This repaint, made for the FlyingIron Simulations Spitfire Mk.IXc, depicts the restored Spitfire Mk.IX PT879, registered as G-PTIX, owned and operated by Peter Teichman (Hangar 11 Collection), based at North Weald Airfield, UK. The aircraft, which is one of only two Spitfires known to survive which were provided through Lend-Lease to Russia during World War Two, is painted as it looked when it served with the Soviet Air Force in 1944-1945.

(This is a re-release of a repaint I originally released 4 years ago. If you still have the original repaint installed, it is worth replacing with this re-release as there have been a few updates made.)

This Spitfire Mk.IX, given the RAF serial number PT879, was originally completed at the Vickers-Supermarine Castle Bromwich Aeroplane Factory, located near Birmingham, UK, on August 4, 1944. Following flight testing it became one of the 1,185 Mk.IX Spitfires provided to Russia under the Lend-Lease program. In October 1944 it was sent by sea from Cardiff, Wales, to the Russian port at Murmansk. There it joined 2nd Squadron, 767th Regiment, 122nd Division of the Soviet Air Force, operating in the Murmansk region. On May 18th, 1945, the aircraft was involved in a mid-air collision with another Spitfire, over the Kola Peninsula. The pilot of PT879, Lt. Semyonov, was able to successfully bale out. At the time of the incident the aircraft only had little more than 18 flying hours.

In 1997, the battered but well-preserved wreckage of PT879 was recovered from Russia for Spitfire restorer, Peter Monk, and brought to the UK. In 2001, Peter Teichman, owner of Hangar 11 Collection at North Weald, UK, acquired the airframe. After remaining in storage for several years, Teichman contracted with Airframe Assemblies on the Isle of Wight to rebuild the fuselage. With the fuselage completed in 2014, and some years spent collecting parts, the project was eventually put in the hands of the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar for completion. Using as many parts as possible from the original airframe, the rebuilt/restored PT879 was finally completed in October 2020. Highly experienced warbird pilot, Pete Kynsey, flew the aircraft for the first time on October 28th, flying out of Biggin Hill where the final restoration work had been completed. The highly-detailed and accurate restoration is finished as it is believed to have appeared in May 1945, complete with Russian markings hastily painted over the factory RAF markings. Owner, Peter Teichman, finally got to fly his pride and joy in mid November 2020, and following a bit more work, fitting bomb racks and replica 250 lb. bombs, Teichman was able to fly the Spitfire home to North Weald in January 2021. Today, the aircraft remains operational from North Weald Airfield.

Some details of this repaint to note, which match the authentic paintwork on the restoration:

- All of the small yellow 'PT879' serial number stencils applied across the wings, fillets, antenna and armor plate were found to have been applied on the original, unrestored airframe, and then copied/reapplied after the restoration. These stencils were applied to Spitfires that were shipped abroad, so that all of the parts would remain tied to one airframe through the stages of disassembly, shipping and reassembly.
- The RAF markings have been hastily painted-over with Russian paint and Soviet stars, copied as it has been done on the restoration, which used the original wartime paint on the original skins as a guide. The "not-quite-fully" painted-over RAF roundels on the upper wing surfaces provide an indication of the hurried nature in which the RAF markings were over-painted.
- The imperfect demarcation between the top and bottom colors of the camouflage is the way that Castle Bromwich-built Spitfire Mk.IX's, including PT879, came from the factory. They did not have the paint masked, with a sharp edge between the topside and bottom-side colors, like Supermarine did at their factory.
- All of the factory-applied stencils are specifically accurate to Castle Bromwich production. For instance, the "font/type-face" of the wing walkway and wing trestle stencils are unique to Castle Bromwich production.
- Non-slip tape has been added to the port-side wing, just as it is on the restored aircraft. The black portion is accurate to original/wartime, while the dark green-painted portion is modern.
- The wing walkway lines match those applied to Castle Bromwich-built Spitfires, which were 1" thick, vs. 3/4" thick on Supermarine-produced Spitfires.

(Thank you to Steve Atkin (Warbird Colour) for his invaluable assistance with the research for this repaint.)

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Spitfire Mk.IX PT879 (G-PTIX)

This repaint for the FlyingIron Simulations Spitfire Mk.IXc depicts the restored Spitfire Mk.IX PT879, registered as G-PTIX and operated by the Hangar 11 Collection at North Weald, UK. The aircraft is uniquely known for its service with the Soviet Air Force during World War II as part of the Lend-Lease program. The repaint features historically accurate markings, including hastily applied Soviet insignia over factory RAF roundels, and authentic stencil details from the restoration. The livery accurately reflects the aircraft's appearance in May 1945, based on extensive historical research.

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