Date:	Monday 17 February 1947
Time:	day
Type:	Bristol Beaufighter TF Mk X
Owner/operator:	42 Sqn RAF
Registration:	RD687
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Thorney Island, Emsworth, Hampshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Thorney Island, Hampshire
Destination airport:	RAF Thorney Island, Hampshire

Narrative:
Bristol Beaufighter RD687: Took off from base for training flight. 17/02/1947. During the sortie the port engine failed at 700 feet, and altitude could not be maintained on one engine alone. The pilot therefore made an immediate forced landing back at base (RAF Thorney Island, Emsworth, Hampshire), without any injuries to the crew. However, the aircraft then caught fire and was burnt out.

On 1 October 1946, No. 254 Squadron at RAF Thorney Island was renumbered to No. 42 Squadron. Equipped with Bristol Beaufighter, it was a strike unit in RAF Coastal Command until disbanded on 15 October 1947

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
3. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.271
4. 42 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-10-1946 to 15-10-1947: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2414: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2505052
5. https://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/hancrash.html
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._42_Squadron_RAF#Beaufighters_and_Shackletons_(1946%E2%80%931971)
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Thorney_Island#Post-war_units

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
26-Jun-2022 12:39	Nepa	Added [Operator]
16-Sep-2022 10:14	Nepa	Updated [Location, Source, Operator]
21-May-2023 20:16	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Location, Source, Operator]]