Spitfire Mk.IX

[BlackSheepTwoOneFour]

What's the physical difference between the Spitfire Mk.IXb and Spitfire Mk.IXc? I'm trying to find the correct Spitfire aircraft kit for a group build I'm involved in. I'm assuming a Spitfire Mk.IX kit (or Spitfire Mk.IXc kit) would be suffice? Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[wuzak]

IXb = 2 x 20mm + 4 x 0.303"
IXc = 4 x 20mm

 

[Greyman]

There's always some confusion here.

Spitfire IXa = merlin 61 or 63 engine
Spitfire IXb = merlin 66 engine
Spitfire IXc = merlin 70 engine

These were unofficial designations by pilots and ground crew, because the Air Ministry itself did not differentiate between the different types of Spitfire IX. Eventually the Air Ministry caught up and the official designations were:

Spitfire F IXc = merlin 61 or 63 engine
Spitfire LF IXc = merlin 66 engine
Spitfire HF IXc = merlin 70 engine

All Spitfire IX aircraft had the 'C' wing (what was actually installed was not indicated by the designation) until the 'E' wing was introduced.

 

[A4K]

Good info there Greyman, was confused about that myself till recently.

 

[Aozora]

Officially Spitfire IXs were F. Mk. IX until newer versions of the Merlin 60 series were introduced, after which the designations became those listed by Greyman. Note that the majority of IXs built were the L.F Mk. IX with the low-medium altitude rated Merlin 66 - this was to allow them to be used as fighter-bombers, particularly by 2nd Tactical Air Force (2 TAF).

A useful series of articles identifying the IX/XVI variants and their physical features can be found on The Spitfire Site

Spitfire IX/XVI engine fuselage

Spitfire IX/XVI wings, armament undercarriage

some details could be updated.

 

[Airframes]

The 'MkIXb' designation was, as already stated, an unofficial designation - there never was a MkIXb.
The 'name' probably arose as a 'follow on' from the Spitfire MkVb, for the first Mix's into serive, due to the two cannon and four MG armament. I fell foul of this 'unofficial' description about 25 years ago, basing a painting on a pilot's use of the term, and eventually found the evidence in Johhny Houlton's book 'Spitfire Strikes', where he explained the use of the term, describing the fact that, even though officialy the aircraft was a IXc, air and ground crews referred to the first version as a 'b', with the second generation MkIX's becoming the 'c', and then only because of the engine change, and some other systems changes !!

 

[A4K]

I've seen a couple of photos of kiwi "Mk.IXb"s, including one in Squadron/ Signal's 'Spitfire in Action'. Since Terry pointed out the above info not long ago, I checked the pic and yep, long C wing cannon blisters on top of the wings!

 

[BlackSheepTwoOneFour]

I finally sat down and read the links provided by Aozora. Very interesting read and informative. Now I know what I need to get. Thank you.