Date:	Saturday 4 September 1948
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire F.22
Owner/operator:	504 (County of Nottingham) Sqn RAF
Registration:	PK435
MSN:	CBAF.69
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF East Kirkby, near Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Syerston, Nottinghamshire
Destination airport:	RAF East Kirkby, Lincolnshire

Narrative:
PK435: Spitfire F.22, MSN CBAF.69. Built at CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Griffon G61 engine. Delivered to 39MU RAF Colerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire 3-10-45. To VA KEE (Vickers Armstrong Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire) for modifications 18-6-46. To 504 (County of Nottingham) Squadron, RAF Syerston, Nottinghamshire, coded 'RAD-S' 11-5-48

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 4-9-48 when crash-landed at RAF East Kirkby, near Horncastle, Lincolnshire. The undercarriage of Spitfire PK435 was damaged during take-off, and would not lower during the final approach to landing. To compound the pilot's problems, the engine started to leak oil, which ignited and caused smoke in the cockpit. The pilot, who had no working undercarriage and impaired vision due to smoke in the cockpit, then opted to make a wheels-up belly landing on the airfield. The pilot survived OK without injuries

Aircraft deemed non-repairable, Cat E 4-9-48. Struck off charge and sold to Vickers Armstrongs 7-12-49 for spares and scrap

NOTE: Some published sources give the crash location as RAF Bentwaters, Woodbridge, Suffolk.

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.425
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 504 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-6-1946 to 31-8-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2497: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2505135
5. "RAF Write offs 1948": Air Britain Aeromilitaria No.1 1979: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p085.html
7. http://www.bcar.org.uk/1945-1949-incident-logs.php#1948
8. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/PK435
9. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/79618-pk435
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._504_Squadron_RAF#Into_the_jet_age
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_East_Kirkby#Post_war_use

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
16-Apr-2023 15:20	Dr. John Smith	Added