If the Spitfire IX had short range, why didn't they fit it with the 29 gal fuel tank like in the Spitfire V?

Question

If the Spitfire IX had short range, why didn't they fit it with the 29 gal fuel tank like in the Spitfire V?

Answer 1

Actually, in answer to you question, the Mk.IX was fitted with a drop tank.  You can find many photo's of them on the first D-Day airfields in France.  29 gal. isn't very much, and didn't add much to their range.  Most squadrons used them to ferry beer from England to their new base at the front.

The P-51's used 108 gal drop-tanks (one under each wing) to get the range they needed to take the fight into Germany.

Answer 2

The 29 Imperial Gallon fuel cell did not add 'too much weight'. If that was so, the Spitfire IX would never have been fitted with the 34 Imp. Gall. fuel cell and the 41 Imp. Gal. fuel cell in the rear fuselage during the last months of WWII. There are still pictures of flying Spitfires with such a configuration.

Also, the rear fuel cell did increase range a good amount. If they didn't, then the Spitfire V's lifting off from Malta in 1942 would not have used the internal 29 Imp. Gal. fuel cell ("flexitank") in combination with the 170 Imp. Gal. drop tank when ferrying from ship to Malta itself.

The flexitank cell was some 35% the size of the 85 Imp. Gal. carried on a regularly-configured Spitfire V or IX. This really isn't taht much weight especially since the fuel cell is non-self-sealing and Spitfire VII's and VIII's carried 123 Imp. Gal. of total fuel in addition to structural strengthening and a retractable tailwheel. If those things could be added even with some 37 extra gallons of fuel, there's no way the non-self-sealing flexitank was 'too heavy'.

The main reason why the Spitfire IX didn't carry the extra fuel was not because it couldn't or was too heavy or whatever... it was because the RAF didn't need extra range urgently until 1945 by which time, as mentioned already, the Spitfire did. Before that, the RAF focused on defending Britain rather than give the Spitfire the range of some offensive fighter-bomber. In addition, the RAF bombers were night-bombers and needed long-range, buff nightfighters.

Anyone who says that the Spitfire wasn't great because it had a horribly short range due to its inability to carry fuel is wrong. It could carry a LOT of gas, it just never really needed to.

Answer 3

The spitfire IX had better armament such as rockets so it had to carry more weight therefore a larger tank would have weighed it down too much.

Answer 4

The Spitfire Mk IX was originally developed as a stopgap measure as a response to the appearance of the Focke-Wulf FW 190A. The first response to this threat was the Mk VIII, but this aircraft involved a significant redesign of the basic Spitfire, and would take time too produce in the numbers required.

The Mk IX provided an alternative solution to the problem. It used the same Merlin 60/70 series engines at the Mk VIII, but in a slightly modified Mark Vc fuselage. This allowed for rapid development and production of the new model. Work on fitting the more power Merlin 61 with its two-stage supercharger had begun in the summer of 1941, and on 27 September Spitfire N3297 (the only Mk III Spitfire built) flew for the first time (the same month as the FW 190 became operational). Three marks of Spitfire would be developed from this experimental aircraft. The Mk VII and Mk VIII would use a redesigned fuselage, and this meant that they would take too long to produce. The crisis was so serious that the RAF was forced to stop all but the most important daytime operations over occupied Europe in November 1941. When operations were resumed again, between March and June 1942, loses were unacceptably heavy, and had to be stopped again.

Work began with great urgency on an interim Spitfire. The aim was to fit the Merlin 61 engine to a Mk V fuselage while making as few changes as possible. The first test aircraft flew on 26 February 1942. It was so successful that it was ordered into full production. Progress was rapid, and full production began in June 1942. It entered service the next month with No.64 squadron at Hornchurch.

The Mk IX was a significant improvement on the Mk V. It had a top speed of 409 mph at 28,000 feet, an increase of 40 miles per hour. Its service ceiling rose from 36,200 feet to 43,000 feet. It could climb at 4,000 feet per minute. In July 1942 an early Mk IX was flown against a captured Fw 190A, and the two aircraft were discovered to have very similar capabilities. The RAF had its answer to the Fw 190 problem. When the Mk VIII appeared later in 1942, its performance was very similar to that of the Mk IX.

There were three main versions of the Mk IX. The standard F.IX used the Merlin 61, and was the only version produced until early 1943 1,255 F.Mk IXs were produced. It was then joined by a version powered by the Merlin 66. This engine produced its best performance at slightly lower altitudes than the Merlin 61. Spitfires equipped with this engine were designated LF Mk IX. This was the most numerous version of the Mk IX, with 4,010 produced. Finally, 410 high altitude HF.Mk IXs were produced using the Merlin 70 engine, with an improved performance at high altitude.

The majority of Mk IXs of all types used the standard “c” wing, which could carry four 20mm cannon or two 20mm cannon and four .303in machine guns. From 1944 some were built with the “e” wing, which replaced the four .303in machine guns with two .50in heavy machine guns.

The Mk IX (and very similar Mk XVI) was produced in greater numbers than any other type of Spitfire. 284 were converted from older versions, 557 built by Supermarine around Southampton, and another 5117 at Castle Bromwich. With the 1053 Mk XVIs (the same aircraft with a Packard Merlin engine) that amounts to a total of 7,011 aircraft.

The Mk IX replaced the Mk V from June 1942. It allowed the RAF to go back onto the offensive in occupied Europe, and resume the “circus”, “ramrod” and “rodeo” raids. Its first combat success came on 30 July 1942, when an Spitfire Mk IX shot down a Fw 190. Amongst other notable achievements, the Mk IX took part in the highest altitude combat of the Second World War, when it intercepted a Ju 86R at 43,000 feet over Southampton on 12 September 1942. On 5 October 1944 Spitfire Mk IXs of 401 Squadron were the first allied aircraft to shoot down an Me 262 Jet. The Mk IX remained in service until the end of the war, even after the appearance of the Griffon powered Mk XIV.