Date:	Monday 13 May 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk XIV
Owner/operator:	1 SFTS RIAF
Registration:	RM786
MSN:	6S 507172
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	1 mile South of Kaithal, Kurukshetra district, Haryana -   India
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RIAF Ambala, Ambala Cantt, Haryana, India
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
RM786: Spitfire FR.XIV, MSN 6S 507172. Built by Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at Eastleigh, Hampshire with Griffon G65 engine. To 39MU RAF High Ercall, Shropshire 5-2-45. To 82MU RAF Lichfield, Fradley, Staffordshire 1-7-45 for packing and crating for shipment overseas. Shipped on the SS 'City of Hong Kong' 26-8-45, arriving India 17-9-45. To ACSEA (Air Command South East Asia) 27-9-45. To 1SFTS RIAF at RIAF Ambala, Ambala Cantt, Haryana, India in October 1945 coded '73' [see photo link #9]

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 13-5-46 when force landed when aircraft ran out of fuel at Khaithal, Kurukshetra district, Haryana, India. Pilot became lost on a cross country NAVEX (navigation exercise). The pilot had taken off in formation, but then, en-route lost sight of the formation leader. He was not helped by discovering that the maps on board the Spitfire were the wrong ones for the sortie, and despite efforts to obtain a radio 'fix' on his position, was unable to do so or locate a suitable diversion airfield. Aircraft ran out of fuel, and force landed in an open space at Kaithal.

Pilot of Spitfire RM786:
Pilot Officer SD Singh RIAF - survived with minor injuries. (The same pilot was killed when he crashed into the sea off Miho Japan on 24-7-47 in Spitfire RM985)

Kaithal is a city and municipal council in the Kaithal district of the Indian state of Haryana. Kaithal was previously a part of Karnal district and later, Kurukshetra district until 1 November 1989, when it became the headquarters of the Kaithal. It shares a border with the Patiala district of state Punjab and the Kurukshetra, Jind and Karnal districts of Haryana. Kaithal district is situated in the North-West of the Haryana state. Its North-West boundaries, which include Guhla-Cheeka are attached to Punjab.

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.142
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.99: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
5. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/80105-rm786
6. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/RM786
7. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=RM786
8. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/RM786
9. [photo as '73' of 151 OTU, India 1945] https://www.rafcommands.com/galleries/SEAC/Raphael-Goldstein/SpitRM786-151OTU-Ambala
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaithal

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Jun-2023 15:18	Dr. John Smith	Added
27-Jun-2023 15:19	Dr. John Smith	Updated
27-Jun-2023 17:03	Nepa	Updated
16-Sep-2023 11:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated