Mystery Spitfire-Good Luck With This one!!!!

[Jack Cook]

Over to the experts................

[Steve Nelson]

Italian ex-USAAF?

SN

Mk IX, ex-USAAF, either Greek or Italian...

[Steve Nelson]

I think you may be right about Greek. The colors on the roundels look to be the same. Also, Italian markings should have roundels on both wings (not sure if Greek are the same.)

I wanted to say Mk IX, but I don't know my Spit variants, sub-variants, and sub-sub-variants well enough, and didn't want to show my ignorance..

SN

[ausflyboy]

Tail looks wrong for a IX variant so to me it looks like a Mk Vb or Mk5c . My money is on Greek markings as well

Cheers all,
Chris

[ausflyboy]

Hmmm, could also be Egyptian!!

Strange it has no tail flash though... all pics i've seen of Greek or Egyptian Spits had one

[JDK]

Tail looks wrong for a IX variant so to me it looks like a Mk Vb or Mk5c . My money is on Greek markings as well

The IX tail was exactly the same as the V, until they put the broad-chord (pointed) rudder on the IX, but the fin remained the same. Some IX were started as Vs on the production line before getting the zippy new engine.

It's got a long two-stage Merlin cowl, 6 stub exhausts, fixed tailwheel, no extended tips, or cropped tips, so not HF / LF and thus IX, but not VI VII or VIII. Not a PR nose, so not X, XI. Can't remember by gun armament so can't comment on the b c e or etc wing.

Going for the team win here!

[ausflyboy]

DUH!!! didn't look at the stubs or the length of engine bay !!

Eyes a little blurry and mind going everywhere... suppose you get that way after working more than 12 hours a day

Anyway!! I believe the answer to your wing question was a "C" wing. I believe A and B wings were not used after the V model spits.

Thanks for the correction

Chris

[Bill Greenwood]

It looks like a IX, if not a weird XVI. Egypt had some IX in opposition to Isreal post war. The tail looks a little higher, hard to tell. Also hard to see .30 cal guns in wings, they may be there. Engine looks long so later 2stage Merlin. Fixed tailwheel like a IX.

You can see two machine gun ports in each wing, therefor not the E model wing, so I'll say IXC. Also has a late model windshield found on many IX's. I never thought about it being Egyptian but I think you might be on to something there...

Go team, go!

[Swiss Mustangs]

I was thinking Egypt as well.......



Martin

[dhfan]

Everybody's saying Mk.IX but at first glance I thought it was a Mk.V - and I still do.

[daveymac82c]

Not to be a late comer on this one, but I also thought it was a mk IV at first glance. I made a plastic model of the same type when I was little. My model had a three bladed prop, and it looks like Jack's picture has a three blader as well, but then the picture Martin posted of the beached Spit shows a four bladed prop.

-David

I'm going with Italian Mk. V on this one. The nose is too short to accomodate the Two-Stage Merlin. Compare it with Martin's shot, and you will not see the small air scoop on top of the cowling.

You can definately tell she was ex-American. Notice the painted out star and bar on the left wing.

[Bill Greenwood]

A Mk V may have a shorter nose and 6 into 3 exhaust stacks. Could always be some tricky version, rare or a field mod.