Date:	Thursday 27 January 1949
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 4
Owner/operator:	CFE RAF
Registration:	VW782
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	2.5 miles SW of Great Massingham, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF West Raynham, Fakenham, Norfolk
Destination airport:	RAF West Raynham, Norfolk

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.4 VW782: Delivered to 38 MU 5.1.48. To CFE (Central Fighter Establishment), RAF West Raynham, Fakenham, Norfolk 17.4.48; To Gloster Aircraft as Cat. C damaged 13.12.48. Repaired on site, and returned to CFE 24.1.49.

Written off (destroyed) 27.1.49 when control lost on overshoot; flew into the ground two and a half miles South West of Great Massingham airfield, near Kings Lynn, Norfolk; The pilot was attempting to last back at base (RAF West Raynham) in adverse weather conditions, despite being offered an alternative airfield at which to land. The aircraft's fuel state was low.

A quick circuit was made, but the pilot was forced to overshoot due to a poorly positioned approach, caused by the bad weather. The aircraft then climbed away and entered cloud, but the pilot became lost in cloud at approximately 300 feet. The possible cause is that the gyros had tumbled during the first circuit and approach, and the Meteor then dived into the ground two-and-a-half miles south west of Great Massingham.
Crew of Meteor VW782
S/Ldr (110797) Neville Everard REEVES DSO DFC and Bar (pilot) RAFVR- killed

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.469
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. CFE RAF ORB 1-1-1946 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/1348: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101058
5. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_2010.pdf p.37
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=vw
7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135400610/nevil-everard-reeves
8. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/awards/details.php?qnum=110797&qname=REEVES
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Fighter_Establishment
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Massingham

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
04-Apr-2023 21:35	Dr. John Smith	Added