Date:	Tuesday 23 April 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire F Mk 21
Owner/operator:	41 Sqn RAF
Registration:	LA282
MSN:	SMAF.4415
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Dalcross, Inverness (EGPE)
Destination airport:	RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire

Narrative:
Spitfire F.21 LA282: Built at Vickers-Armstrong South Marston with the MSN SMAF.4415 and Griffon G.61 engine. Test flown by Flt Lt Loweth Vickers Armstrong South Marston for 20 minutes on 15-6-45 (possible first flight). Delivered to the RAF at 33 MU Lyneham by F/O Drzewiecki ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary) 26-6-45. First issued to 122 Squadron, RAF Dalcross, Inverness, 9-2-46. 122 Squadron was disbanded at RAF Dalcross on 1-4-46 when it was renumbered No. 41 Squadron.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 23-4-46: The aircraft stalled on final approach to RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire. The starboard wing struck the ground, the Spitfire swung off the runway, tipped up onto its nose, and the undercarriage collapsed. The pilot had attempted to make a glide approach, which is something that he ought not to have done, until he was more familiar with the glide quality of this particular mark of Spitfire. He also failed to apply power to prevent the stall. Damage initially assessed as FACB (Flying Accident Cat. B) and deemed repairable. However, re-cat FACE (Flying Accident Cat. E) and Struck Off Charge 31-5-46

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. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.128
3. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.98: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
4. 122 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-7-1945 to 28-2-1946: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/915/97: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8387308
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p054.html
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._122_Squadron_RAF
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._41_Squadron_RAF#Post_War,_1946%E2%80%932006
8. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/LA282
9. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=%20LA282
10. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/79482-la282
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Wittering#Post-war_use

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
12-Jul-2021 09:07	Dr. John Smith	Added
12-Jul-2021 09:09	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
12-Jul-2021 09:49	HB	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator]
13-Jul-2021 08:05	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
01-Jul-2023 01:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Narrative]]
16-Sep-2023 12:56	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[Narrative]]]