Spitfire just about to touch down at Farnborough
Spitfire Mk XIX PM 631 owned by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight with flaps and undercarriage down just about to touchdown at the Farnborough Airshow 2006 on Friday 21st July . Powered by the Rolls Royce Griffon 66 the replacement for the Merlin engine that produced a sound reveered by veterans and enthusiasts and rotated in the opposite direction . The wings of early spitfires were also more eliptical in shape and the prop had 3 blades not 5 which came in with the Mark XIV and more powerful Griffon . The Reconnaissance livery with a red central spot encircled by a dark blue annulus made it hard to spot from a distance . Built in November 1945 as a high altitude photo reconnaissance aircraft with a Griffon 66 engine and pressurised cockpit PM631 was too late to see operational service in WWII . Received by the RAF in 1946 and used by 203 Advanced Flying School in May 1949 later modified and used for for meteorological work . On 11 July 1957 together with Spitfires PS853 and PS915 the aircraft helped form the Historic Aircraft Flight which later became the BBMF . PM631 has served in the BBMF for 49 years of continuous service on display duties . PM631 is painted as an early PRXIX of 541 Squadron which performed high altitude unarmed reconnaissance European missions from early 1944 to the end of the war . Mk XIX Spitfires were last version . Mark XIX max speed 446 mph at 26000 ft with climb of 15 minutes 30 seconds to reach 35000 ft and a ceiling of 42000 ft . Max range 1500 miles
Size: 5007px × 3333px
Location: Farnborough Airfield Hampshire England Great Britain United Kingdom GB UK
Photo credit: © Christopher Barnes - Aviation / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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