Thanks David, your information provided a great starting point for me to go down the Spitfire rabbit hole.
I've been able to work out the following summary. Some of the dates overlap, however, so there remains some uncertainty:
1945 - Manufactured at Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory as an LF Mk. XVIe under contract B981687/39, unit ID IX4218
Spitfire production summary [1], [5]
"LF" indicates it was a low altitude fighter
"e" indicates "E" wing shape, can accommodate 4 x 20mm cannons, or 2 x 20mm cannons and 2 x .50 calibre Browning machine guns [6]
Engine - Merlin 266 (Packard, USA) [2]
23/3/1945 - Maintenance unit, RAF North Weald, instructional airframe [1]
1946/49 - Auxiliary Air Force, 604 squadron, RAF Hendon, as NG-U (NG being 604's
squadron code [5], [3], [4])
1949/51 - Unknown
1951/63 - Air Training Corps, Tynemouth, Newcastle [5]
1963/64 - RAF Dishforth: to be dumped as scrap [5]
1964/75 - Acquired by Percy Sheppard/The Spitfire Inn, Leominster (displayed outside pub, cockpit reconstructed) [6]
1975 - Worral Granger/ Connie Motors, Toronto ONT [5]
1975 - Larry Higgins/ Thunderbird Aviation, Deer Valley AZ [5]
1976 - David Boyd & Hurley, Bowler, Tulsa, OK [5]
1978/86 - Ray Stutsman, Elkhart, IN [5]
05/1985-2004 - William C. Anderson, Palymyra NY, Geneseo, NY 5
2004 - Fuselage inspected Catfield UK, dep. for Belgium 22.3.04 [5]
2004/2013 Eric Vormezeele, Brasschaat, Belgium: restoration project [5]
Notes:
[1]
production page 110
[2]
TD135
[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._604_Squadron_RAF
[4]
No. 604 Squadron (RAF) during the Second World War
[5]
http://www.goodall.com.au/warbirds-d...upermarine.pdf
[6]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superm...ered_variants)
There is a watermarked photo of NG-U on this page, at unknown time and unknown location:
Search the Peter Keating Collection of aviation photographs : A Flying History
There is a photo of NG-U, looking the worse for wear, whilst at 346 squadron. Tynemouth in 1960/61. This would have been shortly before it was to have been sold as scrap.
http://www.theaeroplanecollection.or...es/2014-11.pdf
There is what purports to be a photo of NG-U under restoration in the US at
Supermarine Spitfire Registry - A Warbirds Resource Group Site, but to my eyes it does not seem to have a cut-down fuselage or bubble canopy. Maybe its the wrong aircraft, or maybe it's just the photo perspective. I don't know.
For what it's worth, Wikipedia says "All production Mk XVIs had clipped wings". However photos exist of various Mk XVIs that don't have clipped wings (CR-S, AU-J). I'm guessing that is an error in Wikipedia, unless the contrary examples have been re-winged.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superm...ered_variants)
Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk XVIe - G-OXVI - Flying Legends - Touchdown Aviation
[Edit] I've since established that AU-J definitely started life with clipped wings, but now wears rounded wings. It was accident damaged a couple of times, so perhaps its "new" wings are a legacy of those incidents. I don't know about other Mk XVIs with rounded wings, although SL721/JMR definitely seems to have rounded wings in its early wartime days:
http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNe...Superstar.aspx)
[Edit 1.5] The Spitfire now flying as AU-J, with rounded wing tips, is a "ring in". It is s/n SL721 and its originally identiy was JMR. It has been repainted as AU-J by the current owner. The "real" AU-J was s/n TB886 and flew with RCAF 421 Red Indian Squadron.
[Edit 2] I've also seen pictures of XVIs with high fuselages and conventional canopies. Am I correct in saying that a MK XVI could have clipped or conventional wing tips, and a high or low fuselage?