Date:	Friday 10 May 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF. IX
Owner/operator:	208 Sqn RAF
Registration:	NH173
MSN:	CBAF IX.2145
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Bir Hassan Airfield, Beirut -   Lebanon
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Ramat David, Palestine
Destination airport:	Bir Hassan Airfield, Lebanon
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
NH173: Spitfire LF. IX, MSN CBAF IX.2145. Built by CBAF Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory with Merlin M66 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 27-4-44. To 66 Squadron, RAF 16-6-44. To 132 Wing, RAF 22-6-44. To 453 Squadron 5-10-44. Cat C (Repairable) accident 19-10-44. Repairs on site, then issued to MAAF (Mediterranean Allied Air Force) 3-7-45. To 208 Squadron, RAF Ramat David, Palestine coded "RG-C" in September 1945.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 10-5-46 in collision with Spitfire RK837 (also of 208 Squadron) and force landed at Beirut, Lebanon. The pilot of Spitfire NH173 - Flying Officer A B Cunningham - was followed too closely behind by his section leader in Spitfire RK837 while the two aircraft were flying in line astern formation. Spitfire RK837 was struck the tailwheel of Spitfire NH173, both aircraft force landed at Bir Hassan Airfield, Beirut. Spitfire NH173 made a successful 'wheels up' belly landing. The pilot survived with minor injuries.

Damage assessed as Cat E 10-5-46; Struck Off Charge 26-7-46 as Cat. E(FA). Bir Hassan airfield was replaced by Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, located south of Beirut, in Khaldeh, opened in 1954

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.140
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft NA100-NZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 208 Sqn RAF ORB for 1-1-1946 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2464: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2505102
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.99: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p078.html
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/NH173
8. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/86593-nh173
9. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=NH173
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._208_Squadron_RAF#World_War_II
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Beirut#Airport

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
28-Jun-2023 08:04	Nepa	Updated
16-Sep-2023 11:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated