Date:	Monday 30 December 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk XVIII
Owner/operator:	6 Sqn RIAF
Registration:	SM969
MSN:	6S 663052
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RIAF Ranchi, Jharkhand -   India
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RIAF Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
SM969: Spitfire FR. XVIII, MSN 6S 663052. Built by Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) at Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire with Griffon G65 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton 1-9-45. To 76MU RAF Wroughton, Wiltshire 10-1-46 for packing and crating for shipment overseas. Shipped on the ss 'Sampenn' 19-1-46, arriving Karachi, British India 11-2-46. To ACSEA (Air Command South East Asia) 28-2-46. To 6 Squadron RIAF by 1-4-1946 at RIAF Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

Reportedly written off (damaged beyond repair) 30-12-46 when crashed at RIAF Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. The pilot carried out aerobatics at an altitude below that authorised for such manoeuvres. During the sortie, the pilot lost control of the aircraft and had insufficient altitude available in which to recover before the Spitfire dived into the ground, with fatal results

Crew of Spitfire RM969:
P/O (IND/3243) Hakim Rai (pilot) RIAF - killed on active service 30-12-46; buried or commemorated at Delhi-Karachi 1939-1945 Memorial New Delhi, Delhi Capital Territory, India

Rebuilt/repaired and transferred to Indian Air Force as HS877, 21-7-49. Withdrawn from service in 1956

To Indian AF Western Air Command HQ, Delhi Cantonment, 1972-1978, displayed as IAF/HS877. Sold to Douglas W. Arnold, Blackbushe, UK, May 1978. Shipped, crated, to UK, arrived July 1978. To Douglas W. Arnold/Warbirds of Great Britain Ltd, Blackbushe, (later Bitteswell), Biggin Hill, UK, 29-12-78 until 1995. Civil Registered as G-BRAF.

Restored to flight at Blackbushe, Hampshire UK. First flight, 12-10-85. Flown as SM969/D-A. Delivered to Biggin Hill-Bournemouth for storage, 20-11-92. Sold to David Arnold/ Wizzard Investments Ltd/Flying A Services, North Weald, UK, 1995-2005. Stored, 1995-2004. Sold to Tony Raftis, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2005 but not delivered. Sold to Patina Ltd/The Fighter Collection, Duxford, UK,15-2-2006 until 2008. Arrived disassembled and Restoration to airworthy status begun.

Sold to Jim Beasley, Philadelphia, PA, 2008. Restoration completed at Duxford. Repainted as SM969/S, March 2008. Removed from British civil register, 24-10-2008. Re-registered to Jim Beasley/HMB P51C LLC, Coatesville, PA, November 12, 2008-2013. Re-registered in the USA as N969SM. Shipped disassembled, reassembled in Chester County, PA. First flight after reassembly 21-12-2008.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
3. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.248
6 Sqn RIAF ORB for the period 1-11-1945 to 30-4-1947: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/96/15: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8407238
5. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/102292-sm969
6. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/SM969
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2579787/hakim-rai/
8. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/HS-877
8. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/3243
10. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=18519
11. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18447024/rai-hakim
12. https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/40207-spitfire-18-sm969
13. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-BRAF.pdf
14. https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=969SM
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_Supermarine_Spitfires#United_States

Spitfire SM969/G-BRAF of The Fighter Collection making its debut resplendent in 28 Squadron markings and Korean War recognition stripes. This aircraft is ex Indian Air Force and arrived in the UK with Doug Arnold's Warbirds of Great Britain collection during 1977. Since acquisition by the Fighter Collection during 2006, she has undergone an extensive two-year restoration. Photographed at Duxford, Cambridgeshire 12 July 2008

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
09-Sep-2023 01:37	Dr. John Smith	Added
09-Sep-2023 08:23	Nepa	Updated
13-Sep-2023 10:15	Dr. John Smith	Updated