Date:	Sunday 26 April 1942
Time:	day
Type:	De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	60 Sqn RAF
Registration:	VT-AMU
MSN:	83632
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	The Mall, Lahore, Punjab -   India
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Walton Airport, Lahore, India (OPLH)
Destination airport:

Narrative:
De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth MSN 83632 (Gipsy Major #85243); C of A 6862 issued 30.9.40 to Government of India. Civil registered VT-AMU on 20.12.40 to Goverment of India. Operated by 1 EFTS, Indian Air Force at Begumpet in early 1941. Allocated military serial DG467 in 1941 (but not taken up). Operated [by 4.42] by 60 Squadron, RAF.

Written off (destroyed) when struck roof of building in The Mall, Lahore, whilst low flying and/or engaged in unathorised low level aerobatics 26.4.42 [still registered as VT-AMU]. Pilot - Flying Officer John Robert SPALDING (Service Number AUS404516, aged 26) - killed. According to the official file at The National Archives at Kew (File AIR81/14061 - see link #2): "Flying Officer J R Spalding (RAAF): killed; Tiger Moth, 60 Squadron, aircraft accident in hired civilian aircraft, Lahore, India, 25 April 1942"

In addition, one published source (see link #7) states: "On 25-4-1942, AUS404516 Flying Officer (Pilot) John Robert SPALDING RAAF of No.60 Squadron RAF, hired a civil Tiger Moth (VT-AMU - MSN 83632) from the local flying club and while flying over Lahore doing low aerobatics, the aircraft struck a building and crashed. The passenger was thrown out of the plane and killed. Flying Officer Spalding died of his injuries the next day in the Indian Mayo Clinic, Lahore. He was originally buried in the Lahore Cantonment, South Cemetery, Lahore, Pakistan, India, Grave 22-F-8. His remains were later transferred to the Karachi War Cemetery, 3.A.12". The unfortunate passenger fatality had eluded identification. (Possibly a civilian - which would explain the lack of a reference in the CWGC database)

Registration VT-AMU cancelled 30.5.42 as "destroyed". Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam (Urdu: شاہراہ قائد اعظم), formerly known as The Mall or Mall Road (Urdu: سڑک مال, Sarak-e-Mall), is a major road in Lahore, Pakistan. The road was laid out during the British Raj on a route leading to the Governor's House, lined on both sides with Mughal shrines and kilns.

1. Royal Air Force Arcraft DA100-DZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR81/14061: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C17206698
3. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2178546/john-robert-spalding/
4. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p836.html
6. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=VT-AMU
7. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?8835-AUS404516-F-O-J-R-Spalding-RAAF&p=51506#post51506
8. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_VT-1.html
9. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/vt-aaa.pdf
10. Biography of Pilot: https://tgsoba.twgs.qld.edu.au/record/spalding-john-robert/
11. https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/647986
12. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1715854
13. https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/how-four-australian-wwii-pilots-ended-up-buried-in-pakistan
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._60_Squadron_RAF#World_War_II
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walton_Airport
16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mall,_Lahore

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
16-Mar-2022 20:35	Dr. John Smith	Added
16-Mar-2022 20:45	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
16-Mar-2022 20:49	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
17-Mar-2022 08:55	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]