Date:	Thursday 21 March 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk XVI
Owner/operator:	61 OTU RAF
Registration:	TE183
MSN:	CBAF IX.4393
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire
Destination airport:	RAF Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
TE183: Spitfire LF.XVI, MSN CBAF IX.4393. Built at CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin 266 engine. Delivered to the RAF at 6 MU Brize Norton 23-5-45. Issued to 61 OTU, RAF Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire 17-1-46

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 21-3-46 when stalled and crashed in an attempted landing at RAF Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire. While low flying around RAF Keevil, the pilot attempted a landing, but the Spitfire stalled, crashed, and caught fire on impact. The Pilot was killed, and the Spitfire was burnt out by the fire. The reasons why the Spitfire attempted a landing were never established.

Eye witness account:

"My dad saw the whole incident and rescued the casualty who was unfortunately deceased. My father said that the pilot was attempting to land on a runway that was not in use. The wheels caught in some barbed wire, and the plane landed belly up in a field. It did not stall".

Crew of Spitfire TE183:
Sergeant (1813355) Albert Thambyrajah PARAMANATHAN, RAFVR (pilot, aged 26) - killed in service 21-3-45, buried at Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium. Bath, Bath and North East Somerset Unitary Authority, Somerset, England

Albert Thambyrajah Paramanathan was born in Jaffna, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), around 1920. He was the son of V. Richard Thambyrajah and Elizabeth Arulamah Thambyrajah. In September 1943 he trained with RAF Cosford's No. 4 (TT) Wing, "A" Squadron, "K" Flight. He was a pilot in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve at the time of his death, with the rank of Sergeant and number 1813355. He served in 61 Operational Training Unit (OTU), flying TE183, a Spitfire Mk. XVI, at RAF Keevil. On 21 Mar 1946 he was flying low, attempting a landing, when the aircraft stalled and crashed, killing him. He was buried in Bath (Haycombe) Cemetery.

Aircraft deemed as FACE (Flying Accident Cat. E) 22-3-46 and Struck Off Charge as "damaged beyond economic repair". Note that several published sources gate the date of death of the pilot as "22 March 1946" - that is, the next day. This is based on the Struck Off Charge date of Spitfire TE183. The CWGC (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) website gives the correct date on 21-3-46.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.39. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
3. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.34. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
4. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.102
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.101: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. 61 OTU RAF ORB for the period 1-6-1941 to 30-6-1947: National Archives (PRO Kew) file AIR 29/685/1 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7161034
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/TE183
8. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p111.html
9. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/90755-te183
10. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2691711/albert-thambyrajah-paramanathan/
11. https://billiongraves.com/grave/A-T-Paramanathan/498834
12. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54559392/albert-thambyrajah-paramanathan
13. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=TE183
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Keevil#RAF_Flying_Training_Command_use

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
24-Jun-2021 00:31	Dr. John Smith	Added
24-Jun-2021 08:51	Don Diego	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator]
03-Jan-2022 10:33	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]
06-Jul-2023 21:12	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Narrative]]
17-Sep-2023 14:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[Narrative]]]