Date:	Monday 2 June 1947
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk XIV
Owner/operator:	2 Sqn RAF
Registration:	NM818
MSN:	6S 648235
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Wunstorf, Lower Saxony, BZG, West Germany -   Germany
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Wunstorf, Lower Saxony, BZG, West Germany
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
NM818: Spitfire FR. XIV, MSN 6S 648235. Built by Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) at Aldermaston with Griffon G65 engine. To 33MU RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire 13-4-45. To 84GSU 23-4-45. Cat C (Repairable) accident damage 16-5-45. To 2 Squadron, RAF Wunstorf, Lower Saxony, BZG, West Germany 1-6-45; 2 Squadron relocated to RAF Celle in June 1945 after the war in Europe was won as part of the British Air Forces of Occupation

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 2-6-47 when tyre burst on takeoff, aircraft swung off the runway and undercarriage collapsed at RAF Wunstorf, Lower Saxony, BZG, West Germany. At the time of this incident, the weather at RAF Wunstorf was exceptionally hot, being over 85 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. The taxying distance from the hardstanding in front of the 2 Squadron hangar to the take off point was over 2 miles

During the take-off run, a tyre burst and the Spitfire ran off to the side of the runway, and the undercarriage collapsed. The subsequent Board of Inquiry attributed the main cause of the incident to the exceptionally high ambient temperatures, and the heat generated by the long taxy to the takeoff point. Concern was also expressed about the quality of the tyres supplied to the squadron, which were apparently several years old.

To 412RSU for proposed repairs. Not repaired, re-cat E2(FA) and Struck Off Charge 26-6-47

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.353
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft NA100-NZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 2 Sqn RAF ORB: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27
5. "RAF Write offs 1947": Air Britain Aeromilitaria No.2 1978: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1978.pdf
6. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/80099-nm818
7. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=NM818
8. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/NM818
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._2_Squadron_RAF#Cold_War_(1945%E2%80%931988)
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wunstorf_Air_Base#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
01-Sep-2023 03:25	Dr. John Smith	Added
01-Sep-2023 09:11	Nepa	Updated