Date:	Friday 8 October 1948
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk XVIII
Owner/operator:	60 Sqn RAF
Registration:	TP225
MSN:	6S 672245
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Mount Benom, 8 miles East of Raub District, Pahang state -   Malaysia
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Tengah, Singapore
Destination airport:	RAF Tengah, Singapore

Narrative:
TP225: Spitfire FR. XVIII, MSN 6S-672245. Built by Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at Keevil, Wiltshire with Griffon G65 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 13-2-46. To 47MU RAF Sealand, Flintshire 1-9-47 for packing and crating for overseas shipment. Shipped on the SS 'Stentor' 25-9-47, arriving at Singapore 3-11-47. To ACFE (Air Command Far East) 27-11-47. To 390 MU RAF Seletar, Singapore 30-11-47 for erection and preparation for service. To 60 Squadron, RAF Tengah, Singapore 19-4-48

Written off (destroyed) 8-12-48 when stalled recovering from dive-bombing run, and crashed near Mount Benom, 8 miles east of Raub, Pahang State, Malaya: Crashed in the thick jungle near the target while diving to attack a Communist guerilla camp.

The Spitfire was engaged in live combat operations against bandits in the Malayan jungle. The pilot made a dive-bombing attack against a terrorist camp, dropping a 500-lb bomb. During the recovery from the dive-bombing run, the Spitfire climbed, stalled, spun though one and-a-half turns, and crashed into the jungle. The pilot was killed

Crew of Spitfire TP225:
Pilot III Laurence Brown, RAF - killed on active service 8-10-1948

The subsequent Board of Inquiry into the incident concluded that the pilot either 'blacked out' or lost control, during the recovery from the dive, and that the Spitfire went into a high-speed stall

Mount Benum or Mount Benom (Malay: Gunung Benom) is a mountain in the state of Pahang in Malaysia. Its summit is 2,107 metres (6,913 feet) above sea level. The mountain is located in a centre of a massif east of the Titiwangsa Mountains.

1. The Indian Express 10 October 1948, p.4
2. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
3. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.436
4. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
5. 60 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-5-1946 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2426/9: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8420203
6. "RAF Write offs 1948": Air Britain Aeromilitaria No.1 1979: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p113.html
8. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/TP225
9. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/102351-tp225
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._60_Squadron_RAF#Post_World_War_II
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pahang
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Benum

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
24-Dec-2018 11:08	TB	Added
24-Dec-2018 11:22	TB	Updated [Country]
17-Aug-2023 00:19	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Country]]