The Spitfire PR.XIX was the Griffon-powered successor to the Merlin PR.XI. The prototype aircraft for the Type 389 PR.XIX was SW777. The first 22 aircraft, with the Griffon 65 (serials RM626 to RM647), were allocated Type 389 and were all delivered to RAF Benson in Oxfordshire between April and June 1944. These 22 aircraft lacked the pressurised cockpit of later Spitfire PR.XIXs. All pressurised PR.XIXs, with the Griffon 66 engine, were Type 390 aircraft. The first of the Type 390 aircraft left the production line in early 1945 and delivered to the RAF in May, but were too late to see active service on the European front.

Total internal fuel capacity of the PR.XIX was 252 Imp gallons (1,145 litres). As in the PR.XI both wings had leading edge tanks with a capacity of 66½ Imp gallons each. In addition to these tanks, the PR.XIX also had a 19 Imp gallon (86 litre) inter-spar tank in each wing.
The PR.XIX also had provision to carry an additional 45 (204 litre) or 90 Imp gallon (409 litre) overload tank. Both tanks were commonly used on operations. A 170 Imp gallon ferry tank could also be fitted.


The eyes of the Spitfire PR.XIX:
The same camera configuration as in the late-production PR.XI could be installed in the PR.XIX. The universal camera installation allowed a quick change of camera combinations.

Typical configurations were:
One F 52 36inch (91,4cm) vertical camera and two F 52 20inch (50,8cm) cameras in the rear fuselage vertically fanned 5°-20' to port and starboard of the centreline and staggered to each other on the centreline.

An other combination was: two fanned 14inch (35,6cm) F 24s and one oblique F 24 8 or 14inch (20,3 or 35,6cm) facing to port, although it seemed it was not normal operational practice to fit all three cameras together.

Like some late-production PR.XIs, the PR.XIX could also carry two F 24 5inch cameras, one in each wing, but this required the removal of the inter-spar fuel tanks.

The last RAF PR.XIX came into service early in 1946; the type served with operational units in the Far East until April 1954. Back home, the Temperature and Humidity (THUM) Flight was formed in April 1951, tasked with daily meteorological flights to 30,000 feet (9,130 metres) for the Central Forecasting Office at Dunstable. The Flight had been allocated three PR.XIXs: PM549, PM577 and PM652. At a later stage three other PR.XIXs served the Flight: PS915, PM631 and PS853. The first two aircraft are still in RAF service with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at RAF Coningsby; PS853 (G-RRGN) is owned by Rolls Royce and is also airworthy.