Date:	Wednesday 11 May 1949
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk XVIII
Owner/operator:	28 Sqn RAF
Registration:	TP329
MSN:	6S 676359
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo Island, East Malaysia -   Indonesia
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Sembawang, Singapore
Destination airport:	RAF Kuching, Borneo, Indonesia
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
TP329: Spitfire FR. XVIII, MSN 6S 676359: Built at Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire with Griffon G65 engine. To 33MU RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire 30-8-45. To 76MU RAF Wroughton, Wiltshire 27-12-45 for packing and crating for shipment overseas. Shipped on the SS 'Sampenn' 19-1-46, arriving India 11-2-46. To ACSEA (Air Command South East Asia) 28-2-46. To 390 MU RAF Seletar, Singapore 1-9-48. To 28 Squadron, RAF at RAF Sembawang, Singapore 8-4-49

After the end of the Second World War, 28 Squadron continued as a fighter-reconnaissance unit as part of the Far East Air Force. In October 1945, the squadron replaced its Hurricanes with more Spitfires, (Mk VIIIs and Mk XIVe), concentrating on the Spitfire XIVe by the end of the year. It moved to Penang, Malaya in November 1945 and to RAF Kuala Lumpur in April 1946, and then to RAF Tengah, Singapore in February 1947. 28 squadron received Spitfire FR.18s in 1947. It moved to RAF Sembawang, also in Singapore in February 1949. It moved to RAF Kai Tak, Hong Kong in September 1949, still with Spitfires, in order to strengthen Hong Kong's defences as a result of the ongoing Chinese Civil War, with the squadron's role changing from fighter-reconnaissance to pure fighter. From then on, the squadron was regularly moved between Kai Tak and Sek Kong

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 11-5-49 when overturned landing at RAF Kuching, Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo Island in East Malaysia en-route to RAF Kai Tak, Hong Kong. The aircraft was being ferried from RAF Sembawang, Singapore to RAF Kai Tak, Hong Kong, by the "southern route", being routed Singapore-Borneo-Manilla-Hong Kong. This included a refuelling stop at RAF Kuching at the end of the first leg of the journey.

Upon landing at RAF Kuching, the pilot underestimated the strength of the prevailing crosswinds blowing across the airfield, and the Spitfire drifted off to the side of the runway as it landed. The Spitfire then ran off the runway at speed, into soft ground alongside the runway, where the mainwheels became bogged down into the soft ground. This had the effect of causing the aircraft to decelerate suddenly, and the Spitfire overturned. The aircraft was written off, but the pilot seems to have survived with minor injuries.

Aircraft not repaired; struck off charge 11-5-49 as Cat E(FA).

RAF Kuching is now Kuching International Airport (IATA: KCH, ICAO: WBGG) an international airport serving the entire southwestern region of Sarawak, Malaysia. It is located 11 km (6.8 miles) south of Kuching city centre

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.497
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain 1985)
4. ORB 28 Sqn RAF: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p113.html
6. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/TP329
7. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/80360-tp329
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._28_Squadron_RAF#Post-War_(1946%E2%80%931967)
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuching_International_Airport#History
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMAF_Kuching_Air_Base#History
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Kai_Tak#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
08-Aug-2023 16:17	Dr. John Smith	Added
08-Aug-2023 16:30	Nepa	Updated