Date:	Sunday 12 May 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk VIII
Owner/operator:	3 Sqn RIAF
Registration:	MT744
MSN:	6S 479795
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RIAF Santacruz, Maharashtra, Mumbai -   India
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RIAF Ambala, Ambala Cantt, Haryana, India
Destination airport:	RIAF Santacruz, Maharashtra, Mumbai, India
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
MT744: Spitfire LF.VIII, MSN 6S 479795. Built by Supermarine Aircraft at Woolston with Merlin M66 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 6-9-44. To 215MU RAF Locharbriggs, Dumfries 21-9-44 for packing and crating for shipment overseas. Shipped on the SS 'Martaban' and 'LS.2448' 30-10-44, arriving India 8-12-44. To 607 (County of Durham) Squadron, RAF in Burma in January 1945. To 3 Squadron RIAF on or after 19-8-45 when 607 Squadron disbanded at Mangaldan, Burma

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 12-5-46 when undercarriage collapsed landing at Santa Cruz, India 12-5-46. The pilot failed to lower the undercarriage, and failed to check that the undercarriage was 'down and locked'. He also did not notice the red VEREY lights (flares) that were fired by ATC (Air Traffic Control) to warn him of the problem with his undercarriage. As a result, the Spitfire made a 'wheels up' belly landing, with the result that the airframe was severely damaged when the aircraft skidded along the runway at Santa Cruz at speed.

Crew of Spitfire MT744:
F/O (IND/2135) Randhir Singh (pilot) RIAF - survived with minor injuries

Not repaired; Struck Off Charge 30-5-46 as Cat. E(FA). The pilot not only survived this incident with only minor injuries, but later rose through the ranks to become an Air Marshall in March 1976. He retired from the Indian Air Force on 31-12-77, and died on 18-9-2018 (at 96 Years age).

Santacruz or Santa Cruz is a suburb of Mumbai. Santacruz and its neighbouring suburb Khar fall under the H East and H West wards of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. RAF/RIAF Santacruz was constructed in the 1930s. It was a bigger airfield than nearby Juhu Aerodrome and was home to several RAF squadrons during World War II from 1942 to 1947. The airfield is now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region

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 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.99: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/89741-mt744
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/MT744
8. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=MT744
9. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/MT744
10. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/2135
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._607_Squadron_RAF#Second_World_War
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhatrapati_Shivaji_Maharaj_International_Airport#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Jun-2023 20:52	Dr. John Smith	Added
27-Jun-2023 20:59	Dr. John Smith	Updated
28-Jun-2023 08:06	Nepa	Updated
16-Sep-2023 11:55	Dr. John Smith	Updated