Hobby Master 1/48 HA8321 Spitfire Mk.IX PL258, 331 (Norwegian) Squadron,(under restoration by the Norwegian Spitfire Foundation)

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.

In 1944 Spitfire Mk. IX PL258 was built in Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory and flown by 331 (Norwegian) Squadron’s Fenrik (Ensign) Carl Jacob Stousland. On December 29, 1944 the aircraft was on a reconnaissance flight over Germany when it collided with Spitfire PT909 piloted by Sergeant Ole Tilset. Stousland managed to make a belly landing near Tubbergen, Netherlands but the aircraft was a write-off. Dutch farmers hid Stousland and after 79 days managed to reach Allied lines but the Tilset was captured.