WWII Combat Spit marks..

Last Spitfire mark to the RAF in WWII.

First delivery of a Mk 22 to the RAF was PK314 on 20 April 1945. As with subsequent deliveries, this was to storage at an MU. They were subsequently returned to Vickers for modification.

So ‘On Charge’ RAF service in WWII, technically – yes. Operational – no.

Mark

Ok, so you lot have to help out a Yank who’s not up to snuff on WHICH models of Spitfire saw service in the WWII years…I know the Mk I, the Mk II, IIa, Mk V, Mk VIII, Mk IX…beyond that, while I know some saw combat, I don’t know how high up the variants go…what was the first POST-WAR Spit….would ANYONE in here know about this? 🙂

Mark

The Pr.XIX was in there at the end as has been said, and the XIV certainly saw a good deal of service, with the XVIII just getting into far east squadron service in mid ’45. Going backwards slightly, let’s not forget the XII…. 😉

The XIX entered service June 44, and THUM closed (and the 3 XIXs went on to form what would evolve into the BBMF) in 1957…

The XIX would have been in service certainly during the last year or so of the war, and onwards til the mid 50s with THUM and in the far east…

One of the books I referred to said “soon after the war”.

I could go and dig out Spitfire – the History but as I said, we have a few walking Spitfire encyclopedias around here.

Something about having a dog and barking yourself…

Mark, the last mark of Spitfire, as opposed to Seafire, was the Mk.24.

The XIX would have been in service certainly during the last year or so of the war, and onwards til the mid 50s with THUM and in the far east…

Other than that, Spits went up to F Mk 24, as the Meteor and Vampire superceeded the piston engined fighters in the front line units of Fighter Command.

Hmmm…just like I could do if someone asked me the WWII combat models of F4U Corsair….but having only a vague inkling of how many models of Spits there are and which ones served in WWII, i need some help!

M

A brief glance at a couple of books suggests that the F.21 flew 154 combat missions before the end of the war. The F.22 would therefore seem to be the first post-war Spitfire but apparently the FR.XVIII and PR.XIX were also post-war.

I’m sure there are several people around that will answer more accurately without even having to look it up. 🙂