Date:	Thursday 17 October 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF.XVI
Owner/operator:	691 Sqn RAF
Registration:	TE179
MSN:	CBAF IX.4389
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon
Destination airport:	RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon

Narrative:
TE179: Spitfire LF.XVI, MSN CBAF IX.4389. Built by CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M266 engine. To 9MU RAF Cosford, Shropshire 18-5-45. To 587 Squadron 20-8-45 at RAF Weston Zoyland, Somerset (with detachments at RAF Middle Wallop, Hampshire and RAF Ibsley, Hampshire). To 691 Squadron 20-6-46 at RAF Weston Zoyland, Bridgwater, Somerset. Moved with squadron to RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon 4-10-46

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 17-10-46 when swung off the runway on landing at RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon. The pilot 'held off' from committing to a landing for too long, and when he did land, the landing was 'hard' - hard enough to burst a tyre. The propellor tips struck the runway, and the aircraft ground looped off the runway, colliding with a starter trolley. The pilot was uninjured.

Damage initially assessed as Cat B 17-10-46; re-cat E and Struck Off Charge 22-5-47. Aircraft to Chivenor scrap dump after spares and components recovery.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents: 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.234
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1988)
4. ORB 691 Sqn RAF for the period 1-1-1946 to 28-2-1949: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2545: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2505183
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p111.html
6. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/TE179
7. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/90751-te179
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._587_Squadron_RAF
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._691_Squadron_RAF
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Chivenor#1946%E2%80%941949

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
29-May-2023 11:28	Dr. John Smith	Added
13-Sep-2023 11:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated