| Manufacturer (Principal): | Supermarine Division of Vickers-Armstrongs in factories at, Southampton, Winchester, Swindon and Castle Bromwich. |
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| (Subcontracted to): | |
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| Manufacturer Designation | Type 361 |
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| Aircraft Mk. | Mk. IX |
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| RAF Designation: | Mk. IX |
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| Construction: | All – metal monocoque |
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| Crew: | One |
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| Wing Span: | 36ft. 10in. |
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| Length: | 31ft. ½in. |
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| Height: | 12ft. 8in. |
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| Engine: | 1,515hp. Merlin 61 or 1,710hp Merlin 63 or 63A. |
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| Fuel: | |
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| Internal Tanks (1) | 85 gallons |
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| Supplemental Tanks (2) | Slipper drop tanks of 30, 45 or 90 gallons. |
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| Maximum: | |
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| Weight: | |
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| Empty: (1) | 5,750lb. |
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| Loaded: | 7,500lb. |
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| Range: | 434 miles on 85 gallons / 980 miles on 175 gallons. |
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| Bomb Load: | N/A |
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| Armament: | 20mm Hispano cannon (2 Nr.) 1in each wing. |
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| | ·303 Browning machine gun (4 Nr.) 2 in each wing. |
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| Speed: | |
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| Maximum: | 408mph. at 25,000 ft. |
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| Cruising: | 324 mph. at 20,000 ft. |
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| Service Ceiling Height: | 42,500ft. |
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| Initial Rate of Climb: | 6.7 min. to 20,000ft. |
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| In Service Modifications: | |
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| | Ultimately some Mk. IX’s were adapted to take the “E” wing which allowed a change of armament to 20mm Hispano cannon (2 Nr.) 1in each wing and ·50 Browning machine gun (2 Nr.) 1 in each wing. |
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| Bradwell Bay Service: | |
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| Squadron: | 287 |
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| Motto: | C’est en forgeant Practice makes perfect |
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| Code: | KZ |
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| Dates: | August – 10th September 1945 |
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| Missions: | Attack simulations in order to provide continuation train for anti-aircraft units. |
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| Colour Scheme. | Standard RAF pattern: Dark green and Ocean grey upper surfaces. Medium Sea Grey lower surfaces. |
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| Aircraft Nickname/s: | Shrew – is what R. J. Mitchell wanted call it, he thought Spitfire to be a “dammed silly” name. |
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| | Spit. |
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| Technical data: Aircraft of the RAF 1918 by Owen Thetford and Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II |
| (1) Spitfire Mk IX Weights and Loading (spitfireperformance.com) |
| (2) www.aerosociety.com |
