Supermarine Spitfire XI

The Supermarine Spitfire was designed by the Schneider Cup winning Reginal J Mitchell and first flew in March 1936. The aircraft was originally going to be called the Shrew but was quickly renamed as the Spitfire. The Spitfire used a unique elliptical wing shape that combined with innovative sunken rivets gave the aircraft a high-top speed than most, if not all, other fighters of the time. The Spitfire was constantly developed during its life in service with multiple air arms around the world and whilst the Rolls-Royce Merlin powered initial versions, latter versions used the far more powerful Griffon engine. In total 20,351 Spitfires were built and remained in military service until 1961 when the type was retired by the Irish Air Corps.

Developed from the mark VII, VIII and IX fighter variants of the Spitfire, the PR.XI was developed to fly at over 30,000ft at 400mph using the Rolls-Royce Merlin 61, 63, 63A, and 70 versions – the latter specifically being developed for high altitude. Entering production in 1942, the aircraft were completely unarmed to maximise performance and wartime RAF units adopted the motto ‘alone, unarmed and unafraid’. Owned by the Aircraft Restoration Company, Spitfire PR.XI PL983 returned to flight in its original configuration and paint scheme in 2018. It is one of only two PR.XI Spitfires left airworthy worldwide and became famous during the COVID-19 Pandemic for performing flypasts over hospitals and other key medical facilities adorned with the words ‘THANK U NHS’ painted under the wings.

As part of our ‘Eyes in the Skies’ theme, the Aircraft Restoration Company will be sending their Spitfire PL983 to take part in our flying display at RIAT25. In a unique pairs demonstration, this Merlin-powered Spitfire will be joined by the Griffon-powered Spitfire PS853 owned by the Rolls-Royce Heritage Flight marking the evolution of the photo-reconnaissance Spitfire during the Second World War.

For more information on the history of Spitfire PL983 please visit the ARC website at this link: www.aircraftrestorationcompany.com/spitfire-pl983

Photo Credit: Aerial Collective