Date:	Sunday 25 August 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IX
Owner/operator:	165 Sqn RAF
Registration:	MK362
MSN:	CBAF IX.1567
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Taxi
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Dyce, Aberdeen, Scotland
Destination airport:	RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire

Narrative:
MK362: Spitfire LF.IX, MSN CBAF IX.1567. Built by CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M66 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 4-2-44. To 349 (Belgian) Squadron, RAF Digby, Scopwick, Lincolnshire 16-2-44 coded "GE-J". To 66 Squadron coded 'LZ-P' 8-6-44 at RAF North Weald, Essex. 66 Squadron became part of the Second Tactical Air Force and provided air cover for the invasion forces in Normandy, being based in France from 22-6-44. Cat C accident 26-8-44. Re-cat B 23-9-44. After a break in South Wales the squadron continued to support the advancing allied forces being based at Abbeville in September 1944 and then on to Grimbergen in Belgium. In November 1944, the squadron converted to the Spitfire XVI before moving the Twente in the Netherlands where it disbanded on 30-4-45. To DeHavilland for repairs to propellor. To 165 Squadron, RAF Dyce, Aberdeen coded "SK-F" on 20-5-45

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 25-8-46: The Spitfire landed heavily at RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire, but successfully completed its landing run without any apparent damage. The aircraft was being taxied back to it parking spot, the undercarriage collapsed ("folded up"), and the Spitfire sank to the ground. Damage sustained included shock loading of the engine, and severe denting to the underside of the fuselage.

Damage initially assessed as Cat. C (repairable) 25-8-46: re-cat E Struck Off Charge 8-11-46. To Duxford scrap dump

With the end of the war in Europe (8-5-45), 165 squadron moved to RAF Dyce to re-equip with Spitfires and prepare to be transferred to Norway in mid-June. The squadron provided air defence for a period of six months until the Royal Norwegian Air Force had reorganised. The squadron disbanded on 1-9-46 after returning home with its aircraft passing to No. 66 Squadron at RAF Duxford.

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 MA100-MZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1988)
4. 165 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-1-46 to 31-7-46: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/1087/81: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8390639
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/p070.html
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/MK362
8. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=MK362
9. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/85909-mk362
10. https://www.349squadron.be/history/second-world-war
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/349th_Squadron_(Belgium)#Royal_Air_Force_(1942%E2%80%9346)
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._66_Squadron_RAF#Second_World_War
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._165_Squadron_RAF
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duxford_Aerodrome#Postwar_use

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
10-Jun-2023 00:08	Dr. John Smith	Added
10-Jun-2023 07:26	Nepa	Updated
14-Sep-2023 17:08	Dr. John Smith	Updated