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Spitfire Mk. VII EN474 flying over the plains of Ohio in the summer of 1943. This aircraft, the 13th production high-altitude Mk. VII was supplied to USA for evaluation. In the USAAF service, the aircraft retained its British camouflage and serial, although it was later assigned the evaluation number FE-400.

An air intake for the Marshall compressor for the pressurised cockpit placed below the starboard exhausts was the characteristic feature of the type, as was the Lobelle type sliding canopy.

This aircraft survived the war. Retired to the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in 1947, EN474 is today the world's only surviving example of the pressurised high-altitude Spitfire. [USAF]

Labels: Spitfire Mk. VII