View attachment 503068 Two Spitfire IXs were fitted with Mustang drop tanks in the US. (US National Archives
Ok, i will get you some figures. But just for now, to answer one of your questions about bomber command flying at night without fighter escort (As escorting fighters in the dark, would hardly have been very effective if at all) The bomber crews were pretty much left to their own. Although it should be noted that from late '42' to '43' onwards, the RAF were flying night intruder missions in and around German night fighter bases. These missions were undertook by the Mosquito FB's and were very successful. Either shooting down twin engine night fighters such as the Bf - 110 & Me - 410's. Even if they weren't shooting down enemy planes it was an effective method of keeping some German units on the ground as they knew full well Mossies were likely orbiting their airbases. It was pretty standard for night fighter pilots to stick very close to ground level when taking off for at least two miles before making their climb up into the bomber stream. I interviewed a Canadian Mosquito pilot who went on such missions and said sometimes it was simply bad practice by enemy pilots. One Me -410 pilot landed after shooting down 5 RAF bombers that very night, so he could refuel and rearm only in his rush to get back up had left his landing lights on. This was enough for the Mossie to sneak in behind the 410 and blow it out of the sky. The guy probably never even knew what hit him. The German pilots called these mossie intruders "The bandits of the air!" They were based at Hunsdon airfield i believe. There was a pub at the end of the runway called the turkey cock. Apparently patrons would almost duck their heads while holding a pint when the mossies were taking off and landing....
But as for the Spits range and operational duties, It has to be noted that while various extra fuel tanks were fitted or adapted to nearly all Spitfire Mk's, the aircraft was designed as a short range home interceptor. So a large capacity fuel tank was simply not a requirement in the original design. And infact the front fuel tank, located just forward of the cockpit firewall resulted in many pilots being horribly burned or killed if trapped inside the cockpit. s The Mk I carried 85 gallons of petrol internally in two tanks immediately ahead of the cockpit. The upper tank held 48 gallons and the lower 37. This arrangement was used in the majority of the Merlin fighter marks: II, V, IX and XVI. (By comparison, the Bristol Bulldog of 1928, with only 490 hp, carried 106 gallons). Later examples of the Mk IX and Mk XVI featured two tanks behind the cockpit with 75 gallons (66 gallons in the versions with the cut down rear fuselage). The principal versions of photo-reconnaissance Spitfires used the majority of the leading edge structure as an integral fuel tank holding 66 gallons per side. As this required the removal of the armament, it was not an option for the fighter variants. Capacity was increased in the Mk VIII (which followed the Mk IX into service) with the lower tank enlarged to fill its bay and holding 48 gallons. Each wing also held a 13-gallon bag tank in the inboard leading edge (between ribs 5 and 8) to give a total internal load of 122 gallons, a 44% increase on its forerunners. Eighteen gallon leading edge bag tanks were also fitted in some late Mk IXs. Fitting the Griffon in the Spitfire's slim nose displaced the oil tank from its original 'chin' position to the main tank area. This reduced upper tank capacity by 12 gallons but all Griffon Spitfires, bar some Mk XIIs, featured the 48-gallon lower tank. It is worth noting that the PR Mk VI had a 20-gallon tank fitted under the pilot's seat although no other mark of Spitfire appears to have used this option. On 85 gallons of internal fuel, the Mk IX had a range of only 434 miles; the Mk VIII, reaching 660 miles on 122 gallons, was still short on reach.
Try this article below, just follow the link
Escort Spitfire - a missed opportunity for longer reach?
