Date:	Friday 21 January 1949
Time:	night
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire FR. XVIII
Owner/operator:	32 Sqn RAF
Registration:	TP429
MSN:	KEA.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Lapithos, Kyrenia District -   Cyprus
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Nicosia, Cyprus
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
TP429: Spitfire FR. XVIII, built by Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) at Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire with Griffon G65 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 23-7-45. To RAF St. Mawgan, Cornwall 3-6-46. To Mediterranean Air Force (Middle East) 1-8-46. To 32 Squadron, RAF Nicosia, Cyprus 9-7-48

Written off (destroyed) 21-1-49 when dived into ground out of cloud near near Lapithos, Kyrenia District, Cyprus. The Spitfire was part of a formation of 32 Squadron aircraft on a night flying formation exercise, which encountered cloud en-route. The formation leader told the rest of the formation to break away, if they found it difficult to keep station. The pilot of Spitfire TP429 found it difficult to keep station, and it is presumed that Spitfire TP429 went out of control in cloud, and crashed from a high-speed dive. Pilot killed
Crew of Spitfire TP429
F/Lt William Henry Bell (pilot) RAF - killed on active service 14-1-49

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.212
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 32 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-1-1946 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2409/1: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8674237
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p113.html
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/TP429
8. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/80428-tp429
9. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=TP429
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._32_Squadron_RAF#Post-war
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Nicosia#Station_history

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
13-Aug-2023 01:57	Dr. John Smith	Added
13-Aug-2023 08:15	Nepa	Updated
13-Aug-2023 19:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated