Date:	Monday 18 February 1946
Time:	afternoon
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire F.21
Owner/operator:	Dowty-Rotol Propellers Ltd
Registration:	LA216
MSN:	SMAF.4361
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Parracombe, near Barnstaple, Devon, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Test
Departure airport:	RAF Staverton, Gloucestershire
Destination airport:	RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon (EGDC)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
LA216: Spitfire F.21, MSN SMAF.4361. Built by Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) at South Marston, Swindon, Wiltshire with a Griffon G61 engine. First test flown by Flight Lieutenant Johnson (Vickers Armstrongs South Marston) for 20 minutes on 21-12-44. Delivered from CRD(A) VAEA (Controller Research & Development (Air) Vickers Armstrongs Eastleigh Airfield) to Dowty-Rotol Propellers Ltd, at Staverton, Gloucestershire 2-1-45 for fitting a Rolls-Royce Griffon 68 engine with Rotol contra-propellers. Installation trials at Staverton starting 25-4-45. Endurance testing of Rolls-Royce Griffin 68 engine with Dowty-Rotol contra-rotating propellers from July 1945

Written off (damaged beyond repair) in a flying accident 18-2-46. Hit high ground in poor visibility at Parracombe, near Barnstaple, Devon*. Pilot was killed. Struck Off Charge 16-3-45

Pilot of Spitfire LA216:

Flight Lieutenant (152245) Eric George Fillmore DFC, RAF VR, aged 23, Rotol Test Pilot, Staverton, Gloucestershire. Killed 18-2-46. Buried at Sudbury Cemetery, Sudbury, Suffolk

NOTE; Some published sources spell the pilot's surname as "Philmore" [sic]. His brother (975594 Sgt Air Gunner Kenneth Marcel Fillmore) was also killed in service on 31-7-1941 with 61 Squadron RAF, and the two brothers share the same grave.

*Although the official record into the incident gives the crash location as "near Barnstaple", Parracombe is a rural settlement approx. 6 miles south west of Lynton, in Devon, England. It is situated in the Heddon Valley, on Exmoor, and is 14 miles from Barnstaple. In other words, despite the official record, the crash site was nearer Lynton than Barnstaple.

1. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.75
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft LA100-LZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
3. https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/memorial/entry.php?id=172
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p053.html
5. http://www.sudburysuffolk.co.uk/ww2/profile.asp?id=581
6. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2721241/fillmore,-eric-george/
7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70700451/eric-george-fillmore
8. http://www.bvror.uk/index.php/articles/post-ww2/525-flight-lieutenant-eric-george-fillmore-dfc
9. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/LA216
10. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=LA216
11. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/79428-la216
12. https://www.dowtyheritage.org.uk/content/dowty-group/in-memoriam/dowty-rotol-2-5/feed
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parracombe

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
21-Nov-2019 22:59	Dr. John Smith	Added
13-Nov-2020 20:15	angels one five	Updated [Narrative]
15-Jun-2021 21:21	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]
08-Jul-2023 17:55	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Operator, Source, Narrative]]
27-Aug-2023 10:08	Nepa	Updated [[[Operator, Source, Narrative]]]
17-Sep-2023 15:28	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[[Operator, Source, Narrative]]]]