Date:	Monday 23 September 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF. IX
Owner/operator:	43 (China-British) Sqn RAF
Registration:	MH737
MSN:	CBAF.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Tissano. (UD) Friuli Venezia Giulia -   Italy
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Rivolto Air Base
Destination airport:	Tissano LG. (UD) Friuli Venezia Giulia

Narrative:
MH737: Spitfire LF IX. Built by CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M66 engine. To 33MU RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire 18-9-43. To 132 Squadron, RAF Detling, Maidstone, Kent 26-9-43 coded 'FF-Y'. Spitfire MH737 was a presentation (sponsored) Spitfire named "Ethel Marsden". The aircraft was the 'usual' mount of Flt.Lt. V.J. Sumpter. To 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron, RAF Detling, Maidstone, Kent. Cat. C (Repairable) accident 6-7-44. To 405RSU 13-7-44 for repairs. To Airwork Service Training 18-7-44 for further repairs. To 82MU RAF Lichfield, Staffordshire 21-11-44 for packing and crating for overseas shipment. Shipped on the SS 'Guinean' 22-12-44, arriving Casablanca, Morocco 15-1-45. To MAAF (Mediterranean Allied Air Force), then to 43 Squadron, RAF coded 'FT-O' by 31-3-45.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 23-9-46 when overshot landing at Tizzano Val Parma, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The pilot realised that his approach to Tizzano was poor, but delayed overshooting for a second attempt. The aircraft sank and hit the runway, before ground looping, running off the edge of the runway and into soft ground in a field. The undercarriage 'dug in' to the soft ground and overturned. Pilot Flt/Sgt W.D. Webber safe

Not repaired, Struck Off Charge 31-10-46 as Cat. E(FA)

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.221
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 43 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-5-45 to 31-5-47: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/446: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2503081
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.103: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p064.html
7. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/84957-mh737
8. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/MH737
9. https://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?23188-132-(city-of-Bombay)-Squadron&p=134963#post134963
10. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hyperscale/questions-about-the-spitfire-ix-mh737-t203691.html
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._43_Squadron_RAF#Second_World_War
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._132_Squadron_RAF
13. https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/45782-tamiya-132-spitfire-ix-mh737pic-heavy/
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tizzano_Val_Parma

LANCASHIRE SPINNER PRESENTS SPITFIRE "ETHEL MARSDEN" TO ROYAL AIR FORCE. © IWM (CH 11844) Picture (issued 1944) shows - Sir Hugh Garrett meets pilots of 132 (Bomba)y Squadron; Spitfire MH737 in background LANCASHIRE SPINNER PRESENTS SPITFIRE "ETHEL MARSDEN" TO ROYAL AIR FORCE. © IWM (CH 11845) Accompanied by Squadron Leader E.F. Coleredo, and "Dingo" the Bomb Squadron's mascot, Sir Hugh Garrett inspects the Spitfire "Ethel Marsden" (MH737). This aircraft has already been in action by the time the photo was taken

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
01-Jun-2023 16:29	Dr. John Smith	Added
20-Aug-2023 17:26	Freddy	Updated
13-Sep-2023 13:23	Dr. John Smith	Updated