…As JDK says, not always as easy as looking at the Mk number. The Hurricane MkI had something like 24 differences (some as major as metal or canvas wings) without getting a different designation. Other aircraft on the other hand (Macchi Mc202 Folgore, Vought F4U for example) had different designations simply by having been built in different factories.
The Fairey Battle had, I think, (as a bomber) four Mks but these corresponded to the designation of the Merlin powering it and there were no airframe differences. The Blackburn Skua had two Mks but one of these was for the two prototypes (which differed in a number of significant ways from each other) and there would be those who would tell you that not two airframes were identical – does this mean there were 192 versions of the Skua?!
More seriously, in terms of the number of stages of evolution, I struggle to think of an aircraft that has had more alterations to its airframe and powerplant than the Spitfire. On the other hand, there’s also the question of when does something become a different aircraft? I believe the Spitfire Mk21 was going at one stage to be called the ‘Valiant’ as it shared so little with its forebear.
So we’re back to the start. The Supermarine Swift and Gloster Javelin both had an unusual number of versions for peacetime aircraft that didn’t serve for all that long. The Huey sounds likely – and how many versions of B52 have their been?
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