires and, from late 1942 the blister was only seen on a few aircraft.

The Type C wing was fitted as standard. Some mid and most late production Spifire Mk IXs and all Mk XVI were fitted with the Type E wing. While Spitfire IXs converted from Mk VCs had the large teardrop fairings on the upper surfaces, on the majority of Mk VIIs, VIIIs, IXs and XVIs the teardrop shaped blisters covering the Hispano feed motors were reduced in size and more streamlined than those on the Mk VC. According to A.P 1565J P & L (Spitfire IX, XI and XVI Pilot's Notes) the red painted undercarriage indicator rods, which projected through the tops of the wings when the undercarriage was down, were used only on early production Mk IXs. When fitted these rods supplemented an "Electric visual indicator" mounted on the instrument panel. The indicator rods seemed to be fitted on all Mk VIIs and VIIs, supplementing the electric visual indicator. A light for the retractable tailwheel was mounted on the instrument panel, just below the main visual indicator.

Because the intercooler required a radiator, the radiator under the starboard wing was halved in size and the intercooler radiator housed alongside. Under the port wing a new radiator fairing housed a square oil cooler alongside of the other half-radiator unit. When the engine was running at low speed, one radiator section provided enough coolant; a thermostatic switch turned off the starboard radiator section until more power was called for and extra engine cooling was required.

Other structural changes included flush riveting for the fuselage, which was introduced in mid-1943. A streamlined round rear-view mirror, with a bullet-shaped fairing replaced the rectangular version. On new production Mk IXs the small, teardrop shaped identification light behind the radio mast was removed.

While early Mk IXs converted from Mk VCs had the original size elevator horn mass-balances most had the enlarged version with the straightened leading edge. A new rudder of greater area, which could be identified by a "pointed" tip, was fitted to Mk VIIs, Mk VIIIs, and mid to late production Mk IXs and Mk XVIs.

All Mk VII and Mk VIII Spitfires had the following changes:
The internal structure was strengthened and revised. On the wings the ailerons were reduced in span by 8.5 inches (215.9 mm) outboard of the outer hinges. There had been some instances of earlier models breaking up in the air in steep high speed dives, it was thought, because of aileron flutter.

The main fuselage fuel tanks were increased in capacity; 47 gal (213.7 l) for the upper tank and 49 gal (222.7 l) for the lower. In combination with the wing tanks this gave a total internal capacity of 122 gal (554.6 l), a near 50% increase over the 85 gal (386.4 l) carried by earlier Spitfire marks. In addition a 13 gal (64 l) fuel tank was fitted in each wing leading edge between the wingroot and the inner gun-bay.

The main undercarriage legs, for the first time in the Spitfire's life, were fitted with forward-facing torque links. In addition, the leg doors were slightly concave, allowing the undercarriage to sit lower in the wheel wells when retracted: this meant the upper wing skinning was free of the small bulge which had hitherto been necessary to clear the wheels. The wheels themselves were a new strengthened Dunlop

Dunlop Rubber

Dunlop Rubber was a company based in the United Kingdom which manufactured tyres and other rubber products for most of the 20th century. It was acquired by BTR plc in 1985. Since then, ownership of the Dunlop trade-names has been fragmented.-Early history:...

 AH10019 "four spoke" pattern, replacing the "five spoke" pattern used since the first Mk Is. This revised undercarriage was also fitted on some mid to late Mk IXs and all Mk XVIs. A retractable tailwheel (Dunlop 2184) was fitted, covered by small doors when in flight. This also applied to the PR Mk Xs and most PR Mk XIs.

Mk VII (type 351)

Like the Mk VI, the Mk VII was a high altitude pressurised variant, this time powered by the Merlin 64 or 71 series engine with two-stage, two-speed superchargers. The cockpit was pressurised in a similar way to that of the Mk VI, although the details were slightly different. Other changes to the airframe are noted above. The Mk VII used a Marshall manufactured compressor for pressurising the cockpit; this was mounted on the right of the engine and drew its air through a long intake under the starboard exhaust stubs. An automatic valve allowed a maximum pressure differential of +2 lb./sq.in. This was built up during the climb and was maintained at heights of 28,000 ft and above.

Extended, "pointed" wingtips were fitted to the Type C wings, increasing the wingspan to 40 ft 2 in (12.2 m). Because the threat from high altitude bombers never materialised many Mk VIIs later reverted to the normal, rounded wingtip.

While early Mk VIIs were fitted with a detachable canopy, secured by four pilot operated catches, later Mk VIIs were fitted with a "Lobelle" type hood which opened by sliding backwards, as on non-pressurised versions of the Spitfire. This was a big improvement on the clamp down cockpit of the Mk VI. The canopy was double-glazed and used rubber tubing to create a proper pressure seal against the fuselage. The canopy rails were bulkier than the standard Spitfire type.

