Replica Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX - RAF Museum, Hendon, London, UK
N 51° 35.859 W 000° 14.323
30U E 691241 N 5719901
This actual size replica of a Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX is an outside exhibit at the RAF Museum at Hendon in London. The museum is open 7 days a week and entry is free.
Waymark Code: WMNFC3
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/05/2015
Views: 3
The information board at the aircraft tells us:
Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX
One of the finest developments of the Rolls Royce Merlin-engined series, the Mk IX was originally intended as a match for the German Fw190.
The markings are those of No.43 Squadron, based at Zeltweg in Austria in 1945, right at the end of the Second World War.
Replica Aircraft
Fibreglass replicas such as these are used by the RAF as "gate guardians" to spare genuine machines from deterioration and are used here at the museum for the same purpose.
Wikipedia has an article about the Supermarine Spitfire that tells us:
The British Supermarine Spitfire was facing several challenges by mid-1942. The debut of the formidable Focke-Wulf Fw 190 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 incorporating two-stage superchargers; 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 powered Spitfires.
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 facility.
Up until the end of 1942, the RAF designations 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.