Supermarine Spitfire PR Mk XI / PR Mk XIX
Unarmed, extra fuel, cameras in the fuselage — speed and altitude as the only defence · First built 1942 · PR XIX in RAF service until 1954
Photo-reconnaissance Spitfires relied on speed and altitude rather than guns: the armament was removed and the wing leading edges filled with fuel. The PR Mk XI, based on the Mk IX with a Merlin 60-series engine, was the most widely used; the first were built in November 1942 and 471 followed. It could reach 671 km/h at 7,300 m and was the first PR variant able to carry two vertical F52 cameras with 36-inch lenses.
The PR Mk XIX combined the Griffon engine with the PR wing tanks; the first, RM626, came off the line in May 1944 and 225 were built. Later aircraft had the pressurised cockpit of the Mk X and fuel capacity raised to 256 gallons, allowing very long, very high sorties.
The PR XIX stayed in front-line service longest of all Spitfires. On 1 April 1954, PS888 of No. 81 Squadron flew the RAF's last operational Spitfire sortie, a reconnaissance flight from RAF Seletar, Singapore, during the Malayan Emergency. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight still operates PR XIXs PM631 and PS915.