In total, 140 Mk VIIs were built by Supermarine. All were powered by the Merlin 64 (F Mk VII) or Merlin 71 (HF Mk VII), the latter fitted with a Bendix-Stromberg "anti-g" carburettor. The HF Mk had superb high altitude performance, with a service ceiling of 45100 feet (13,746.5 m); French ace Pierre Clostermann

Pierre Clostermann

Pierre Clostermann was a French flying ace, author, engineer, politician and sporting fisherman. Over his flying career he was awarded the Grand-Croix of the French Légion d'Honneur, French Croix de Guerre, British DFC and bar, Distinguished Service Cross , Silver Star , and the Air Medal .-Early...

 recalls in his book, The Big Show, the successful interception of a long-range reconnaissance Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R3

Messerschmitt Bf 109

The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...

 by a Mk VII 'Strato Spitfire' of 602 Squadron at 40000 feet (12,192 m) over the British Home Fleet's base at Scapa Flow

Scapa Flow

right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...

 in early 1944.

Mk VIII (type 360)

The Mk VIII was an adaptation of the Mk VII without the pressurised cabin, and was intended to become the main production model of the Spitfire. When the "interim" Mk IX proved itself to be adequate for the RAF's needs it was decided to utilise the shadow factory at Castle Bromwich to produce that version only: the Mk VIII Spitfires were all built by Supermarine.

Apart from the lack of pressurisation, the Mk VIII differed little from the Mk VII. Some early production models had extended wingtips but the majority were fitted with the standard version; according to Supermarine's Chief Test pilot Jeffrey Quill "When I am asked which mark of Spitfire I consider the best from the flying point of view, I usually reply 'The Mark VIII with standard wingtips.' I hated the extended wingtips...They were of no practical value to the Mark VIII and simply reduced the aileron response and the rate of roll." There were three sub-variants for low altitude (LF Mk VIII), medium altitude (F Mk VIII) and high altitude (HF Mk VIII) which were powered respectively by the Merlin 66, Merlin 63 and Merlin 70 engines.

The F Mk VIII's top speed was 408 mi/h at 25,000 ft (404 mph for the LF.Mk VIII at 21000 ft (6,400.8 m) and 416 mi/h for the HF Mk VIII at 26,500 ft), with a service ceiling of 43,000 ft (41,500 ft for the LF Mk VIII and 44000 ft (13,411.2 m) for the HF Mk VIII). The two main tanks were given an extra 11 gal for a total of 96 gal which, along with the wing tanks, allowed the fighter to fly for a maximum distance of 660 miles (1,062.2 km) with a full internal fuel load and
1180 miles (1,899 km) with a full internal load and a 90 gal drop tank. Provision was made to allow the Mk VIII to carry a single "slipper" drop tank of 30, 90 or 170 gal capacity. With a 170 gal tank, the aeroplane could fly over 1500 miles (2,414 km). When carrying the 90 or 175 gal tank the aircraft was restricted, once airborne and at cruising altitude, to straight and level flight< A maximum external bomb load of 1,000 pounds (1 × 500 lb (226.8 kg) bomb attached to the centre bomb-rack plus 2 × 250 lb (113.4 kg) bombs, one under each wing) could be carried.

A Mk VIII JF299 was used to experiment with the use of a new cut-back rear fuselage and a "tear-drop" canopy

Bubble canopy

A bubble canopy is a canopy made like a soap bubble, which attempts to provide 360° vision to the pilot.-History:Bubble canopies have been in use since World War II. The British had already developed the "Malcolm hood", which was a bulged canopy, but the British Miles M.20 was one of the first...

. This was intended to aid pilot visibility; many Spitfire pilots who were shot down were done so by enemies who approached in the aircraft's blind spot. In trials, the new hood design was found to bring about great improvements to all-round visibility and, with several modifications, was standardised on later Spitfires.

This variant served almost exclusively overseas

Supermarine Spitfire operational history

The Supermarine Spitfire, the only British fighter to be manufactured before, during and after the Second World War, was designed as a short-range fighter capable of defending Britain from bomber attack and achieved legendary status fulfilling this role during the Battle of Britain. According to...

 in the Mediterranean, with both the Desert Air Force

Desert Air Force

The Desert Air Force , also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, AHQ Western Desert, the Western Desert Air Force, Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force , was an Allied tactical air force initially created from No...

 and the USAAF, in the Pacific, with the Royal Australian Air Force and with the RAF in the China-Burma-India theatre. After the Mk IX and Mk V, the Mk VIII was the third most numerous operational variant with 1,658 examples.

