Date:	Friday 6 December 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF.XVI
Owner/operator:	63 Sqn RAF
Registration:	TE398
MSN:	CBAF IX.4556
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Middle Wallop, Hampshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:
Destination airport:	RAF Middle Wallop, Hampshire

Narrative:
TE398: Spitfire LF.XVI. MSN CBAF IX.4556. Built at CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M266 engine. To 29MU RAF High Ercall, Shropshire 20-6-45. To 65 Squadron, RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire 15-3-46. To 164 Squadron 29-8-46. Unit renumbered 63 Squadron 3-9-46

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 6-12-46: engine failed on approach Middle Wallop, Hampshire. The connecting rod in the No. 5 cylinder fractured, causing damage to the big end and main engine bearings. The Spitfire touched down heavily on the perimeter track at Middle Wallop, and the port undercarriage collapsed. This was immediately followed by the starboard undercarriage, after which the starboard mainplane was ripped off.

Damage assessed as Cat E(FA) 6-12-46. Not repaired, and struck of charge 18-4-47

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.57. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.254
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 63 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-9-1946 to 31-1-1947: National Archives File AIR 27/2427/19: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8420234
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.104: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p112.html
6. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/TE398
7. https://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/hancrash.html
8. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/90873-te398
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._65_Squadron_RAF#Post_war
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._164_Squadron_RAF
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._63_Squadron_RAF#Post-war:_enter_the_jets
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AAC_Middle_Wallop#RAF_/_RNAS_use

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
24-May-2023 00:31	Dr. John Smith	Added
24-May-2023 10:14	Dr. John Smith	Updated
24-May-2023 15:45	Nepa	Updated
10-Sep-2023 12:02	Dr. John Smith	Updated