Date:	Wednesday 13 February 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIII
Owner/operator:	155 Sqn RAF
Registration:	MV435
MSN:	SUP.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Adin Tengah, Salapian, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra -   Indonesia
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Soewondo AFB, Medan, North Sumatra
Destination airport:	Soewondo AFB, Medan, North Sumatra

Narrative:
MV435: Spitfire LF VIII. built by Supermarine Aircraft at Woolston with Merlin M66 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 9-9-44. To 215MU RAF Locharbriggs, Dumfries 21-9-44 for packing and crating for shipment overseas. Shipped on the SS 'Martaban' and 'LS.2448' 30-10-44, arriving India 8-12-44. To 152 Squadron in Burma by 1-1-45. Thence to 155 Squadron; in mid-September 1945, after V-J Day, the squadron flew to Singapore soon after the Japanese surrender and in February 1946, moved to Sumatra to provide tactical support for the British Army units there until disbanded on 31-8-46

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 13-2-46: Two Spitfires took off from Soewondo Air Force Base, Medan, North Sumatra, to carry out a routine task known as the Northern Coastal Recce. One of the pilots, Flt Sgt Watts, found that the undercarriage of his aircraft would not fully retract. The u/c legs and wheels must have obstructed the flow of air into the radiators (on the underside of a Spitfire's wings) and the engine began to overheat.

A forced landing was attempted in which the aircraft struck trees and crashed near Adin Tengah, Salapian, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia. (At approx. coordinates 0.334N, 98.36E) The Spitfire was wrecked and the pilot lost his life.

Pilot:
Flt/Sgt (1802654) Edward Albert WATTS RAFVR - killed in a flying accident 13-2-46; Buried at Jakarta War Cemetery, Jakarta, Indonesia. R.I.P.

Aircraft written off as "destroyed" (Cat E(FA)) and struck off charge 28-2-46

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
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft MA100-MZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 155 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-9-1945 to 31-8-1946: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/1039/17: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8389942
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.97: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=47898
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p076.html
8. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/MV435
9. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/89960-mv435
10. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2171298/edward-albert-watts/
11. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20266051/edward-albert-watts
12. http://www.152hyderabad.co.uk/html/aircraft.html
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._152_Squadron_RAF#World_War_II
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._155_Squadron_RAF#Second_World_War
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soewondo_Air_Force_Base

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-Mar-2019 12:59	Cobar	Added
05-Mar-2019 13:13	Cobar	Updated [Source]
07-Mar-2019 10:40	stehlik49	Updated [Operator, Source]
17-May-2022 00:39	angels one five	Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
24-Jun-2023 19:41	angels one five	Updated [[Time, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]]
05-Jul-2023 19:28	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[Time, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]]]
05-Jul-2023 21:40	Nepa	Updated [[[[Time, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]]]]
02-Aug-2023 12:41	angels one five	Updated [[[[[Time, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]]]]]
17-Sep-2023 17:20	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[[[[Time, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]]]]]]