The Mk. IX replaced the Mk. V in June 1942 and on September 12, 1942 a Mk. IX brought down a Ju-86R flying at 43,000 feet. Another major achievement of the Mk. IX took place on October 5, 1944 when 401 Squadron became the first allied aircraft to shoot down an Me-262 jet. Even with the arrival of the Griffon powered Mk. XIV the Mk. IX continued in service until the end of WWII. There were 5,665 Mk. IX Spitfires and its variants produced.

1,328 British Spitfire Mk. IXs were supplied to the Soviets during WWII. One of these aircraft was PT879, built at the Vickers Armstrong Factory and arriving in Murmansk in October 1944 assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 767th Regiment and 122nd Division of the Russian Air Force. On May 18, 1945 PT879 was involved in a training dogfight. The aircraft only had 18 hours and 29 minutes of flying time when another Spitfire cut off its tail. The pilot managed to bail out. The wreckage was later recovered and eventually restored by the Hangar 11 team.

Specifications for the Spitfire Mk. IX

• Number built - 5,665 all Mk. IX variants
• Crew – 1 X pilot
• Dimensions
• Length - 31 ft. 3.5 in.
• Wingspan:
• Standard (F) - 36 ft. 10 in.
• Clipped (LF) - 32 ft. 2 in.
• Height - 11 ft. 9 in.
• Wing Area - (F) 242 sq. ft. or (LF) 231 sq. ft.
• Weight
• Empty - 5,610 lbs. (2,545 kg)
• Maximum Takeoff - 7,500 lbs. (3,402 kg)
• Performance
• Engine
• 1 X V-12 Rolls-Royce Merlin 61 @ 1,515 hp
• or
• 1 X V-12 Rolls-Royce Merlin 63 @ 1,712 hp
• Maximum Speed - 408 mph (657 kph) @ 25,000 ft.
• Service Ceiling - 4,000 ft.
• Range w/o drop tank - 434 miles (698 km)
• Armament
• 2 X Hispano 20mm cannons
• plus either
• 4 X .303 machine guns
• or
• 2 X .50 machine guns
• 1,000 lbs of bombs (500 centerline, 250 each wing)

Info: Spitfire LF IX MH884, flown by Captain W. Duncan-Smith, No. 324 Wing, RAF, August 1944