Great aircraft No.1
I think by now that you all know that I have a great love for the Canberra PR9. But there is also another aircraft in my life, that is the Supermarine Spitfire PRXIX.
The last and the greatest photographic reconnaissance variant of the PR Spitfires
It was powered by the Griffon 66 engine, with a max ceiling of 42,000ft. Its normal safe range was 1,160 miles, but this was extended to 1,550 miles by adding a 170 gallon overloaded drop-tank.
She could have a number of camera fits, listed below are the common ones:
1. Split pair of vertical F24 cameras with 14in or 20in lenses, one oblique F24 camera, fitted with either 8in or 14in lenses
2. Spilt pair of vertical F8 or F52 20in lens cameras.
3. Spit pair of vertical F52 36in lens camera
Some 225 models came off the assembly lines with production ending early 1946, but the aircraft was used in front-line photo reconnaissance service with the RAF until April 1954.
In fact the last time a Spitfire PRXIX was used to perform an operation act was in 1963 when one was used in battle trials against an English Electric Lightning to determine if a RAF Lightning could take on a piston engined aircraft.
This information was required because the RAF jets might have to engage P-51 Mustangs in the Indonesian conflict of the time.