Mk IX (type 361)

In the early months of 1942, with the clear superiority of the Focke Wulf Fw 190 over the Spitfire VB, there was much pressure to get Spitfires into production using the new two-stage supercharged Merlin 61 engine. In September 1941 the Spitfire Mk III prototype N3297 had been converted by Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce Limited

Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....

 at their Hucknall plant to take a Merlin 60, which had been specifically designed for use in the Wellington Mk VI

Vickers Wellington

The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...

 high altitude bomber.

The performance increase was described as a "quantum leap" over that of the Mk VB and another Spitfire airframe, R6700 was modified to take the new engine. Although design work on the Mk VII and VIII series was under way, these would take over a year to get into production and a counter to the Fw 190 was urgently needed. The Air Ministry made the decision that Mk VC airframes should be converted to take the more powerful engine and, as a result, many of the early IXs were converted Mk VCs which did not have any of the refinements which later appeared. These could be identified by the Type C wing with the large double blisters over the inner cannon bays and the identification light on the fuselage spine, behind the aerial mast. The elevator horns were also smaller in size than that of most Mk IXs which had larger horn balances. The first IX was a modified VC AB505, which was tested by the Air Fighting Development Unit

Air Fighting Development Unit

The Air Fighting Development Unit was an air technical intelligence part of the Royal Air Force which developed operational tactics and tested captured enemy aircraft. It was based at Royal Air Force Stations at Northolt, Duxford and Wittering....

 (AFDU) in April 1942. The report said;

The performance of the Spitfire IX is outstandingly better than the Spitfire V especially at heights above 20,000 feet. On the level the Spitfire is considerably faster and climb is exceptionally good. It will climb easily to 38,000 feet and when levelled off there can be made to climb in stages to above 40,000 feet by building up speed on the level and a slight zoom. Its manoeuvrability is as good as a Spitfire V up to 30,000 feet and above and is very much better. At 38,000 feet it is capable of a true speed of 368mph and is still able to manoeuvre well for fighting.

Although the Mk IX's airframe did not have the aerodynamic and strength improvements, or the modified control surfaces of the Mk VII and VIII, the Mk IX still proved to be an effective counter to the Focke Wulf Fw 190.
In September 1942, the "High Altitude Flight" was set up at RAF Northolt

RAF Northolt

RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station situated in South Ruislip, east by northeast of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. Approximately north of London Heathrow Airport, the station also handles a large number of private civil flights...

 to counter the threat of the high altitude Junkers Ju 86 R

Junkers Ju 86

The Junkers Ju 86 was a German monoplane bomber and civilian airliner designed in the early 1930s, and employed by both sides during World War II. The civilian model Ju 86B could carry 10 passengers. Two were delivered to Swissair and five to Luft Hansa...

 bombers. Two Spitfire IXs converted from VCs were stripped of armour, the .303 Brownings and other equipment and repainted in a lightweight PRU blue finish. One of them successfully intercepted a Ju 86R at over 40000 feet (12,192 m)

Supermarine Spitfire operational history

The Supermarine Spitfire, the only British fighter to be manufactured before, during and after the Second World War, was designed as a short-range fighter capable of defending Britain from bomber attack and achieved legendary status fulfilling this role during the Battle of Britain. According to...

.

Production of the Mk IX finished at Supermarine in June 1943, with production continuing exclusively at the Castle Bromwich factory. Several major and large numbers of minor improvements were progressively introduced to Mk IXs, some of which were used on other Spitfire variants.

The Merlin 61 was phased out early in 1943 in favour of the Merlin 63 and 63A. The new engine had increased power resulting from engine improvements and engine limitations of +18 lbs./sq.in and 3,000 rpm (5 minute combat). During the second half of 1943, production of the Merlin 63 powered F Mk IX was discontinued in favour of the Merlin 66 powered LF Mk IX. Early production Spitfire IXs suffered from vapour locks in the fuel lines resulting from fuel evaporating if the aircraft was parked in direct sunlight. As a result of this the gun-camera was moved from the port wingroot to the starboard wingroot and a fuel cooler, fed by a small round air-intake was fitted in its place. This fuel cooler was also fitted to early PR Mk XIs

Production of the LF Mk IXs, frequently referred to as the Spitfire IXB, initially ran in parallel with the Merlin 63 powered Marks. This version first became operational in March 1943 with the Biggin Hill Wing, comprised at the time of 611 and 341(Free French)

No. 341 Squadron RAF

The No. 341 Squadron also known in French as Groupe de Chasse n° 3/2 "Alsace", was a Free French squadron in the RAF during World War II.-History:No...

 Squadrons. This type was by far the most produced of the Spitfire IX variants, with over 4000 built. The maximum power of the Merlin 66 was 1720 hp at 5,750 ft (1,283 kW at 1,752 m) and the maximum speed of the Spitfire LF IX was 404 mi/h at 21000 feet (6,400.8 m). The Merlin 66 introduced a new Bendix-Stromberg injection carburettor, which replaced the earlier S.U float carburettor.

