I got this photo from Merle Olmsted back when I was chasing the Spit XII. He’d taken a photo that had appeared in an MJF Bowyer book that had a section on the XII. That photo, ID’d in the book as MB853 EB-P at AFDU turned out to be MB858 EB-D taken at Raydon on January 13, 1944. I’ve got the pilot’s logbook to prove it 🙂
Anyway, This photo was taken the same day and it’s confused me. It’s Spit IX MJ175 LZ-U (There is a less clear photo taken the same day that shows the LZ)
So on January 13, 1944 there was a Spit IX with a tropical intake and what appears to be an ice guard attached. I’d always been lead to believe that the home based IXs didn’t get the tropical filters until after the problems with dust post D-Day on the continent.
So can anyone shed some light on this? Was it common or is this an oddity for that time?
Dan
By: Mark12 - 15th October 2003 at 23:46
Daz,
I have been busy with Polish things.
I don’t believe it is actually a tropical filter as such in the Mk V sense. It is referred to I believe as the ‘Universal filter’ and fitted across the board when introduced part way into Mk IX production and on through VIII and XVI production. I suspect performance loss over the original Mk IX intake was minimal.
Mark
By: DazDaMan - 15th October 2003 at 22:47
Dan, I’ve had a look through some of my books for a reference to the tropical filter on the MkVIII and IX.
In “Spitfire In Action” there is a photo of 485 Sqdn’s Spitfire IXs taken in March 1944 with the tropical-style filter fitted, so clearly, despite that photo being later than yours, they were fitted with it well before D-Day.
A-ha, “Spitfire The History” comes to our rescue.
“Large numbers of Spitfire IXE were scheduled to serve in North Africa and the Far East and performance figures were required for a IX fitted with a tropical air filter. BS310 was fitted with a Spitfire MkVIII intake and on trials maximum speed dropped from 381 to 375mph.”
So it was originally fitted for trials and presumably adopted as standard fit for all aircraft to save on the need to modify the aircraft for use in foreign climes. It doesn’t say this as such in the book, but at a guess I’d say this is why.
Where’s that Mark12 when you need him??
By: DazDaMan - 15th October 2003 at 16:05
I’ll hazard a guess and say could it be something to do with manufacturing MkVIIIs and IXs at the same time?
Use/manufacture of common parts for different variants? The Spitfire XVI was, I think, always fitted with the larger filter.
If I remember I’ll take a look in “Spitfire – The History” tonight, see what it says in there.
By: Dan Johnson - 15th October 2003 at 15:46
53 views and no replies. This photo must confuse a few other folks too 🙂
Dan
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October 15, 2003 at 6:14 am