Hobby Master Archive

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.

Spitfire LF-IX MJ789 FU-B was assembled at Castle Bromwich and given a Merlin 66 engine. The aircraft was assigned to the RAF and 403 Squadron RCAF on December 20, 1943 before being transferred to the RAAF 453 Squadron on January 31, 1944. On June 11, 1944 MJ789 was piloted by 27 year old RAAF Flight Lieutenant Henry Lacy Smith on a mission over Normandy when the aircraft was hit by flak and crashed in a canal near Ouistreham, Normandy killing the pilot who is buried in the Ranville War Cemetery.

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)

1/48 scale pre-finished. Die-cast metal with a minimum of plastic. Professionally painted. All markings pad applied for superb results. Canopy slides open. Comes with a pilot that can be removed. Comes with display stand. Landing gear is fully retractable and can be displayed up or down. Propeller is metal. Extremely sought after by collectors.

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA8317 Spitfire LF IX MJ789, Code FU-B, 453 Sqn., RAAF, June 1944