The H.F IX was powered by the specialised high altitude Merlin 70 and entered service in the Spring of 1944. Serial listings show that the HF Mk IX was produced in relatively limited numbers when they were required, with priority being given to versions rated for low and medium altitudes Maximum power of the Merlin 70 was 1710 hp at 11,000 ft (1,275 kW at 3,353 m): maximum speed of the Spitfire HF.IX was 405 mi/h at
25400 feet (7,741.9 m) at an all-up weight of 7,320 lbs (3,320 kg).

Also introduced in early 1944 was a new Mark II Gyro gunsight

Gyro gunsight

A gyro gunsight is a modification of the non-magnifying reflector sight in which target lead and bullet drop are allowed for automatically, the sight incorporating a gyroscopic mechanism that computes the necessary deflections required to ensure a hit on the target...

. This gunsight calculated the correct angle of deflection to use when leading the target. Its introduction doubled the effectiveness of RAF gunnery and was a major factor in Allied air superiority.

The capacity of the main fuel tanks was 48 gal for the upper tank and 37 gal for the lower, for a total internal capacity of 85 gal. Jettisonable "slipper tanks" of 30, 45 or 90 gal could be carried under the centre-section. As an alternative a cylindrical 50 gal drop tank, adapted from those carried by long range Hawker Typhoon

Hawker Typhoon

The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. While the Typhoon was designed to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, and a direct replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, several design problems were encountered, and the Typhoon never completely satisfied...

s, could be carried on the fuselage bomb rack used on most Mk IXs of the Second Tactical Air Force. To further increase the combat radius some late production Mk IXs were fitted with additional internal self-sealing fuel tanks in the rear fuselage: the upper tank carried 41 gal and the lower 34 gal. When both were full this enabled a ferry range of over 1200 miles (1,931.2 km), although they made the aircraft unstable in flight and only straight flight and gentle manoeuvres at low altitudes were recommended by the pilot's manual. The pilot was also warned to avoid instrument flying whenever possible.

Late production Mk IXs, in common with Mk XVIs introduced a new upper engine cowling which incorporated a distinct bulged top surface; this design was adopted for the Mk XVI to allow for the modified intercooler of the Packard Merlin 266, which had an integral header tank.

The cut-down rear fuselage and bubble canopy

Bubble canopy

A bubble canopy is a canopy made like a soap bubble, which attempts to provide 360° vision to the pilot.-History:Bubble canopies have been in use since World War II. The British had already developed the "Malcolm hood", which was a bulged canopy, but the British Miles M.20 was one of the first...

, trialled on a Spitfire Mk VIII, was incorporated into very late production Mk IXs. With the cut down fuselage the lower forward fuselage tank capacity was increased to 47 gallons, while the rear fuel tanks were decreased to a capacity of 66 gallons. These were the rarest of the Mk IXs and many of them featured the "clipped" wings. The great majority of these saw postwar service with the SAAF

South African Air Force

The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...

, both in South Africa and in deployment in Korea during the 1950s.

During early 1945, some Spitfire IXEs and XVIEs of 74 Squadron

No. 74 Squadron RAF

No. 74 Squadron RAF, also known as a "Tiger Squadron" from its tiger head motif, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It operated fighter aircraft from 1917 to the 1990s.-First World War:...

 were fitted with a single RP-3

RP-3

The RP-3 , was a British rocket used in the Second World War. Though primarily an air-to-ground weapon, it saw limited use in other roles. Its 60 lb warhead gave rise to the alternative name of the "60 lb rocket"; the 25 lb solid-shot armour piercing variant was referred to as the "25 lb rocket"...

 rocket under each wing. This was believed to be the only RAF Spitfire unit to use rockets operationally during the Second World War.

PR Mk IX (type 374) and FR Mk IX

Pending development of a dedicated Merlin 61 powered PR Spitfire (the Mk XI) at least three Mk IXs (BS338, BS339 and BS473) were taken off the production line and modified to carry two vertical cameras in the rear fuselage. The first of these was delivered to 541 Squadron

No. 541 Squadron RAF

No. 541 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as a photographic reconnaissance squadron in World War II.-Formation in World War II:The squadron formed at RAF Benson on 19 October 1942 and was equipped with Spitfires to fly missions over Europe...

 at RAF Benson

RAF Benson

RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force station near Benson in South Oxfordshire, England. It is home to the Royal Air Force's support helicopters, the Aérospatiale Puma and the EH-101 Merlin, known as the Puma HC.Mk 1 and the Merlin HC.Mk 3 and Mk 3a....

 on 30 November 1942. Subsequently another 15 Mk IXs were converted to PR Mk IXs (factory designation type 374) at the Vickers-Armstrong Worthy Down facility. As well as incorporating camera equipment, a wrap-around PR type windscreen was fitted and a larger oil tank was installed under the nose. All armament was removed and a PRU Blue finish applied. These aircraft lacked the "wet wing" tanks, meaning that the PR Mk IX relied on drop tanks for extra range. The most famous PR Mk IX missions involved carrying out reconnaissance missions in preparation for Operation Chastise

Operation Chastise

Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently known as the "Dambusters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Barnes Wallis...

