Date:	Thursday 25 July 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire PR Mk XI
Owner/operator:	8 OTU RAF
Registration:	BS497
MSN:	HEA.3647
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Mount Farm, Upend, 5 miles south east of Newmarket, Suffolk, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Detling, Maidstone, Kent
Destination airport:	RAF Newmarket, Suffolk
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
BS497: Spitfire PR. XI, MSN HEA.3647. Built at Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire with Merlin M46 engine. Delivered to 1 PRU RAF Benson, Oxfordshire for weights and Centre of Gravity loading of first Conversion at WD 17-11-42. First Flown 21-11-42. Trials of "Y camera" installation at 1 PRU RAF Benson 23-11-42. To 542 Squadron, RAF Benson, later RAF Mount Farm 3-12-42. To 543 Squadron, RAF Benson, Oxfordshire 26-7-43. To HAL (Heston Aircraft Ltd) Heston, Middlesex 23-10-43. To 8 OTU RAF Detling, Maidstone, Kent 2-7-45

Written off (destroyed) 25-7-46 when dived into ground at Mount Farm, Upend, 5 miles South East of Newmarket, Suffolk. Pilot killed. The subsequent Board of Inquiry was unable to confirm that exact cause of the accident, although anoxia (oxygen starvation) was suspected, but not proven.

Crew:
F/O (200826) William George "Bill" Strachan (Pilot) RAF - killed on active service 25-7-46; buried at Lochlee Churchyard, Tarfside, Angus, Scotland

Damage assessed as Cat. E 27-7-46. Formally Struck Off Charge 28-7-46

8 OTU was formed on 18-5-42 at RAF Fraserburgh, by merging the Photographic Reconnaissance Conversion Flight of 3 School of General Reconnaissance, RAF Squires Gate and 'K' (Photographic Reconnaissance Advanced Training) Flight of 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (1PRU), RAF Detling. It was part of No. 17 Group Coastal Command. It trained aircrew on a wide range of photo-reconnaissance aircraft, including the Supermarine Spitfire and de Havilland Mosquito. It was disbanded when it became 237 OCU on 1-8-47

Upend is a hamlet in the east of Cambridgeshire. It is five miles (8.0 km) south-east of Newmarket and lies in the same parish as Kirtling.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p071.html
3. RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.101: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
4. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p189
5. 8 OTU RAF ORB for the period 1-5-42 to 31-7-47: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/637: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4100346
6. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/BS497
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2459456/william-george-bill-strachan/
8. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/214436067/william-george-strachan
9. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/91337-bs497
10. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=43713
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._542_Squadron_RAF
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._543_Squadron_RAF
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._237_Operational_Conversion_Unit_RAF
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Royal_Air_Force_Operational_Training_Units
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalgrove_Airfield#Royal_Air_Force_use
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upend

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
14-Jun-2023 01:58	Dr. John Smith	Added
14-Jun-2023 02:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated
14-Jun-2023 08:34	Nepa	Updated
15-Sep-2023 10:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated