Photos

C type

Also known as the "universal wing" the new design was standard on the majority of Spitfires built from mid 1942. This wing was structurally modified to reduce labour and manufacturing time plus it was designed to allow mixed armament options; A type, B type, or four 20 mm Hispano cannon.

The undercarriage mountings were redesigned and the undercarriage doors were bowed in cross section allowing the legs to sit lower in the wells, eliminating the upper-wing blisters over the wheel wells and landing gear pivot points. Stronger undercarriage legs were raked 2 inches (5.08 cm) forward, making the Spitfire more stable on the ground and reducing the likelihood of the aircraft tipping onto its nose.[4] During production of the Mk VIII and Mk IX a new undercarriage leg was introduced which had external v-shaped "scissor-links" fitted to the front of the leg; this also led to small changes in the shape of the undercarriage bay and leg fairings. Because the Spitfire was no longer to be used as a night fighter, the retractable landing lights were no longer fitted.

The Hispano Mk IIs were now belt fed from box magazines allowing for 120 rpg (the "Chattellerault" system). The fairings over the Hispano barrels were shorter and there was usually a short rubber stub covering the outer cannon port. Redesigned upper wing gun bay doors incorporated "teardrop" shaped blisters to clear the cannon feed motors, and the lower wings no longer had the gun bay heating vents outboard of the gunbays. The first series of Spitfire Mk IXs retained the bay doors first used on Spitfire VCs; these incorporated large blisters to clear the feed motors of two Hispano cannons. All later Spitfires had smaller, more streamlined blisters.[4] In order to provide room for the belt feed system of the cannon, the inner machine gun bays were moved outboard to between ribs 13 and 14.

Several versions of the Spitfire, starting with the HF Mk VIIs had extra 13 gallon integral fuel tanks added to the wing leading edges between the wing-root and the inboard cannon bay.

Although many earlier Spitfires had been modified to carry bomb racks capable of carrying 250 lb (113 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.