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

[JDK]

Well, I know a man who will know. Where's Voytech?

[Bill Greenwood]

Steve, pretty hard to make out that air intake under there. I can't see any gun ports in the wings but somebody says they are there. The paint made me think post war. The sure way to tell between a V and IX or any 2 stage Merlin one if the underside. The V only has one big flat radiator, plus a small round oil cooler, the later ones have 2 of the larger rads. The Griffon ones have 2 still deeper rads.

[Swiss Mustangs]

Remember that both the Egyptian and Israeli AF had some Spitfires rebuilt by cannibalizing parts from wrecked examples - the first IDFAF Spits even were built up from captured Egypt AF examples.....

so I think this a/c is some sort of a hybrid - and I still vote for Egypt as operator - the Greek AF had their Spits in desert camo (earlier variants) or NMF (later variants) - the Italian AF roundels and markings looked different

Martin

[Mark V]

pretty hard to make out that air intake under there

Bill - its just the edge of the oil tank thats visible - just a small gap between the panels, but still visible and confirms its an early mark. On your Spitfire the oil tank is (as you know) fully cowled in and invisible from the outside. On the I, II and V etc the tank actually formed part of the lower cowling and there were two short cowling sections in front and behind it to fill the gaps. I guess it may have helped a little with oil cooling too, having it dangle in the breeze like that.

[Canso42]

Im with Swiss Mustangs on this one. In my very limited knowledge of Spitfires I figured an earlier Mark and stopped there. Before reading all the way through this very detailed thread ( I'll earmark this one for Spitfire recognition study) I was going to ask if it could have been a composite aircraft put together by the second or third owner.

Doug.

[vanguard]

I cant believe PETERA hasnt told us all the verdict on this one. Maybe he is watching. It very much looks to me like a single stage MERLIN cowling and intake.

[FITD]

More confusion for the melting pot!

The photograph also appears in "Spitfire, The History" by Morgan & Shacklady, Guild Publishing, 1988, on page 327. This is the section covering F/LF/HF MkIX Spitfires! Caption reads" Spitfire of Free French Air Force, with the Mediterrean (sic) Allied Coastal Air Force."

Also on this page is a photograph of a French Spitfire Mk IX in Hanoi (1947/1948) with markings very similar to the subject Spitfire.

On a personal front, looking beyond the aircraft for clues, I do not consider the countryside over which the subject Spitfire is flying to be very eastern Mediterranean let alone Egyptian and I have spent a few hours staring down on both over the years.

FITD

[gregv]

My first reaction to the photo was Seafire, but whatever the case it is definitely a "bitsa" as they say...

greg v.

[Dave Homewood]

I cant believe PETERA hasnt told us all the verdict on this one. Maybe he is watching.

Peter is travelling at the moment and apparently not having much luck with his roaming internet connection, judging by recent emails he's sent me.

My first impression was it was plainly obvious a V. After all, it's painted on the side!

And the thought of Fleet Air Arm Seafire or a Spitfire that had been on a carrier like those ones that went to Malta in the rough paint briefly passed my mind, those markings were what made me think that. However I'm no expert, and as I said, it says V on the side.

[Jack Cook]

OK my tortured friends.
The caption stares..............
French AF Spitfire V fighter taken over from the USAAF flies over Italy in mid 1944.
My friend Glenn Black who flew B-25s in the 310th BG out of Corsica said French Spits
ecorted them on many of their missions between May and June 1944.

That was great!

[Bill Greenwood]

That photo is confusing because it has the later style fluted or fish tail type exhaust stacks common to MKIX. I think those stacks are really great looking and add character. I can't see any wing patches over the machine guns so that makes it hard, but some say they see them. Jack what does the original photo look like on the guns? Some of the earlier Spits, I think IIs had 2 cannons and no guns in each wing, this has the single cannon. The engine looks like the shorter version MKV, it is not that easy to tell, and you can't be sure if the prop is 3 blade for V, or 4 blade for IX.As for the oil tank, what could be the edge of it could also be something on the ground in the background. The ground, to me never having been there could well be Italy, could also be farms in France, doesn't look like I envision the desert.

[Canso42]

I see two covered gun ports outboard of the cannon on the near wing. This is based on the red tape-looking covering on all the gun ports on Lone Star's Hurricane. Kinda looks like doped wing fabric. Look close at the one closest to the camera and you can see a round dimple in the center from the actual hole in the leading edge.


Doug

[Bill Greenwood]

Doug, I have never had to wear glasses to pass my medical. I thought maybe I see a light colored area that could be a fabric patch, but I sure don't see any dimple or hole in the center of it. Maybe you've got a better computer or a better imagination. And the patch is to keep the dirt out and should not have a hole.

[Canso42]

Bill, then again, I may be seeing bird doo on the leading edge.
Doug