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Many Mk V Spitfires equipped to carry a pair of 250-lb bombs attached beneath their wings were used as makeshift bombers, raiding Sicilian fortifications and air bases, and releasing their bombs at 7,000 feet as they dived at an optimum angle of 60 degrees. [166]
Each Spitfire carried a 250lb bomb under each wing and a 500lb bomb under the fuselage. Very occasionally, if they were pin-pointing locations further away, they would carry only the two 250lb bombs or the 500lb bomb in order to save on fuel.
Although many earlier Spitfires had been modified to carry bomb racks capable of carrying 250 lb (110 kg) bombs the first Spitfires to be specifically modified for the fighter-bomber role (known as Modification 1209) were those of the Second Tactical Air Force. The first Mk IX Spitfires started being used in the role in June 1944. [7]
Audio recording of Spitfire fly-past at the 2011 family day at RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire Supermarine Spitfire G-AWGB landing at Biggin Hill Airport, June 2024. The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II.
The first Spitfire modified to carry bombs was a Malta-based Vc, EP201, which was able to carry one 250 lb (110 kg) bomb under each wing. In a note to the Air Ministry Air Vice Marshal Keith Park wrote "[w]e designed the bomb gear so that there was no loss of performance when the bombs were dropped.
The first test of the aircraft was in intercepting V1 flying bombs and the Mk XIV was the most successful of all Spitfire marks in this role. When 150 octane fuel was introduced in mid-1944 the "boost" of the Griffon engine was able to be increased to +25 lbs (80.7"), allowing the top speed to be increased by about 30 mph (26 kn; 48 km/h) to ...
On entering combat in August this first cannon armed Spitfire failed to create an impact, with the guns often jamming and unable to fire. When it did work, however, the Hispano was an effective weapon, with its shells easily able to penetrate the armour plating and self-sealing fuel tanks of Luftwaffe aircraft. [17]
They were the first Spitfire Sqn to carry a bomb load of 1000lbs per aircraft and dropped 110 tons of bombs during the course of the war. The Sqn claimed 29 victories over enemy aircraft with a further 15 probable destroyed.