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Help with photo identification. Spitfire PR XI?


DOD

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Greetings

I was hoping someone could identify this photo I downloaded when researching Spitfire PR XI's and I have lost the reference. It may have been from this forum or elsewhere.

 

It is a rare and useful picture of the underside,s if indeed it is a PR XI

 

Also, can anyone identify what the blister under the starboard wing is for? I believe this is the location for the desert survival kit as indicated in Merlin PR Spitfires in detail. But in the snow!? and there is no indication of a blister here.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

cheers

David

y4mFi2BpBVTKPkLYEJMKtg-Yzc-H6lrOeHYKN9jo

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Looks like a XIX to me.  Not certain, but that blister might be on a fuel (or oil?) tank, so either a sump or possibly a pump.  The two blisters in front of the radiators are fuel pumps for the leading edge tanks.

 

Edit: there's a small underside view on this page, which also links to some detail photos of a museum bird.  Now that I think a moment more, pretty sure those are extra fuel tanks.  If I get really curious I'll check...

 

Edit 2: By the way, I've also saved the image in case I haven't already saved this image!  Thanks,

 

bob

Edited by gingerbob
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Here's an excellent walkaround from IPMS Stockholm that shows the fuel booster pump fairings ahead of the wheel bays- note that the rear part of the fairing is attached to the  strut fairing door. You can also see the narrow blisters further outboard. On page 454 of the Shacklady book, there is  discussion of an additional 20-gallon fuel tank  fitted in each wing of later production XIX's, so it sounds like those are the additional fuel tanks that @gingerbob mentioned. My guess also is that since these tanks were much smaller in capacity than the leading edge tanks, they did not require as big a boost pump and therefore the blister fairing over them was much smaller than the ones seen ahead of each wheel bay- just speculation on my part! There was no mention as to the serials of the PR XIX's that had the additional tanks, but you could use photos of the one you want to build to confirm their fitment. 

 

https://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/1998/08/stuff_eng_detail_spit19.htm

 

Also this one from Net-Maquettes

https://www.net-maquettes.com/pictures/spitfire-pr-mk-xix/#gallery[photonic-flickr-set-1]/9468645963/

 

 

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38 minutes ago, JWM said:

I vote for mk XIX due to angle between prop blades - looks like right for 5 blades...

J-W

Agree and then there's the radiators. Looks big to me.

 

/Finn

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On 3/26/2021 at 4:51 PM, DOD said:

Greetings

I was hoping someone could identify this photo I downloaded when researching Spitfire PR XI's and I have lost the reference. It may have been from this forum or elsewhere.

Any help would be appreciated.

cheers

David

y4mFi2BpBVTKPkLYEJMKtg-Yzc-H6lrOeHYKN9jo

 

Hello David and all,

 

At least I have uploaded this photo earlier. The plane is a Swedish PR.XIX (or S31 as it is called in Sweden). The photo comes from a digitized crash report.

 

Cheers,

Antti

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