Date:	Thursday 5 July 1951
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk XVI
Owner/operator:	20 Sqn RAF
Registration:	TE344
MSN:	CBAF.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Pen-Llyn, 1 mile north of Bodedern, Anglesey, Wales -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales (VLY/EGOV)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Spitfire TE344: Delivered to the RAF at 9 MU Cosford 13-6-45. Issued to 604 (County of Middlesex) Squadron RAF at RAF Hendon as 'NG-B' 15-4-47. To 20 Squadron, RAF Valley, Anglesey 3-4-50. FAC3 (Flying Accident Cat.3) 2-6-50; Repaired on site, and returned to service with 20 Squadron.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 5-7-51: Shortly after take-off from RAF Valley, having climbed to an altitude of approximately 1,000 feet, the engine of Spitfire TE344 failed completely. The pilot made a forced landing near Pen-Llyn, one mile North of Bodedern, Anglesey, but due to the hilly local topography, he forced landed on a steeply-inclined uphill slope. On landing, the aircraft ran forward for approximately 40 yards, and then, due to the steepness of the sloping ground, decelerated rapidly. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant G C Shelley, was thrown out of his aircraft, complete with the pilot's seat, to which he was still strapped in!

Formally Struck Off Charge as Cat.5(Scrap) 19-7-51. The reported crash location of Pen-Llyn is a hamlet in the community of Bodedern, Ynys Môn, Wales, between Bodedern and Llanddeusant, some 4.5 miles from Valley. Llyn Llywenan, the largest natural lake on the island is nearby.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.116 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 Colin Cummings p 156
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983)
4. 20 Squadron ORB (Operations Record Book) (Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/9/1946 to 30/9/1951: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2402/4 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8419275
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p112.html
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pen-Llyn
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._20_Squadron_RAF#Cold_War
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._604_Squadron_RAF#Post-war

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Feb-2021 19:00	Dr. John Smith	Added
02-Feb-2021 19:04	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
02-Feb-2021 19:08	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
02-Feb-2021 20:05	Jinx	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator]