I’m making a modle with the cockpit, engin and gun bays opened up

Bear in mind that both the cockpit and the power plant of an airworthy Spitfire will never be exactly like the wartime one. They didn’t fall under the civil aviation authorities, and their operators didn’t care that much about operating costs, service life, etc. back then, you know.

wartime colour for what you specifically want does not exist, AFAIK.

You’ve got to have more faith, JDK!
About a dozen years ago a well known Spitfire author has taught me a rule which proved true to me many times since: ‘If you can imagine an old photo you would like to see, it certainly exists somewhere out there, you just have to find it’. So, don’t say it doesn’t exist. Say that you have not seen it. Yet.

Two Polish pilot stories:

On 21 November 1940 P/O Ryszard Dyrgalla of 1 PRU took off from Heston in Spitfire I PR type C P9426 with a mechanic, AC1 H. Rhodes, on tail. As the pilot realised what happened, he attempted to land immediately, stalled and crashed. Both were taken to hospital. I think there is a photo of the Spitfire after the accident in “Spitfire at War: 2” by Dr Alfred Price.

On 22 June 1944 S/Ldr Horbaczewski (OC no. 315 Sqn) picked up W/O Tamowicz who was shot down in no-man’s land in Normandy and brought him back to base in his Mustang FB382 PK-G. There are well known photos of Horbaczewski with another pilot in the cockpit of the Mustang staged afterwards. As Tamowicz was hospitalised, he was substituted in the photos by another pilot, Tadeusz Slon.

Spitfire II P8332 was despatched to Canada in 1942 and displayed there.
But I presume Mark12 has already checked this one?

BRILLIANT – thank you Voytech am much obliged and owe you cyber pint!

Sounds virtually good!
How about posting the cockpit photo you mentioned?

So, why did Rolls persist with four engines (and possibly more) at the one time, when two (Merlin and Griffon) would have met all Air Ministry requirements in existence at that time (for in-line engines, at least)?

Perhaps they weren’t sure which two of the four would eventually prove right?

A quick check shows MB141, MB201, MB207, MB306 (all Seafire IIs) and MB367, NX958 (all Mk Is) as involved in RATO trails.

How can we forget the one wheel down landing of the B-17 in Tora Tora Tora – that was real wasn’t it?

Wasn’t there one in the Battle of Midway as well?