Date:	Monday 4 July 1949
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk XVI
Owner/operator:	203 AFS RAF
Registration:	TE355
MSN:	Desford
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Chivenor, Devon (EGDC)
Destination airport:	RAF Stradishall, Haverhill, Suffolk

Narrative:
Spitfire LF.XVI TE355: Built by Desford with Merlin M266 engine. Delivered to the RAF at 9 MU Cosford, Shropshire 10-7-45. Issued to 203 AFS 2-3-48. Damaged in a Cat. C accident 10/03/1949; repaired on site

Written off (damaged beyond repair) when swung on take-off and hit obstruction RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon 4-7-49. The pilot failed to correct the swing off the runway, the aircraft hit an obstruction, and the undercarriage collapsed

Not repaired; re-cat E (scrap) 6-10-49 and Struck Off Charge

203 AFS was formed at RAF Keevil on 1 July 1947 by redesignating No. 61 OTU. It was disbanded to become No. 226 Operational Conversion Unit RAF at RAF Stradishall but reformed at RAF Driffield one day later. It was finally disbanded on 1 June 1954 still at Driffield.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.516
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 203 AFS RAF ORB for the period 1-6-1947 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) AIR29/1771: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101481
5. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/TE355
5. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/90847-te355
6. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=TE335
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Chivenor#1946%E2%80%941949

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

24 November 1948

TE435

631 Sqn RAF

0

Harlech Beach, Harlech, Merionethshire, Wales

w/o

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-Aug-2023 20:08	Dr. John Smith	Updated