Of all the roles undertaken by the Supermarine Spitfire, one task in which it excelled was photographic reconnaissance (‘photo-recce’ or ‘PR’). The final variant of the Spitfire family to be built specifically as a specialist photo-recce aircraft, optimised for flight at high speed and high altitude, was the Spitfire PR Mk XIX. Of the total of 20,341 Spitfires produced only 225 were built as PR XIXs and some might argue that these are the most elegant-looking of all Spitfires. Today, there are only four examples of this ultimate Spitfire in the world in airworthy condition, two of which are proudly operated by the BBMF.

The Spitfire PR Mk XIX was completely unarmed, carrying additional fuel in place of the guns of the Spitfire PR XIX on the ground during wartime fighter versions giving it an operational range of 1,500 miles. The Rolls-Royce Griffon, 37-litre, V-12 engine, producing over 2,000 horse power, provided the power fundamental to the incredible performance of the Mk XIX. The combination of the ‘slippery’, low-drag airframe and the enormous engine endowed the aircraft with the ability to cruise routinely at 280 mph at 26,000ft using only 27% of the available power, and to reach 370 mph at 40,000ft and 445 mph at lower altitudes. After the initial batch of 22 production aircraft, Mk XIXs were fitted with a pressurised cockpit, allowing prolonged flights at high altitude. The aircraft’s operational equipment consisted of split pairs of 20-inch or 36-inch focal length cameras for vertical or oblique photography, taking overlapping ‘stereo’ (3-D) images for intelligence gathering purposes.

This aircraft was a very different beast from the point defence fighter that the Spitfire was originally designed to be, and the pilots who flew these potentially crucial but high-risk aerial spying sorties needed very different skills from those of the fighter pilot. Dog-fighting and an aggressive temperament had no place in the world of photo-recce. As the PR Spitfires were unarmed it was impossible to engage the enemy and the pilots’ aim was to avoid being engaged if at all possible.

Height and speed were the PR Spitfire pilot’s salvation, but flying 7 miles above enemy territory, German Messerschmitt Me 262 covering 6 miles every minute, required great discipline and skill. Condensation vapour trails, ‘contrails’ in pilot jargon, had to be avoided as these would give the clearest indication of the Spitfire’s presence and track to the enemy. The Spitfire’s low wing loading meant it had a great degree of agility at all altitudes and could turn to avoid engagement by high speed interceptors, such as the German Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter or the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered fighter, which, with their higher wing loading, would be unable to turn so tightly and would overshoot. Against slower opposition a good escape option was a gentle and persistent dive, building up speed to outrun the enemy.

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