Date:	Wednesday 27 March 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Hawker Hurricane IIc
Owner/operator:	1687 (BDT) Flt RAF
Registration:	PZ737
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Bassingham, North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Hawker Hurricane IIc PZ737/"4E-D", 1687 (Bomber Defence Training) Flight, RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire. Written off (damaged beyond repair) 27 March 1946.

The Hurricane was on a sortie from RAF Hemswell, when the engine began to run roughly, due to a serious leak of glycol coolant in the engine. The pilot - Flying Officer (174545) Alexander James Maxwell RAF VR - made a 'wheels up' and 'engine out' forced landing in a field at Bassingham, North Kesteven, Lincolnshire. Despite being written off as "damaged beyond economic repair" due to a FACE (Flying Accident Cat. E) the pilot appears to have escaped uninjured. He was awarded the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) on 7 May 1946.

The reported crash location of Bassingham is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated approximately 8 miles (13 km) south-west from the city and county town of Lincoln. Bassingham is situated about midway between Newark-on-Trent and Lincoln. The parish is defined by the river Witham to the west, and the river Brant to the east (across Bassingham Fen). To the south-west is Carlton-le-Moorland.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.35 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.106
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 1687 (Bomber Defence Training) Flight ORB for the period 1-12-44 to 31-10-46: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/882/4 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7162039
5. https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/98522-1687-b-d-t-flight-raf-scampton
6. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.97: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
7. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/awards/details.php?qname=MAXWELL&qnum=174545
8. https://www.bcar.org.uk/1945-49-incident-logs#1946
9. DFC award to pilot: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37560/data.pdf
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassingham

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
24-Jun-2021 21:20	Dr. John Smith	Added
24-Jun-2021 22:32	TB	Updated [Operator, Location, Operator]
23-Jul-2021 20:38	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
06-Jul-2023 20:14	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Source]]