Date:	Friday 1 March 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Consolidated B-24J Liberator B Mk VI
Owner/operator:	59 Sqn RAF
Registration:	KK248
MSN:	1614
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Consolidated B-24J-95-CF Liberator: Ex-USAAF 44-44319 [MSN 1614] to RAF as Liberator B.VI KK248, and issued to 59 Squadron, RAF: After the war, 59 Squadron was attached to Transport Command, flying troops to India from September 1945 until 15-6-46, when the squadron was disbanded.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 1-3-1946 in a take-off accident at RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire.

During the take-off run, the co-pilot raised the undercarriage prematurely, before the aircraft had become safely "established" in the air. The aircraft then sank back onto the runway at RAF Waterbeach, and the undercarriage collapsed. The aircraft then slid along the runway, severely damaging the underside of the airframe. Liberator KK248 was therefore written off as "damaged beyond economic repair", and Struck Off Charge as FACE (Flying Accident Cat. E). Despite the aircraft being wrecked, the crew escaped uninjured.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.33. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft KA100-KZ999
3. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.85
4. 59 Squadron ORB (Operations Record Book) (Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1-1-46 to 31-5-46: File AIR 27/2425 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2505063
5. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_4.html
6. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.94: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
7. https://number59squadron.com/liberator.html
8. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=BZ941
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._59_Squadron_RAF#History
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Waterbeach#RAF_units_and_aircraft_%E2%80%93_Transport_Command

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-Jun-2021 23:28	Dr. John Smith	Added
18-Jun-2021 08:16	Kvitko	Updated [Operator, Operator]
18-Jun-2021 23:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
12-Jul-2023 18:59	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Source]]
26-Jul-2023 13:15	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[Source]]]