The Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX: The Belgian and Dutch squadrons

The Spitfire Mk.IX is one of the best known versions of the Spitfire. However, it should never really have existed. Its creation can be attributed to the appearance of the Focke-Wulf Fw190 over western Europe at the end of 1941. Royal Air Force pilots were quick to state the Spitfire Mk.V, the frontline RAF fighter at the time in Great Britain, was outclassed in many aspects by the new German fighter. The RAF, therefore, had to urgently find a solution to improve the Spitfire and with a new...