Spitfire Spitfire LF. Mk.XVI engine & armament photos. Spitfire Memorial Manston

[One-Oh-Four]

Spitfire LF. Mk.XVI engine & armament photos.

 

Last Sunday on the way back from Flying Legends at Duxford I visited the Spitfire Memorial at Manston. They have a Spitfire LF. Mk. XVI on display, complete with 250LBS & 500LBS bombs plus wing hardpoints. The remarkable thing about this Spitfire is that it's fitted with the "e"-wing but it's quite clear that it's in fact a modified "c"-wing, since it has the .303 gun apertures in the wing leading edge and the cartridge/link ejector chutes underneath the wings. Also remarkable are the deflectors underneath the wings to guide the cartridges/links clear of the bombs. I have no idea if this was a post-war mod or already in use during the war.

 

 

 

 

The 500-pounder:

 

 

 

The 250-pounder:

 

 

 

 

The Hispano 20mm gun:

 

 

The armored windscreen of a Spitfire Mk.V:

 

 

 

This back-amour was retro-fitted to a Spitfire Mk.I. When the airframe was completely restored to original Mk.I fit, the armour was removed from the cockpit and ended up in the museum.

 

 

 

The "e"-wing armament of this Mk.XVI. The rounded "later" cannon-tubes can be clearly seen, but also the taped .303 gun openings. Underneath the wing the shell ejector chutes for the .303's may also be observed:

 

 

 

The afore mentioned deflectors:

 

 

 

Wooden prop blade of the Rotol airscrew. The leading edge was strengthened with copper strip.

 

 

I made these photos with my iPhone, so quality lacks a little. However, I hope these photos may be of some use to you.

 

Cheers,

Erik.

[JeroenPeters]

Supercool!!

Thnx for sharing! Looks like u had a blast..