Date:	Thursday 23 July 1953
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk XVI
Owner/operator:	2 CAACU RAF
Registration:	TB747
MSN:	CBAF.IX.4108
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Langham, 5 miles north-west of Holt, Norfolk, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Langham, Blakeney, Norfolk
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
TB747: Spitfire LF.XVI: Delivered to the RAF at 33MU Lyneham 24-2-45. First issued to 74 (Tiger) Squadron, 2nd TAF, ALG B.109, Drope, Germany, 29-3-45 as '4D-D'. To 485 Squadron RNZAF, 2nd TAF, ALG B.109, Drope, Germany 17-5-45 as 'OU-D'. To 127 Squadron 17-5-45 as '9N-D'. To 322 (Netherlands) Squadron as '3W-D' 24-5-45, based at ALG.113 RAF Varrelbusch. Moved with the Squadron to ALG B.116 RAF Wunsdorf, Germany from 2-7-45. To 34 MU RAF Shrewsbury, Shropshire on or after 7-10-45 when 322 (Netherlands) Squadron disbanded. BoB loan 31-8-49. To 2 CAACU (Civilian Anti Aircraft Co-Operation Unit) RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norwich, Norfolk 12-5-52

Written off (destroyed) when hit ground recovering from dive at Langham, 5 miles north-west of Holt, Norfolk. The pilot was killed.

Crew of Spitfire TB757:
Mr. Richard H Younghusband (Civilian Contractor Pilot, aged 45) - killed in service 23/7/1953

According to local newspaper report (Eastern Daily Press 26 August 2020 - see link #5):

"Spitfire unveiled at ex-RAF base
After a series of delays, a memorial to a Second World War Spitfire has been unveiled.The silver replica of a Supermarine Spitfire was installed on August 20 [2020] at the disused airfield at RAF Langham, near Holt.

Work on strengthening the aircraft and the external mounting infrastructure was due to be completed this spring but was delayed by coronavirus. The aircraft will sit alongside Langham Dome and visitor centre at the airfield.

The Spitfire, which was donated by the RAF Museum at Hendon, is mounted on a plinth next to the building once used to train anti-aircraft gunners, off Cockthorpe Road.

The stand has a rotating bearing to allow the Spitfire to rotate freely to follow the prevailing wind. It will be taken down in late October for winter storage.

Next spring [2021] a formal dedication ceremony will take place for pilot Richard Younghusband, who was killed in 1953 flying a Spitfire from RAF Langham".

Wreckage recovered and airframe Struck Off Charge as Cat.5(S) 23/7/53. The reported crash location of Langham is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is 14.7 miles west of Cromer, 27.2 miles northwest of Norwich and 126 miles miles northeast of London. The village lies 5.2 miles northwest of the town of Holt and around 2 miles inland from the North Sea coast at Blakeney.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.147 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983)
3. Last Take Off; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p.392
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p109.html
5. https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/spitfire-memorial-at-langham-dome-1583562
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._322_(Dutch)_Squadron_RAF
7. https://langhamdome.org/about-raf-langham/active-airfield/aa-co-operation-towing-the-line/
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langham,_Norfolk
9. https://langhamdome.org/the-spitfire-is-here/

Members of No. 322 Squadron with a Spitfire LF.XVI in 1945. Part of the 3W squadron code can be seen, as well as the Royal Netherlands Air Force insignia by the cockpit.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
04-May-2021 22:47	Dr. John Smith	Added
04-May-2021 22:53	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Registration, Cn, Departure airport, Source, Embed code]
04-May-2021 22:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
05-May-2021 08:30	TB	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Narrative, Operator]
05-May-2021 08:30	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Operator]
05-May-2021 11:49	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]