, the 617 "Dambusters" Squadron

No. 617 Squadron RAF

No. 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. It currently operates the Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role...

 attacks on the Ruhr dams. A PR Mk IX photographed the dams the day before the operation and photographed the Moehne Dam after the operation.

FR IXs were standard, armed Mk IXs modified with a single, port-facing, oblique camera. These aircraft were used for low altitude "Dicing" missions in tactical support of army operations. 16 Squadron

No. 16 Squadron RAF

No. 16 Squadron is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force. It formed in 1915 at Saint-Omer to carry out a mixture of offensive patrolling and reconnaissance and was disbanded in 1919 with the end of the First World War...

, which was a unit of the 2nd TAF, used several FR Mk IXs (painted a pale, "Camoutint" Pink, which provided excellent camouflage under cloud cover) to photograph the Arnhem area before and during Operation Market Garden

Operation Market Garden

Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....

.Another unit using FR Mk IXs was 318(Polish) "City of Gdańsk" Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron based in the Mediterranean.

T Mk IX and TR 9 (type 509)

Although there were wartime conversions of the Spitfire into a two-seat trainer including the one-off modification of a Mk VC by RAF no. 261 Squadron and a Mk IX converted for use as a trainer by the Soviets, the two-seat Spitfire trainer was primarily a postwar program. In 1946, a Mk VIII (MT818) was the first Vickers-built trainer built as a demonstrator, but in 1948, 10 Spitfire T Mk IXs, were exported to India. In 1951, a further six TR 9 trainers were converted from the standard Mk IX to train pilots for the Irish Air Corps (IAC) Seafire fleet. The Spitfires provided transition training that included gunnery practice since the type was equipped with two .303 Browning machine guns, one in each outer wing bay. Most of the TR 9 aircraft passed to the ground technical training school at Baldonnel where they were used as instructional airframes for the training of aircraft engineers for the Air Corps. Four of the IAC aircraft survived and two went on to join the warbird fleet in the 1970s and later.

In total, 5656 Mk IXs were built, 561 by Supermarine and 5,095 by Castle Bromwich. Production of the Mk IX ended in April 1945 and, in combination with the Mk XVI this "compromise" was produced in larger numbers than any other Spitfire variant.

PR Mk X and PR Mk XI (types 387, 365 and 370)

When development started on new Merlin 60 powered Spitfires, both the Mk VII and VIII were to have photo-reconnaissance (PR) variants. On 21 April 1942, an order was placed for 70 aircraft, provisionally designated PR Mk VIII. Based on the revised MK VIII airframe these aircraft were to be powered by Merlin 61s and were assigned serial numbers LV643-681 and LV726-756. The Spitfires bearing these serials were eventually built as Merlin 66 LF Mk VIIIs.

A policy change resulted in the pressurised PR variant of the Mk VII being renamed PR Mk X (type 387). This version followed the PR Mk XI into production and was based on the Mk VII airframe with PR Mk XI wings and camera installation. It had the pressurised Mk VII cockpit, with the Lobelle sliding canopy, and retained the fighter style windscreen with the bullet-proof glass panel. The long thin air intake to the cockpit pressurisation system was fitted under the exhaust stacks on the starboard cowling. The performance was similar to that of the PR XI although the pressurised cockpit meant that this version could stay at altitudes of over 40,000 ft for longer without the exhausting physiological effects experienced by the pilots of unpressurised cockpits. Sixteen Mk Xs were built during April and May 1944, with the first mission being flown on 11 May. All saw limited service in 541

No. 541 Squadron RAF

No. 541 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as a photographic reconnaissance squadron in World War II.-Formation in World War II:The squadron formed at RAF Benson on 19 October 1942 and was equipped with Spitfires to fly missions over Europe...

 and 542 Squadrons

No. 542 Squadron RAF

No. 542 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as a photographic reconnaissance squadron in World War II that reformed in the post war period.-Formation in World War II:...

 in a high altitude reconnaissance role. Experience with this version led to the development and production of the pressurised version of the PR Mk XIX.

