Recent content by Graham Boak

Combat radius is more like range divided by three or more, not two, for it has to include a combat period at full power, extra fuel for operating at non-optimal altitudes or speeds, fuel for organising into formations, and reserves for landing. None of these are normally allowed for in maximum...

Yes, that's part of the definition of the mark. That aircraft is the only A Mk.9 to end up in the weather squadrons.

It was used from 1938 up until June 1940, half white half black, for observation of friendly aircraft from the ground. Remember that there was no country-wide ground control radar. Radar only worked looking out to sea, or at higher altitudes, initially only being placed on coastal sites ...

On some of the PR types the inner gun bay held a camera. I suspect this was why the outer guns were retained on the Mk.XIII. Wojtek Matusiak has written two excellent booklets on PR Spitfires for Ventura Publishing: I strongly suspect they will have examples of the wing-mounted cameras.

The photo in Ali d'Italia does not show a turret, so the tank could be placed below that position. This would mean that there was no access to the cabin in flight? There is a cutaway behind the bombbay doors - was this closed in flight, and if so, how? Chris Dunning's book Courage Alone...

My understanding is that it was direct. There does not seem to be any intermediate stop possible. There is mention of additional fuel tanks in other S.82s on this route, but it is not clear to me where they were mounted, or if they were carried by the TC variant.

51 fighters, via Benghazi. I don't know if any tanks were so shipped, I suspect not. The photos show that the underside of the fuselage is cutaway. Is this a correct interpretation? I've seen it said that the bombbay doors were modified, so I suppose that is what is meant. I am also...