Date:	Wednesday 31 July 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IX
Owner/operator:	318 (City of Gdańsk) Sqn RAF
Registration:	ML405
MSN:	CBAF.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Treviso, Province of Treviso, Veneto Region -   Italy
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Treviso, Province of Treviso, Veneto Region
Destination airport:	Treviso, Province of Treviso, Veneto Region
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
ML405: Spitfire LF. IX, built by CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M70 engine. To 39MU RAF Colerene, Chippenham, Wiltshire 1-5-44. To 82MU RAF Lichfield, Fradley, Staffordshire 22-5-44 for packing and crating for overseas shipment. Shipped on the SS 'Argyll' 1-6-44, arriving Casablanca, Morocco 13-6-44. To 318 "City of Gdańsk" Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron (Polish: 318 Dywizjon Myśliwsko-Rozpoznawczy Gdański", Cassandro, Italy coded "LW-J"

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 31-7-46: Stalled on approach and crash-landed at Treviso, Province of Treviso, Veneto Region, Italy. (The squadron were based there from 9-3-46 until it returned to the UK on 15-8-46).

The pilot was making a glide approach and attempted to check the rate of descent by use of the throttle. but the engine failed to respond quickly enough. The aircraft had descended to an altitude of approx. 10 feet above the runway at Treviso, and then struck the ground heavily, causing the port tyre to burst, with associated damaged to the port undercarriage.

The subsequent Board of Inquiry attributed the main cause of the accident to a mis-calibrated ASI (Air Speed Indicator) which had been set to read 7 knots too high, thus giving a false indication of the aircrafts air speed.

Damaged assessed as Cat E 31-7-46. Not repaired and Struck Off Charge 28-11-46.

On 15-8-46 318 (Polish) Squadron handed over its aircraft and left Italy for the UK, where it arrived on the 19-8-46. Soon after, the squadron disbanded at RAF Coltishall, according to some sources on 31-8-46, while others mention 12-12-46.

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.193
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft MA100-MZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 318 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-7-1943 to 31-7-46: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/1710/2: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8401304
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.101: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p073.html
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/ML405
8. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/80691-ml405
9. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=ML405
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._318_Polish_Fighter-Reconnaissance_Squadron
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treviso_Airport

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
13-Jun-2023 19:24	Dr. John Smith	Added
13-Jun-2023 20:07	Nepa	Updated