Help from the Spitfire "Experten" if you will.

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Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 536

One of my customers is building a 1/4 scale Mk. IX Spitfire and is in need of the information referenced in his question quoted below. TIA

>>I have run into an issue that I hope someone can help me with. The Mk. IX had a G45 gun camera installed in the wing. By the way, I noticed that an original G45 gun camera was for sale on eBay! The issue that I have not been able to resolve is whether the gun camera for MH883 is in the port or starboard wing root. Early versions of the Spitfire had the gun camera installed in the port wing root of the C wing, but apparently during the second half of 1943, the Merlin 63 was replaced with the Merlin 66 engine and the gun camera moved from the port wing to the starboard wing and replaced with a fuel cooler in the port wing. According to information on the Internet, it appears that MH883 was in existence in early 1943, so perhaps the gun camera was in the port wing? The original black and white photos that I have of MH883 don't show the location of the gun camera.<<

Original post

Member for

18 years 6 months

Posts: 223

Hi, there I see a photo of MH880 which may help? https://goo.gl/images/UxwWsE

May be worth searching a few serial numbers either side to see if you can get confirmation of their mod standard, which could help solve your query?

Member for

15 years 4 months

Posts: 957

MH883 was an LF Mk.IX and therefore from the above description should have the gun camera in the starboard wing. The LF Mk.IX was the version of the Mk.IX with the Merlin 66 engine, and as far as I know did not have an additional cooler in the starboard wing. The earlier version of the Mk.IX was the F Mk.IX, with the Merlin 61 or 63, which did have an intake in the port wing root for an oil cooler, which perhaps could be mistaken for a gun camera. However the initial F Mk.IXs did not have a gun camera at all - it has been suggested that this was one of the reasons why it was apparently so successful on its introduction. I don't know when the gun camera was first fitted, possibly during the F Mk.IX's production run, but it will not have been in the fairly large hole in the port wing.