Date:	Wednesday 21 August 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire PR. XI
Owner/operator:	Levant CF RAF
Registration:	EN661
MSN:	CHA.4451
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Lydda, 4 miles north of Lod, Palestine -   Israel
Phase:	Taxi
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Lydda, Lod, Palestine
Destination airport:	RAF Lydda, Lod, Palestine
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
EN661: Spitfire PR. XI, MSN CHA.4451. Built by Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) at Chattis Hill with Merlin M63 engine. First Flown 18-6-43. To RAF Benson, Oxfordshire 23-6-43. To 1 OADU (Overseas Aircraft Delivery Unit) 2-8-43. To Miles Aircraft, Woodley, Reading 5-8-43 for modifications. To 680 Squadron at LG.219 (Kilo 8), Matariyah (Payne Field), Cairo, Egypt 12-8-43. To Middle East 30-9-43. To 132MU RAF Helwan, Egypt, 30-6-44. To RAF Levant Communications Flight by 31-3-45

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 21-8-46 when undercarriage collapsed while taxying at RAF Lydda, 4 miles North of Lod, Palestine. The aircraft had an undiscovered structural weakness in the undercarriage, caused by earlier damage to the mainplane attachment, where the undercarriage hinges were attached to the mainplane. While taxying at Lydda, Palestine, the aircraft was turned through 180 degrees, causing the starboard undercarriage oleo leg to fail, and the Spitfire to tip onto its nose.

Damage initially assessed as Cat. C (Repairable) 21-8-46. However, not repaired, re-cat E2 and Struck Off Charge 27-3-47

Lod Air Force Base, also Air Force Base 27, was an Israeli Air Force airfield that was part of the Ben Gurion International Airport, located approximately 7 km (4 miles) north of Lod; 8 km (5 mi) east-southeast of Tel Aviv. From 1938 to 1948 it was known as RAF Station Lydda while under British Royal Air Force control

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents: 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.201
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft EA100-EZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1988)
4. Levant CF RAF ORB for the period 1-4-1942 to 31-7-1947: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/894/2: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7162278
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.102: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._680_Squadron_RAF
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p036.html
8. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/EN661
9. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/91633-en661
10. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=EN661
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lod_Airbase#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
10-Jun-2023 18:08	Dr. John Smith	Added
10-Jun-2023 18:15	Dr. John Smith	Updated
10-Jun-2023 20:21	Nepa	Updated
14-Sep-2023 17:04	Dr. John Smith	Updated