The Mk XI (type 365 standard, type 370 tropicalised) was based on a combination of features from the marks VII, VIII and IX. The Mk XI was the first PR variant to have the option of using two vertically mounted F52 cameras with 36-inch-focal-length lens in the fuselage behind the cockpit. Several other configurations could be fitted, depending on mission requirements; the "X Type" installation, for example had two vertically mounted F24s with 14-inch lens and an oblique F24 with an 8-inch lens mounted above and facing to port. PR Mk XIs used for tactical reconnaissance had an additional, vertically oriented camera in a fairing under each wing.

Physically the Mk XIs had a deeper nose fairing to accommodate a larger 14.5 gal oil tank and used the unarmoured, wrap-around PRU windscreen. "Booster" pumps for the wing tanks were fitted and covered by "teardrop" shaped fairings under the wings. Retractable tailwheels were fitted as standard and the majority of the Mk XIs built had the later large-area "pointed" rudder. 260 Mk XIs were powered by Merlin 61, 63 or 63A engines, while the remaining 211 used the high-altitude Merlin 70. All of the Merlin 70 and 198 of the Merlin 60 series aircraft were fitted with the Vokes Aero-Vee dust filter in the extended, streamlined carburettor air intake under the nose. All Merlin 60 powered aircraft featured the fuel cooler in the port leading edge wing root. The radio installation was either the VHF TR.1133 or TR.1143 fitted with the "Rebecca" beam approach

Beam Approach Beacon System

A blind approach beacon system or beam approach beacon system is an automatic radar landing system developed in the early 1940s....

 equipment.

Additional "slipper" drop tanks could be fitted under the centre-section; in common with the Mk IX these could be 30, 45 or 90 gal capacity and, for the Mk XI, a tank of 170 gal capacity was also available.

Spitfire PR Mk XIs were capable of a top speed of 417 mi/h at 24000 ft (7,315.2 m) and could cruise at 395 mi/h at 32000 ft (9,753.6 m). Normally Spitfire XIs cruised between these altitudes although, in an emergency, the aircraft could climb to 44000 ft (13,411.2 m) However, pilots could not withstand such altitudes for long in a non-pressurised cockpit without suffering from serious physiological effects.

At first, production of the PR Mk XI was delayed because development of the Mk VII and VIII series was delayed. As a result it was decided to base the Merlin 60 powered PR aircraft on the MK IX airframe. Production was further threatened because of a dispute over RAF PR doctrine: in early 1943, because the new PR Spitfire was delayed, the Air Ministry proposed that all PR units be converted to de Havilland Mosquito

De Havilland Mosquito

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...

es. After further analysis the Air Staff agreed that Mosquitoes could perform 90% of PR missions so the Spitfire production for only 10% of PR units was mooted. Air Vice Marshal John Slessor

John Slessor

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Cotesworth Slessor GCB, DSO, MC was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force . A pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, he held operational commands in World War II and served in the RAF's most senior post, Chief of the Air Staff, from 1950 to...

, head of Coastal Command pointed out that the Spitfire was smaller than the Mosquito, used half the number of Merlin engines and was faster, more manoeuvrable and quieter and, therefore production should be increased, not reduced. As a result the Air Staff decided that PR Mk XI production should be accelerated at the cost of the fighters.

The first Mk XIs were built in November 1942: from April 1944 production ran concurrently with the PR Mk XIX before ending in December 1944, when they were phased out in favour of the Mk XIX. In total 471 Mk XI were built by Supermarine.

PR Mk XIII

The PR Mk XIII was an improved PR Type G with a single-stage Merlin engine and is described in Supermarine Spitfire (early Merlin powered variants)

Supermarine Spitfire (early Merlin powered variants)

The British Supermarine Spitfire was the only fighter aircraft of the Second World War to fight in front line service, from the beginnings of the conflict, in September 1939, through to the end in August 1945. Post-war the Spitfire's service career continued into the 1950s...

Mk XVI (type 361)

The Mk XVI was the same as the Mk IX in nearly all respects except for the engine, a Merlin 266. The Merlin 266 was the Merlin 66 and was built under licence in the USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 by the Packard Motor Company

Packard

Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...

. The "2" was added as a prefix in order to avoid confusion with the engines, as they required different tooling. All Mk XVI aircraft produced were of the Low-Altitude Fighter (LF) variety. This was not determined by the length of the wings (clipped wings were fitted to most LF Spitifres), but by the engine, which had been optimised for low-altitude operation. All production Mk XVIs had clipped wings for low altitude work and were fitted with the rear fuselage fuel tanks with a combined capacity of 75 gal. Many XVIs featured cut-down rear fuselages with "bubble" canopies. On these aircraft the rear fuselage tank capacity was limited to 66 gal.

Because of a slightly taller intercooler and rearranged accessories on the Packard Merlins a new, bulged upper cowling was introduced and also appeared on late production IXs.

