Date:	Thursday 23 October 1947
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF.XVI
Owner/operator:	203 AFS RAF
Registration:	TE406
MSN:	CBAF IX.4566
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Brent Moor, Dartmoor, near Buckfastleigh, Teignbridge, Devon, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon
Destination airport:

Narrative:
TE406: Spitfire LF.XVI, MSN CBAF IX.4566. Built at Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at Desford with Merlin M266 engine. Delivered to 9MU, RAF Cosford, Shropshire 9-7-45. To 61OTU, RAF Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire 7-3-46. To 203 AFS RAF Chivenor, Devon 1-7-47

Written off (destroyed) 23-10-47 when flew into high ground in bad weather at Brent Moor, Dartmoor, near Buckfastleigh, Teignbridge, Devon. The pilot became disorientated when on a sortie from RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon. While searching for a landmark in order to get a visual 'fix', he mistook the estuaries of the rivers Kingsbridge and Dart while flying in adverse weather conditions. The aircraft then flew into cloud, and, while attempting to make a 180-degree turn, the aircraft flew into high ground at Brent Moor, Dartmoor. The aircraft was destroyed.

Crew of Spitfire TE406:
P/O (58768) Alexander Robert Graham (Pilot) RAF: killed on active service 23-10-47, buried at St. Kentigern Churchyard, Crosthwaite, Cumberland.

Aircraft destroyed, and formally struck off charge as Cat. E(FA) 5-12-47.

Buckfastleigh is a market town and civil parish in Devon, England situated beside the Devon Expressway (A38) at the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. It is part of Teignbridge and, for ecclesiastical purposes, lies within the Totnes Deanery. It is 18 miles (29 km) east-northeast of Plymouth, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Exeter

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.345
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain 1985)
4. 203 AFS ORB for the period 1-6-47 to 31-12-50: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/1771: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101481
5. "RAF Write offs 1947": Air Britain Aeromilitaria No.2 1978: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1978.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p112.html
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2695723/alexander-robert-graham/
8. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/90878-te406
9. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/TE406
10. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=TE406
11. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=17413
12. https://2ndww.blogspot.com/2012/10/pilot-officer-alexander-r-graham-1926.html
13. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141581428/alexander-robert-graham
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Chivenor#1946%E2%80%941949

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-May-2023 19:40	Dr. John Smith	Added
07-May-2023 21:38	Nepa	Updated
27-Aug-2023 22:06	Dr. John Smith	Updated