Date:	Saturday 12 October 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIX
Owner/operator:	34 Sqn RAF
Registration:	PM552
MSN:	6S 683463
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Alwar, Alwar District, Rajasthan -   India
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Palam, Palam, New Delhi, Punjab, British India
Destination airport:

Narrative:
PM552: Spitfire PR XIX, MSN 6S 683463. Built by Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) at Eastleigh, Hampshire with Griffon G66 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 3-7-45. To RAF Benson, Oxfordshire 29-8-45. To 1 OADU (Overseas Aircraft Delivery Unit) 2-10-45. To MAAF (Mediterranean Allied Air Force) 20-10-45. To ACSEA (Air Command South East Asia) 26-10-45. Arrived India 27-6-46. To 681 Squadron, RAF Palam, Palam, New Delhi, Punjab, British India. On 1-8-46, 681 Squadron RAF was renumbered as No. 34 Squadron, flying photo-reconnaissance Supermarine Spitfires at RAF Palam until disbanding on 31-7-47

Written off (destroyed) 12-10-46: Broke up in air at Alwar, Alwar District, Rajasthan, India during a photographic reconnaissance sortie. Aircraft went out of control and dived into the ground. Pilot killed.

Crew of Spitfire PM552
Pilot II (Sergeant) (1813331) Ali Leheta, RAFVR (pilot, aged 20) - killed on active service 12-10-46; buried at Delhi War Cemetery, Delhi, India

The subsequent Board of Inquiry deemed that the pilot lost control of the aircraft due to anoxia (oxygen starvation) while flying at a high altitude, which caused the pilot to lose consciousness. He never recovered in time to pull the Spitfire out of its terminal dive.

Damage initially assessed as Cat E 12-10-46; Struck Off Charge 31-12-46

Alwar is a city located in India's National Capital Region and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km north of Jaipur.

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.232
3. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999
4. 34 Sqn RAF ORB for November 1946: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2410/10: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8419616
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.103: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p089.html
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/PM552
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2177429/ali-leheta/
9. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=26635
10. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/91848-pm552
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alwar

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
20-Sep-2013 03:26	JINX	Added
27-Mar-2015 18:40	Jixon	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
28-May-2023 20:28	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Aircraft type, Operator]]
13-Sep-2023 11:12	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[Aircraft type, Operator]]]