Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXe

The Supermarine Spitfire was the mainstay of British Fighter Command for the majority of WWII, in conjunction with the Hurricane during the Battle of Britain, with the Mk.IX being the most popular (with many) throughout the war, seeing extended periods of production with only minor alterations for the role that it was intended to help the spotter differentiate between the sub-variants, plus of course the increase in engine output and increasing torque. Originally requested to counter the superiority of the then-new Fw.190, a two-stage supercharged Merlin designated type 61 provided performance in spades, and the fitting of twin wing-mounted cannons with accommodating blisters gave it enough punch to take down its diminutive ‘Butcher-Bird’ prey. The suffix following the mark number relates to the wings fitted to the aircraft, as they could vary. The C wing was also known as the Universal Wing, and saw extensive use because it mounted 20mm cannon in each wing on the inboard of the two possible locations, the empty outer barrel usually covered by a rubber plug. The Mk.IXe had the 20mm cannons in the outer of the two stations, adding a .50cal machine gun in the inner position, giving extra firepower without the extra bulk and weight of the larger cannon and its ammo. The two outer machine gun stations were deleted, but the access panels remained to reduce re-engineering requirements of the hard-pressed manufacturing companies. The main gear was adjusted to provide more stable landing characteristics, and bowed gear bays removed the need for blisters on the upper wing surface, helping aerodynamically, while the cannon blisters were transferred to the outer position, understandably. The gun mounts were redesigned to require smaller blisters in the wing tops to accommodate the feeder motors, and there was even more room for fuel than earlier wings. Lastly, the wings were able to have longer elliptical high-altitude, or shorter clipped tips fitted instead of the traditional tips, the resulting shorter wingspan giving the aircraft a faster roll-rate that would be especially useful in low-altitude ‘dogfight’ combat situations where a fraction of a second faster turn could mean the difference between life and death.