Seeking Peter Arnold re UB425

[Stein Meum]

Hello Peter,

While you're active replying to this topic,may I go slightly off topic? Have you by any chance devised a means to identify tear-drop canopy Spit Ix's,XIV's and XVI's from their serial numbers?

Stein

[Alex Smart]

hello Paul,

Yes that's the one.

said to have been 4X-ACG

I have had e-mail from Buzz to the effect that this P40 served in the PAO
so unlikely to have been in Israel.

Don't know about 4X-ACG being a C46 register either.

Can anyone confirm and link it to a specific C46 ?

Thanks

Alex

[Franek Grabowski]

Stein

Originally Posted by Stein Meum

While you're active replying to this topic,may I go slightly off topic? Have you by any chance devised a means to identify tear-drop canopy Spit Ix's,XIV's and XVI's from their serial numbers?

There were practically no teardrop Spitfire IXs (I know of two) and there is no mean of identification by the serial. There are blocks of serials that are known to contain teardrop aircraft, that is all.

[Stein Meum]

Thanks Franek,
This is the "official" version but I believe at least for a large number of MK.XIV's there is a possibility of going by serial numbers:The 'MV'-series consist of alternating standard and teardrop canopies,the teadrops having even numbers commencing with MV256 or 8,the standard hood versions having odd numbers.This would indicate parallel production lines as fuselage jigs were different.By researching other Spit production sites,maybe a 2-line production could be discovered,thereby increasing the possibility of devising a means to identify teardrop Spits.

The last kill by a Norwegian pilot in WW2 downed a FW190 while flying Spit XIV's with 41 Sqn.May 1st 1945.Hence my interest in this subject.

Stein