OK let's clarify for everyone what you are looking at with the Spit LFXVIe
It's the same fuselage, wing, armament of the late war LFIXe but has the American built Packard Merlin 266 instead of the Rolls Royce Merlin 66 of the LFIXe.
First image is of the actual Spit 16 that the AH Spit is skinned as. It's Spitfire LFXVIe TB476 21-D of 443 "Hornet" squadron RCAF, flown by S/L Art Sager in April 1945.
Clipped E wing, tall broad chord rudder, fixed tail wheel, wing racks along with a centerline hard point for bomb or drop tank.
Second image is of a Spitfire LFIXe PT961 that flew with 126 squadron in combat after this production photo was taken.
Note the clipped E wing, fixed tail wheel, bomb racks on the wing etc. All the same as the LFXVIe except this bird has the earlier rudder version.
Hah! Its not the same! The rudder is different! But hold on a sec. The late build IXes also could have that tail too as the image below clearly shows. These are a bit more rare as they are HFIXes of 124 squadron, but note they all have the same rudder as the image of the LFXVIe. ON-B is serial PV303 in case the serial number junkies want to double check that it's an IX with a tall tail.
And just for fun, here's a clipped LFVIII with the Universal wing and retractable tail wheel, short span ailerons and Merlin 66
And last but not least, my favorite Spit, the XII that had that tall tail and clipped wing, way back in February of 43 when 41 Squadron began to convert to them.
