Rare Photo-Recon Spitfire Variant Hits The Market

A 1944 Supermarine Spitfire P.R. Mk XI is currently listed for sale at £2,950,000 through Platinum Fighter Sales. The aircraft, serial PL965, is one of the rarest surviving Spitfire variants and almost certainly one of the most historically documented. It flew over 40 operational sorties over Germany, France, and the Netherlands during WWII, is currently airworthy, and still carries its original Rolls-Royce Merlin 70 engine.

What Made the PR Mk XI Different

The photographic reconnaissance Spitfires were built for an entirely different mission than the fighter variants most people know. The PR Mk XI operated above 30,000 feet, was capable of speeds exceeding 400 mph, and carried no guns. It is the fastest Merlin-powered Spitfire ever built.

Instead of armament, it carried cameras. Its entire survivability depended on speed and altitude rather than the ability to fight back. These aircraft typically flew alone, deep into enemy territory, photographing bomb damage, mapping targets, and collecting intelligence that the rest of the air campaign depended on.

PL965 was built at Aldermaston in mid-1944 and initially processed through No. 9 Maintenance Unit at Cosford before joining No. 16 Squadron operating from Melsbroek Airfield in Belgium as part of the Second Tactical Air Force. Its operational record includes missions to Bremen, Hamburg, Kiel, and Berlin, all conducted unarmed at high altitude.

The Aircraft Today

PL965 has accumulated 803 total hours since. The original Merlin 70 engine, serial number 70/182411, was reinstalled during major restoration work between 2009 and 2010 and overhauled in 2022 by Retro Track & Air in the UK. It has logged only 16 hours since that overhaul. The Dowty-Rotol propeller was also overhauled in 2022 with the same hours logged. Flying a Spitfire with its original wartime powerplant installed is genuinely uncommon. Most flying examples have replacement engines.

The aircraft operates under a Permit to Fly, is based at North Weald in the UK, and last flew on October 1 2025.

Avionics are minimal: a Becker VHF radio and transponder. The interior remains in original wartime configuration including the original seat. The head armor carries the signature of wartime pilot Norman Godfrey DFC. Original reconnaissance cameras and period equipment have been reinstalled. The aircraft is finished in PRU Blue with its wartime R for Robert markings.

Its History After the War

After the war PL965 spent time in Germany, was sold to the Royal Netherlands Air Force in 1947, and eventually became a ground training airframe at Deelen. By 1960 it was on static display at the museum in Overloon, Netherlands, where it remained for nearly three decades. It returned to the UK in 1987 when the late Nick Grace initiated restoration work at MAPS Ltd in Rochester. The aircraft returned to flight in December 1992 with test flying conducted by Mark Hanna.

Since returning to the air PL965 has appeared at airshows across the UK, Europe, and the United States. It was the subject of the 1996 Osprey publication Spitfire in Blue and has appeared in film and television productions. It joined the Hangar 11 Collection at North Weald in 2004 where it is currently based.