Date:	Wednesday 3 July 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk VIII
Owner/operator:	3 Sqn RIAF
Registration:	MV208
MSN:	6S 581731
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Gauribidanur, Chikkaballapur district, Karnataka -   India
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RIAF Ambala, Ambala Cantt, Haryana, India
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
MV208: Spitfire LF VIII, MSN 6S 581731. Built by Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at Chattis Hill with Merlin M66 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 24-11-44. To 215MU RAF Locharbriggs, Dumfries 5-12-44 for packing and crating for shipment overseas. To 1PATP, and shipped on the SS 'Ingleton' and 'LS.2488' 1-1-45, arriving India 4-2-45. To 607 (County of Durham) Squadron, RAF at Mingaladon in Burma coded "AF-R". Struck Off Charge 28-7-45. Brought back on charge, and delivered to 3 Squadron RIAF, RIAF Ambala, Ambala Cantt, Haryana, India on or after 19-8-45 when 607 Squadron disbanded.

Written off (destroyed) 3-7-46: Hit palm tree on low level cross-country NAVEX (navigation exercise) sortie and crashed at Gauribidanur, Chikkaballapur district, Karnataka, India. The pilot made an error in his calculations, when reaching the turning point during the sortie. He turned the aircraft too early and flew towards rising ground, colliding with a palm tree at low level. The aircraft dived into the ground and caught fire on impact.

Crew of Spitfire MV208:
P/O (IND/3055) Jyotir Moy Bose (pilot, aged 21) RIAF - killed on active service 3-7-46

Gauribidanur is a taluk situated in Chikkaballapur district in the Indian state of Karnataka, at 13.61°N 77.52°E. It has an average elevation of 694 metres (2,276 feet).

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.176
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft MA100-MZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 3 Sqn RIAF ORB for the period 1-6-1945 to 31-7-47: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/45/41: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8436167
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.101: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2581976/jyotirmoy-bose/
7. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=24372
8. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/89910-mv208
9. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/MV208
10. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=MV208
11. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/MV208
12. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/3055
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._607_Squadron_RAF#Second_World_War
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauribidanur

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
19-Jun-2023 18:49	Dr. John Smith	Added
19-Jun-2023 20:05	Nepa	Updated
15-Sep-2023 11:42	Dr. John Smith	Updated