Date:	Tuesday 17 September 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire F.VIII
Owner/operator:	3 Sqn RIAF
Registration:	MD269
MSN:	CHA.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	5 miles from Kohar, Bhiwani district, Haryana -   India
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RIAF Ambala, Ambala Cantt, Haryana, India
Destination airport:

Narrative:
MD269: Spitfire F. VIII, built by Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) at Chattis Hill, with Merlin M66 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 21-2-44. To 82MU RAF Lichfield 5-3-44 for packing and crating for overseas shipment. Shipped on the SS 'Malika' 13-3-44, arriving India 26-4-44. To 152 Squadron RAF; On 19-12-43, under the command of Squadron Leader Mervyn Ingram, 152 Squadron moved to Burma and joined the RAF Third Tactical Air Force (TAF). During the Battle of Imphal, the squadron operated from front-line strips and supported the Fourteenth Army during its final conquest of Burma. It was disbanded on 10-3-46 in Singapore where it had moved after the Japanese surrender is September 1945.

After the Japanese surrender in September 1945, 136 squadron re-located to RAF Tengah, Singapore in October and from there went on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in November 1945, where they received Spitfire Mk. XIVs and where it remained until 8-5-46, when the squadron embarked for India. Arriving in Bombay, the squadron was disbanded on 11-5-46 by being renumbered to 152 Squadron RAF. Thence (later in 1946) to 3 Squadron RIAF

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 17-9-46 struck a large bird near Kohar; the Spitfire sustained damage to the pipes connecting the oil cooler to the radiator. The loss of oil caused the engine to overheat, run roughly and then seize. The pilot then made a 'wheels up' forced landing 5 miles from Kohar, Bhiwani district, Haryana, India

Crew of Spitfire MD269
Flying Officer (IND/1998) Maurice Emile Clement D'Eca, RIAF (Pilot, aged 24 at the time) - survived uninjured.

Damage assessed as Cat. E 17-9-46. Not repaired, struck off charge 31-10-46 as Cat. E(FA). The pilot retired from the RIAF on 14-7-47 as a Class B release.

Kohar is a village in the Bhiwani district of the Indian state of Haryana. It lies approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) west of the district headquarters town of Bhiwani.

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.219
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft MA100-MZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 3 Sqn RIAF ORB for the period 1-6-1945 to 31-7-1947: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/45/41: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8436167
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.103: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/89436-md269
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/MD269
8. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=MD269
9. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/MD269
10. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/1998
11. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/genealogy/records/maurice-emilie-clement-d-eca-24-13hl3g9
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._152_Squadron_RAF
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._136_Squadron_RAF#Malaya
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohar

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Jun-2023 14:47	Dr. John Smith	Added
02-Jun-2023 17:07	Nepa	Updated
19-Jun-2023 18:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated
13-Sep-2023 13:44	Dr. John Smith	Updated