Date:	Thursday 9 May 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire Vb
Owner/operator:	87 Gp CF RAF
Registration:	AB786
MSN:	CBAF.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Chaulnes, Somme department, Hauts-de-France, northern France -   France
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Buc (Seine-et-Oise), France
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
AB786: Spitfire Vb, built by CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M45 engine. To 38MU RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire 27-7-41. To 611 (West Lancashire) Squadron 6-8-41. To 64 Squadron 14-11-41. To GAL (General Aircraft Ltd) at Hanworth, Middlesex for overhaul 21-3-42. To 401 (City of Westmount) Squadron RCAF 2-6-42. To 65 Squadron coded 'YT-W' 16-7-42. To 303 (Polish) Squadron coded 'RF-J' 22-8-42.

Damaged in collision over Holland 13-11-42: Damage assessed as Cat B. To AST (Airwork Service Training) for repairs. To 453 Squadron RAAF coded 'FU-K' 4-4-43. To 129 Squadron 17-7-43. To 310 (Czech) Squadron 14-8-43. To VASM (Vickers Armstrongs South Marston) for fuel system modifications 20-12-43. To 13 OTU 26-4-45. Cat E damaged c.7.45. To 87 Group Communications Flight; In February 1945 No. 87 Group RAF was established, a transport formation at Buc (Seine-et-Oise), France. It became part of 2nd TAF/BAFO, but was reduced to No. 87 Wing RAF on 15-7-46

Cat E damaged 9-5-46: engine failed, aircraft abandoned and crashed at Chaulnes, Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France (approx. 100 miles north-east of Buc). The pilot took off in Spitfire AB786, which had previously been reported for giving engine trouble on its previous sortie, with the engine cutting out without warning. On the previous sortie, the engine had cut out, due to fuel system "issues" but the pilot had managed to restart the engine and continue the sortie normally.

However, on this sortie, the pilot had not obtained a meteorological forecast, and the aircraft entered cloud, during which the engine cut out due to fuel starvation. The pilot decided to bail out, and parachute safely to the ground, and the Spitfire, with its 'dead' engine, dived into the ground at Chaulnes.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.41 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.138
3. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.98: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p019.html
5. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/AB786
6. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=AB786
7. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/95555-ab786
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Royal_Air_Force_Communication_units
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Second_Tactical_Air_Force#Post_Second_World_War
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaulnes

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
28-Jun-2023 21:02	Dr. John Smith	Added
28-Jun-2023 21:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated
29-Jun-2023 08:49	Nepa	Updated
16-Sep-2023 12:00	Dr. John Smith	Updated