FW 200 Interceptor Units

[Graham Boak]

The prime mod of a PRU Spitfire is to take out the armament and fit a leading-edge fuel tank in its place. That's why PR Spitfires are refuelled from the wingtip. So however has spread this story doesn't understand the PRU mods, which makes it unlikely to be genuine. Or whoever thought it up in the first place.... Not all ideas are good ideas.

Armed long range Spitfires would require tanks in the leading edge inboard, as were introduced on the later Mk.VIII. Additional tanks could be provided aft of the pilot but this was severely destabilising and would have required a larger tailplane with reinforced fuselage: not a simple mod. An aft tank did come into use with the Mk.XIV, because the heavier engine permitted more weight behind the pilot, but this only served to counteract the increased fuelflow of the Griffon.

The Beaufighter idea is much more sensible, and fighter patrols over the Bay of Biscay are well recorded. However, I don't think the Fw 200's route came within close range of either Northern Ireland or Lands End, being a track around the Irish Free State and ending up in Norway.