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Originally Posted by Robotic Pope
Sorry but thats just not true.
The mk IX was produced well before the VII and VIII as a stop gap. The VII was ment to replace the IX in high altitude interception with it's presurised cabin, and the mkVIII was to replace the mkIX as a dogfighter. Both the VII and VIII took alot longer to bring into production than was expected because of the amount of redesign needed both to the airframe and to the production tools of the factory. By the time the VIII was ready for production the airwar over europe was more or less already won and most of the mkIX's were being used as fighter bombers at that time. THAT is why all the VIII's went out to the middle east, far east and pacific.
The Spitfire mkVIII is the definative Merlin engined Spitfire, fully able to handle the extra power granted by the 2 stage supercharger.
The Spitfire mkIX is basically a mkV with a much more powerful engine. Its like a car that has had its engine modified for extra power but the brakes and suspension have been left as standard. Yes it will be fast, but it wont handle as well as a car that was designed to manage that amount of power.
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I believe the MkIX Spitfire had the same Merlin as in the P-51D, and yes, the MkIX is basically the MkV, but with an improved engine and armament (If it was attached with the "E" wing). But the thing is, the MkIX was meant not just as a high altitude fighter, like the MkVII which was designed for high altitude combat, the MkIX was just a version of what the Mk XIV would become (substituted with a Griffon Engine). The Mk VIII was a good gun platform, but it did suffer some problems, where in the MkIX, the only problem was the "E" wing which put vibrations in the controls. If the MkIX was equipped with a "C" wing, then there were no problems with the gun mounting, and the plane proved very effective against the Luftwaffe. And also, out of hall the varient Mk Spitfires, the MkIX was the most mass produced Spitfire, which later proved itself flying with other nations in the late 40s-50s.