Armament for most Mk XVIs consisted of 2 × 20 mm Hispano II cannon - each with 120 rpg - and 2 × .50 calibre Browning machine guns - each with 250 rpg. 1 × 500 lb (227 kg) bomb could be carried underneath the centre rack, and 1 × 250 lb (114 kg) bomb could be slung under each wing. Some production aircraft had rear fuselage fuel tanks in addition to the main tank which allowed it to fly approximately as far as the Spitfire Mk VIII. Problems with the licence-built engines limited introduction to front-line squadrons for several months. A total of 1,054 Mk XVIs were built by Castle Bromwich.

Spitfire Floatplanes (types 355 & 359)

With the German invasion of Norway in April 1940 the RAF took an interest in the concept of using floatplane

Floatplane

A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...

 fighters in areas where airfields were not immediately available. To this end a Spitfire Mk I R6722 was taken in hand at the Woolston factory to be modified and mounted on Blackburn Roc

Blackburn Roc

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Brew, Alec. The Turret Fighters: Defiant and Roc. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Crowood Press, 2002. ISBN 1-86126-497-6....

 floats. Tank tests were carried out at Farnborough

Farnborough Airfield

Farnborough Airport or TAG London Farnborough Airport is an airport situated in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England...

, using a 1/7 scale model, it was found that the concept was basically sound, although the vertical tail surfaces would need to be enlarged to counter-balance the side area of the floats. The end of the Battle of Norway and the need for as many Spitfires as possible meant that R6772 was converted back to an ordinary fighter without being flown

With the entry of Japan into the war the concept was revived in early 1942. A Spitfire V W3760 was fitted with a pair of floats 25 ft 7 in (7.8 m) long, mounted on cantilever legs. This aircraft was powered by a Merlin 45 driving a four-bladed propeller of 11 in 3 in (3.43 m) diameter (3.4 m). A Vokes filter was fitted to the carburettor air intake and under the tail an extra fin extension was added. Other changes included external lifting points forward of and behind the cockpit and a spin-recovery parachute with a rudder balance-horn guard. The Spitfire floatplane was first flown on 12 October 1942 by Jeffrey Quill. Soon afterwards the Vokes filter was replaced by an Aero-Vee filter, similar to that on later Merlin 61 series aircraft, which was extended to prevent water entry, and full Mk VB armament was installed. Two more VBs EP751 and EP754 were converted by Folland and all three floatplanes were transported to Egypt, arriving in October 1943. At the time it was thought that the floatplanes could operate from concealed bases in the Dodecanese

Dodecanese

The Dodecanese are a group of 12 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, of which 26 are inhabited. Τhis island group generally defines the eastern limit of the Sea of Crete. They belong to the Southern Sporades island group...

 Islands, disrupting supply lines to German outposts in the area which relied on resupply by transport aircraft. This scheme came to naught when a large number of German troops, backed by the Luftwaffe, took over the British held islands of Kos

Kos

Kos or Cos is a Greek island in the south Sporades group of the Dodecanese, next to the Gulf of Gökova/Cos. It measures by , and is from the coast of Bodrum, Turkey and the ancient region of Caria. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Kos peripheral unit, which is...

 and Leros

Leros

Leros is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies 317 km from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 11-hour ferry ride . Leros is part of the Kalymnos peripheral unit...

. No other role could be found for the floatplane Spitfires, which languished in Egypt, operating from the Great Bitter Lake

Great Bitter Lake

The Great Bitter Lake is a salt water lake between the north and south part of the Suez Canal. It is adjoined by the Small Bitter Lake . Before the Canal was built, their site was occupied by dry salt valleys. Together, the Bitter Lakes now have a surface area of about 250 km²...

. Specifications for the VB based floatplane included a maximum speed of 324 mi/h at 19,500 ft (521 km/h at 5,943 m), a maximum rate of climb of 2,450 ft/min at 15,500 ft (12.45 m/s at 4,724 m) and an estimated service ceiling of 33,400 ft (10,180 m).

In the spring of 1944, with the prospect of use in the Pacific Theatre, a Spitfire IX MJ892 was converted to a floatplane. This used the same components as the earlier Mk VB conversions. Jeffrey Quill wrote:

"The Spitfire IX on floats was faster than the standard Hurricane. Its handling on the water was extremely good and its only unusual feature was a tendency to "tramp" from side to side on the floats, or to "waddle" a bit when at high speed in the plane."

Soon after testing started the idea of using floatplane fighters was dropped and MJ982 was converted back to a landplane.

Five aircraft were converted:

• Mk I - R6722
  United Kingdom military aircraft serials
  In the United Kingdom to identify individual aircraft, all military aircraft are allocated and display a unique serial number. A unified serial number system, maintained by the Air Ministry , and its successor the Ministry of Defence , is used for aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force , Fleet...
  
