Date:	Tuesday 7 October 1947
Time:
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk III
Owner/operator:	222 (Natal) Sqn RAF
Registration:	EE423
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Slindon, near Arundel, West Sussex, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Tangmere, West Sussex
Destination airport:	RAF Tangmere, West Sussex

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor EE423: Delivered to 222 (Natal) Squadron, RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex 16.11.45 coded 'ZD-K' later 'ZD-L'.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) when engine cut and undercarriage jammed. Aircraft overshot and bellylanded in a field, at Slindon, Arundel, West Sussex, 7.10.47

The starboard engine failed due to turbine blade failure, and a fracture of the fuel burners. The pilot was unable to lower the undercarriage, due to problems with the hydraulic pumps, which were driven from power supplied by the (now defunct) starboard engine. An overshot from the initial approach to RAF Tangmere was made, but the aircraft was then force landed in a field. The Station Commander of RAF Tangmere recommended the pilot for a commendation due to his skill and cool handling of the emergency situation.

Pilot - Pilot II R Desborough - survived OK

Damage initially assessed as Cat B. Not repaired, re-cat E 1.11.47 and struck off charge.

It is notable that the above incident was one of two (the other involved Meteor EE457) that involved the same type of aircraft (Gloster Meteor) of the same unit (222 Squadron) on the same day (7-10-47) at the same airbase (RAF Tangmere) and the cause of the accident was the same (engine failure due to turbine blade failure)

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 1946-1949 by Colin Cummings p.341
3. 222 Sqn ORB for the period 1-6-1946 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2475: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2505113
4. Royal Air Force Aircraft EA100-EZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
5. Air Britain Aeromilitaria Summer 2009: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_2009.pdf p.76
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._222_Squadron_RAF
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Tangmere#Postwar

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
08-May-2023 16:24	Dr. John Smith	Added
08-May-2023 18:27	Nepa	Updated