Date:	Tuesday 5 July 1949
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk XVIII
Owner/operator:	39 MU RAF
Registration:	TP270
MSN:	6S 676362
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near RAF Silloth, Cumberland, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Ferry/positioning
Departure airport:	RAF Colerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Destination airport:	RNAS Abbotsinch, Renfrew, Paisley, Ayrshire

Narrative:
TP270: Spitfire FR. XVIII, MSN 6S 676362. Built at Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at Aldermaston with Griffon G65 engine. Delivered to the RAF at 39MU at Colerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire 13-6-45.

Overshot emergency landing and crashed at RAF Silloth. Cumberland 5-7-49; the aircraft had lost pneumatic pressure due to the failure of an air pressure pipe. The pilot had failed to inform Air Traffic Control of this problem, and overshot on his first approach to RAF Silloth. He then landed on another runway at RAF Silloth, despite red 'VEREY light' flares being fired, warning the pilot not to attempt a landing.

The Spitfire touched down, but overran the runway, and the pilot retracted the undercarriage in order to facilitate an emergency stop, to prevent the aircraft from going through the perimeter fence and across the B5032 road.

Spitfire TP270 was being ferried from 39 MU RAF Colerene to HMS Sanderling at RNAS Abbotsinch, Renfrew, Paisley, Glasgow in order to be crated for shipment overseas to the far east.
Not repaired; struck off charge as Cat E scrap 5-8-49.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.130 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
3. Last Take Off; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p.512
4. 39 MU RAF ORB for the period 1-1-1946 to 31-12-1949: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR29/1500: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101210
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p113.html
6. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/TP270
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Silloth

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
09-May-2023 21:19	Nepa	Updated
06-Aug-2023 19:56	Dr. John Smith	Updated