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What Model of Spitfire is this?

R

rcafmad

Charter Member
The picture is a Spitfire in France with the RAF, June 1944. Note the propeller? The aircraft was flown by S/L Rolly Dibnah of the 91st Squadron.
He is a Canadian who originally flew the RAF 242 Squadron in the Battle of Britain with Douglas Bader.
 
Don't think it's in France in June 1944, I don't see the invasion stripes.

I think it's a Spitfire Mk XII (the first RR Griffon Spitfire. N°91 squadron was equipped with this type until early-mid 1944 if I remember well) or a Mk XIV.

The MkXII has clipped wings and not the MkXIV. It's not easy to identify the wing tips on the picture.

Jacques Andrieux, a famous Free French pilot, flew Spitfire MkXII's with n°91 squadron.
 
Led Zeppelin said:
The MkXII has clipped wings and not the MkXIV. It's not easy to identify the wing tips on the picture.
Click to expand...

Doesn't matter much which wing tips (the Mk XIV could, and did, have clipped wings too) as it has the five blade propeller which instantly takes the Mk XII out of the contest and makes it a 100% certain Mk XIV. The deep twin radiators and the carburettor intake provide further proof.
 
The MkXII had a 4-blade airscrew, the MkXIV a five blade one. I confirm Rene's comment about the carb intake, which is deep and half-round on the MkXIV, and oval on the XII. This is a MkXIVc, as you can see from the wing armament - 2x20mm cannon and 4x.303 Brownings.

Spitfire wingtip types are all interchangeable, so clipped or standard wingtips could be seen on both types. Admittedly, the MkXIIc usually had clipped ones, but so did many MkXIVs.

Finally, RAF Squadrons use cardinal numbers, not ordinal - so it is not 91st Squadron but No.91 Squadron RAF. Just thought you'd like to know.
 
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