The Rolls-Royce Heritage Flight, Griffon 58/RG30 SMS engined Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIX, PS853, G-RRGN, displaying at The Imperial War Museum, Duxford Flying Finale 2023, in the hands of pilot Mark Discombe.

The Rolls-Royce Spitfire, PS853, is an unarmed, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Ordered as part of a batch of 200 Spiteful's, most were cancelled and PS853 was one of 79 Spitfire PR Mk XIXs built instead by Supermarine in Southampton. The Mk XIX was powered by the 2,050 hp Griffon 65 or 66 (this one now has a modified ex Shackleton Griffon 58 - also known as a Griffon RG30 Special Modification Spitfire or SMS) and represents the pinnacle of the Spitfire’s development in terms of speed and altitude capability with a top speed of 446mph (730 km/h) and a ceiling of 42,000ft (12,800 m).

PS853 was delivered to the Central Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, RAF Benson on 13 January 1945, going six weeks later to 16 Squadron at Melsbroek, Belgium and later Eindhoven, Holland. It stayed with 16 Squadron up until the end of the war and participated in “Operation Crossbow” to detect V1 and V2 launch sites. It later transferred to 268 Squadron, which reformed as 16 Squadron at Celle, Germany on 18 September 1945 and remained there until March 1946, when it returned to the UK. It then went into storage at 29 Maintenance Unit (MU), High Ercall. On 17 January 1949 it had a category B flying accident and on 9 March went to Supermarine for repairs.
In 1950, PS853 was one of several Mk XIX Spitfires converted to conduct meteorological research, with the Short Brothers & Harland operated Meteorological Flight - (Temperature and Humidity of the Upper Air Masses (THUM) Flight). On 13 July 1950 it went to 9 MU, for removal of the PR gear and installation of meteorological recording instruments. It was then delivered to Hooton Park. The flight moved to Woodvale in 1951. PS853 performed the last ever THUM sortie on 10 June 1957.
With sister XIXs PM631 and PS915, PS853 retired into ceremonial and display duties to form the RAF’s Historic Aircraft Flight (HAF), the forerunner of today’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF). It was flown to RAF Biggin Hill by Group Captain (later Air Vice Marshall) Johnny Johnson.
It went to 32 MU at St. Athan on 8 November 1957 and returned to Biggin Hill on 20 December, when it was moved to the Station Flight. It moved to RAF North Weald Station Flight on 1 March 1958 and then to the Central Fighter Establishment at West Raynham on 14 April, where it was struck off charge as Category 5c (Components - reduced to spares) on 1 May, but became a gate guard as 7548M. There it stayed until 1961, when it was surveyed and taken to 19 MU and restored to flying condition. It returned to West Raynham in November 1962 and in 1963 was used in combat trials with an English Electric Lightning at RAF Binbrook. It was then returned to the BBMF in 1964, where it remained until 1995. During 1985/6 an ex Shackleton Rolls Royce Griffon 58 engine was installed in the Spitfire at Coningsby, replacing its worn out Griffon 66. Various systems were also updated and its electrical system upgraded from 12 to 24 volts.

In 1996, Rolls-Royce bought PS853 to replace the original Rolls-Royce Spitfire XIV, G-ALGT which had been lost in an accident at Woodford on 27 June 1992. The new aircraft was registered as G-RRGN; the RR for obvious reasons and the GN after the drawing number prefix allocated to Griffon engine parts. The aircraft is painted as 'C' of No.16 Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 2nd Tactical Air Force - the identity PS853 had during the war.
The Rolls-Royce Spitfire, as PS853 is now popularly known is based in a dedicated hangar at East Midlands Airport, near Derby. It can be seen around the display circuit between April and October and during the winter months the aircraft undergoes an annual maintenance inspection programme.

In 2010 PS853 was taken out of service for its first major overhaul at the Aircraft Restoration Company and Historic Flying Limited at Duxford. The first post service flight was on 9 October 2012 and it was delivered back to Rolls-Royce in November 2012. Return to service was beset by an unfortunate accident on 7 January 2013, when the undercarriage was inadvertently retracted while on the runway at East Midlands. It occurred at very low speed but left damage to the propeller, wings and fuselage. The pilot was unharmed and the aircraft was recovered with no further incident.
The Spitfire was sent for repair at Duxford and returned to service six months later.

PS853 Technical Details
Wingspan: 11.23 m (36’ 10”)
Length: 9.95 m (32’ 8”)
Height: 3.85 m (12’ 8”)
Maximum Take Off Weight: 3909 kg (8600lbs)
Engine: 36.7 litre (2240 cu in) Rolls-Royce Griffon RG 30 SMS rated to 1193 kW (1600 hp at +12lbs boost)

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