  
• F Mk Vb - W3760
• Mk V - EP751 and EP754
• Mk IXb - MJ892

Drawing board projects

• Supermarine 305: Designed to the same specification as the Boulton Paul Defiant
  Boulton Paul Defiant
  The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force early in the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any forward-firing guns. It was a contemporary of the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc...
  
   and Hawker Hotspur
  Hawker Hotspur
  |-See also:-Bibliography:* Brew, Alex. The Turret Fighters - Defiant and Roc. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Crowood Press, 2002. ISBN 1-86126-497-6....
  
  . The basic Spitfire wings and undercarriage were mated to a new fuselage which provided room for a gunner and a remote control four gun turret (originally armed with .303 Brownings, later with Lewis machine guns.) Other modifications included a cooling system mounted in a chin radiator housing. There was no forward firing armament and dive brakes were added to the wings. Projected speed 315 mph (507 km/h) at 15,000 ft (4,572 m).
• Supermarine 312: This was the basic Mk I Spitfire adapted to take four 20 mm Oerlikon cannon mounted in modified wings. The radiator and oil cooler were moved from under the wing to a duct under the fuselage. This was R J Mitchell's last design before his death in 1937.
• Supermarine 324, 325 and 327: These were designs for twin-engined fighters which used the same construction techniques and the same elliptical wing planform
  Planform
  In aviation, a planform is the shape and layout of a fixed-wing aircraft's fuselage and wing. Of all the myriad planforms used, they can typically be grouped into those used for low-speed flight, found on general aviation aircraft, and those used for high-speed flight, found on many military...
  
  s as the Spitfire. All three designs used tricycle undercarriages with the primary engines being Merlins with an alternative being the Bristol Taurus
  Bristol Taurus
  |-See also:-Bibliography:*Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
  
  . The 324 and 325 were intended to carry an armament of 12 .303 calibre Brownings in groups of six in each outer wing, while the 327 had the armament changed to six 20 mm Hispanos mounted in the wingroots. The 324 and 327 used conventional tractor engines, while the 325 used pusher engines.

Griffon engine variants

The early Rolls-Royce Griffon

Rolls-Royce Griffon

The Rolls-Royce Griffon is a British 37-litre capacity, 60-degree V-12, liquid-cooled aero engine designed and built by Rolls-Royce Limited...

 powered Spitfire variants were adaptations of Mk VC (early Mk XII) or Mark VIII (late Mk XII and Mk XIV) airframes. The later Griffon engined Spitfire variants embodied new wings, tail units and undercarriages and were very different from any of the earlier Spitfire marks. Because of this the Griffon engined variants are described in a dedicated article.

Production

After the destruction of the main Itchen and Woolston works by the Luftwaffe in September 1940, all Supermarine manufactured Spitfires were built in a number of "Shadow Factories"; by the end of the war there were ten main factories and several smaller workshops which built many of the components. A fuller explanation can be found in Supermarine Spitfire

Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...

. The main Castle Bromwich factory was also aided by a smaller number of the shadow factories.
The breakdown of production figures is taken from Air International 1985, p. 187. Information as to when the first production aircraft emerged is from the serial number lists provided in Morgan and Shacklady 2000. Because the first of the Mk IXs were converted from Mk VCs the first true production Mk IX is listed by serial Number.

Production by Mark

Mark	Built by	Numbers Built	Notes
F VII, H.F VII	Supermarine	140	First Mk VII September 1942
F VIII, L.F VIII	Supermarine	1,658	First Mk VIII 11 November 1942
F IX, H.F IX, L.F IX	Supermarine, Castle Bromwich	5,656	First Mk IX BR581 June 1942
PR X	Supermarine	16	First Mk X May 1944
PR XI	Supermarine	471	First Mk XI November 1942
XVI	Castle Bromwich	1,054	First Mk XVI October 1944

See also

Videography

• Spitfire: Frontline Fighter (IWM DVD)
• Spitfire-the pilot's view (DVD)

External links

• The Spitfire Site
• The Spitfire Society
• Alan Le Marinel hosts Supermarine Spitfire
• Spitfire Performance Testing
• Spitfire/Seafire Serial Numbers, production contracts and aircraft histories
• Warbird Alley: Spitfire page - Information about Spitfires still flying today
• K5054 - Supermarine Type 300 prototype Spitfire & production aircraft history
• The Spitfire: Seventy Years On - Includes images of the factory
• Spitfire Mk. VIII and Mk. XVI - Temora Aviation Museum
  Temora Aviation Museum
  The Temora Aviation Museum is an Australian aerospace museum located in Temora, New South Wales. The Museum was established in late 1999, based on the collection of warbird aircraft owned by David Lowy...
  
  page
• National Heritage Warbird Foundation