That Spit was based near the Suez Canal and was used to intercept ultra high-flying Ju-86P reconnaissance aircraft. All the paint, machine guns, armour and radio were stripped out to reduce weight and drag. The idea was that it would take off in formation with a radio-equipped Spit whose pilot would receive ground control instructions for the intercept. Once the enemy was sighted the lighter Spit would then climb to intercept. The first Ju 86P to be brought down was by a similarly-modified Spit V over Egypt at 49,000 ft in August 1942 and after two more were lost the Luftwaffe stopped sending them.
