Date:	Wednesday 21 August 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IX
Owner/operator:	CFE FLS RAF
Registration:	LZ921
MSN:	CBAF 5134
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Great Massingham, 8 miles SW of Fakenham, Norfolk, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF West Raynham, Norfolk
Destination airport:	RAF Great Massingham, Norfolk

Narrative:
LZ921: Spitfire LF. IX, MSN CBAF 5134. Built at CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M63 engine. To 45MU RAF Kinloss, Morayshire 24-4-43. To 331 (Norwegian) Squadron coded 'FN-C' 14-5-43. To 3501SU 29-6-44. To CFE FLS (Central Fighter Establishment Fighter Leaders School), RAF West Raynham, Fakenham, Norfolk,

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 21-8-46 when belly-landed at RAF Great Massingham, Fakenham, Norfolk; on final approach, the pilot failed to push the undercarriage lever down fully, nor did he check the undercarriage warning lights to see they showed 'three greens' (which would have confirmed that the undercarriage was 'down and locked')

ATC (Air Traffic Control) also failed to warn the pilot by radio of the problem, nor did they use any other methods to signal to him (Aldis lamp or red VEREY flares) to take the appropriate action. As a result, the undercarriage immediately collapsed on touchdown, causing severe damage to the underside of the airframe

Damage assessed 21-8-46 as Cat. E(G/I); allocated to become ground instructional airframe 6042M 2-9-46. However, the airframe was deemed to be badly damaged to be of use in this role and instead was re-Cat E(FA) and Struck Off Charge 25-10-46.

RAF Great Massingham is a former Royal Air Force station located 8.1 miles (13.0 km) southwest of Fakenham, Norfolk and 11.7 miles (18.8 km) east of King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. The airfield was built as a satellite airfield of RAF West Raynham in 1940. The airfield closed in 1945, although remained in use for storage until the 1950s.

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.202
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft LA100-LZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1988)
4. CFE RAF ORB for the period 1-12-1944 to 31-3-1948: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR20/1792: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1220125
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.102: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p056.html
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/LZ921
8. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/84109-lz921
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Fighter_Establishment
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Great_Massingham

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
10-Jun-2023 00:08	Dr. John Smith	Added
10-Jun-2023 07:27	Nepa	Updated
10-Jun-2023 17:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated
14-Sep-2023 16:49	Dr. John Smith	Updated