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Date: | Wednesday 21 August 1946 |
Time: | day |
Type: | Supermarine Spitfire PR. XI |
Owner/operator: | Levant CF RAF |
Registration: | EN661 |
MSN: | CHA.4451 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | RAF Lydda, 4 miles north of Lod, Palestine -
Israel
|
Phase: | Taxi |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | RAF Lydda, Lod, Palestine |
Destination airport: | RAF Lydda, Lod, Palestine |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:EN661: Spitfire PR. XI, MSN CHA.4451. Built by Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) at Chattis Hill with Merlin M63 engine. First Flown 18-6-43. To RAF Benson, Oxfordshire 23-6-43. To 1 OADU (Overseas Aircraft Delivery Unit) 2-8-43. To Miles Aircraft, Woodley, Reading 5-8-43 for modifications. To 680 Squadron at LG.219 (Kilo 8), Matariyah (Payne Field), Cairo, Egypt 12-8-43. To Middle East 30-9-43. To 132MU RAF Helwan, Egypt, 30-6-44. To RAF Levant Communications Flight by 31-3-45
Written off (damaged beyond repair) 21-8-46 when undercarriage collapsed while taxying at RAF Lydda, 4 miles North of Lod, Palestine. The aircraft had an undiscovered structural weakness in the undercarriage, caused by earlier damage to the mainplane attachment, where the undercarriage hinges were attached to the mainplane. While taxying at Lydda, Palestine, the aircraft was turned through 180 degrees, causing the starboard undercarriage oleo leg to fail, and the Spitfire to tip onto its nose.
Damage initially assessed as Cat. C (Repairable) 21-8-46. However, not repaired, re-cat E2 and Struck Off Charge 27-3-47
Lod Air Force Base, also Air Force Base 27, was an Israeli Air Force airfield that was part of the Ben Gurion International Airport, located approximately 7 km (4 miles) north of Lod; 8 km (5 mi) east-southeast of Tel Aviv. From 1938 to 1948 it was known as RAF Station Lydda while under British Royal Air Force control
Sources:
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.201
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft EA100-EZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1988)
4. Levant CF RAF ORB for the period 1-4-1942 to 31-7-1947: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/894/2:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7162278 5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.102:
https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf 6.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._680_Squadron_RAF 7.
http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p036.html 8.
https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/EN661 9.
https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/91633-en661 10.
https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=EN661 11.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lod_Airbase#History Location
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
10-Jun-2023 18:08 |
Dr. John Smith |
Added |
10-Jun-2023 18:15 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated |
10-Jun-2023 20:21 |
Nepa |
Updated |
14-Sep-2023 17:04 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated |