Date:	Thursday 25 April 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Airspeed Oxford Mk I
Owner/operator:	1 BAS RAF
Registration:	MP372
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Longcot, Berkshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Watchfield, Oxfordshire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Airspeed Oxford Mk.1 MP372/FDW-B, 1 BAS (Beam Approach School), RAF Watchfield, Oxfordshire. Written off (damaged beyond repair) 25 April 1946 in a mid-air collision with another Oxford (HM831/FDV-C) also of 1 BAS RAF.

The crew of Oxford MP372 bailed out safely, and parachuted to earth; the aircraft dived into the ground at Longcot, Berkshire. The crew of Oxford HM831 stayed with their aircraft and made a successful emergency landing. (Oxford HM831 survived with only minor damage; it was repaired and returned to service, and eventually was civilianised as G-AMFL)

Crew of Oxford MP372:
F/Lt R G Robinson (Pilot) RAF- bailed out, survived uninjured, out parachuted to the ground safely
F/O J M Alison (navigator) RAF - bailed out, survived uninjured, out parachuted to the ground safely

Crew of Oxford HM831:
F/O K W Powell (pilot) RAF - uninjured
F/O D E Pegg (navigator) RAF - uninjured.

RAF Watchfield was used as one of the first airfields which taught Blind/Beam Approach which meant that when no other aircraft were flying the in country due to the weather, aircraft from Watchfield flew constantly teaching pilots how to land in dangerous conditions. The first unit to use the station for this purpose was the Blind Approach School RAF between 28 September 1940 and 1941 which turned into No. 1 Blind Approach School RAF between 1941 and 31 October 1941 which then turned into No. 1 Beam Approach School RAF which operated between 31 October 1941 and 31 December 1946

The reported crash location of Longcot is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse District. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The village is about 3 miles (5 km) south of Farringdon and about 2.5 miles (4 km) northeast of Shrivenham. The A420 road between Swindon and Oxford passes through the parish 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of the village

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.130
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft MA100-MZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. The Oxford, Consul & Envoy File (John F Hamlin, Air Britain, 2001 p.161)
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.98: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longcot
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Watchfield#Beam_approach

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
13-Jul-2021 09:03	Dr. John Smith	Added
13-Jul-2021 15:46	youda	Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator]
14-Jul-2021 11:55	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
01-Jul-2023 00:06	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Departure airport, Source, Narrative]]