Date:	Monday 24 March 1947
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk XVI
Owner/operator:	691 Sqn RAF
Registration:	TB520
MSN:	CBAF.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Middle Wallop, Hampshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Middle Wallop, Hampshire
Destination airport:	RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon

Narrative:
TB520: Spitfire LF XVI. Built by CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M266 engine. To 9MU RAF Cosford, Shropshire 21-1-45. To 453 Squadron RAAF 2-3-45. Aircraft coded "DGA" and was the 'personal' aircraft of (404795) Wing Commander Donald George Andrews DFC, of Southport, Queensland. Aircraft also named "The Green Gremlin" with appropriate nose art depicting the aforementioned Gremlin

To 183 Squadron, Wunsdorf, Hanover, Germany 14-6-45. To 587 Squadron, RAF Weston Zoyland, Bridgwater, Somerset 5-7-45. 587 Squadron moved to RAF Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex 1-6-46, and disbanded 16-6-46. To 691 Squadron, RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon 20-6-46 (four days later)

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 24-3-47 when hit soft sand on take-off and tipped up onto its nose at RAF Middle Wallop, Hampshire, causing the port undercarriage to collapse. The strong gusting crosswinds at Middle Wallop at the time may have been a contributing factor in causing the aircraft to drift off the correct line during the take-off run. The pilot was uninjured.

Damage initially assessed as Cat. C (Repairable); re-cat E(FA) and struck off charge 29-4-47

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1988)
2. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
3. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.302
4. ORB 691 Sqn RAF for the period 1-1-1946 to 28-2-1949: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2545: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2505183
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/p108.html
7. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/90525-tb520
8. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/TB520
9. https://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?20346-Donald-G-Andrews-Aus404795&p=119162#post119162
10. [Spitfire TB520 at RAF Matlaske 14-4-45]: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/UK2743
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._453_Squadron_RAAF#Europe
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._183_Squadron_RAF#Relocation_to_the_mainland_of_Europe
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._587_Squadron_RAF#History
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._691_Squadron_RAF
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AAC_Middle_Wallop#RAF_/_RNAS_use

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
19-May-2023 21:44	Dr. John Smith	Added
20-May-2023 12:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated
04-Sep-2023 16:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated