Date:	Thursday 6 January 1949
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk XVIe
Owner/operator:	CGS RAF
Registration:	RW396
MSN:	CBAF IX.4654
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	West Skipsea Gunnery Ranges, near Skipsea, East Yorkshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Leconfield, East Yorkshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
RW396: Spitfire LF XVIe, MSN CBAF IX.4654. Built at CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M266 engine. Delivered to 29MU 24-7-45. Delivered to CGS (Central Gunnery School), RAF 2-4-46 coded "F-JWL"

Written off (damaged beyond repair) when engine failed, and crashed in a force-landing 6-1-49 at the West Skipsea Gunnery Ranges, near Skipsea, East Yorkshire. The pilot, Captain Luskie USAF - a US Air Force pilot on an exchange posting made a forced landing in a field on the Skipsea Ranges, after the Spitfire's engine failed. The cause of the engine failure was due to the airframe being struck by debris thrown up from a low-level firing pass on the Skipsea Gunnery Range, which punctured the radiator, causing the coolant to leak away, followed by the Spitfire's Merlin engine overheating and then seizing. The pilot was not injured.

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.461
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. ORB CGS (Central Gunnery School) RAF 1-1-1946 to 31-12-1950: National; Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR/29/1789: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101499
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p098.html
6. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/spitfire-mk16-rw396.1235/
7. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/90943-rw396
8. https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/skipsea/
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skipsea#History

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