Hobby Master 1/48 HA8319 Spitfire IX ZD-B/MH434, No. 222 Sqn., RAF, Duxford 2004
Hobby Master 1/48 Spitfire IX ZD-B/MH434, No. 222 Sqn., RAF, Duxford 2004 HA8319
The Mk. IX replaced the Mk. V in June 1942 and on September 12, 1942 a Mk. IX brought down a 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 IX ZD-B/MH434 was manufactured in 1943 and delivered in August of that year. The first pilot to fly MH434 was South African Flt. Lt. Henry Lardner-Burke who wasted no time by shooting down an Fw-190 and damaged another on a bomber escort mission on August 27, 1943. By March 1945 when the aircraft stood down it had flown over eighty operational sorties. The aircraft went to the Belgium AF and other owners but ended up being owned and flown by the Old Flying Machine Company based at Duxford.