Date:	Thursday 27 June 1946
Time:	afternoon
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire F Mk XIV
Owner/operator:	17 Sqn RAF
Registration:	RM967
MSN:	6S 381785
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Sea of Japan, off Kashimacho Kataku, Shimane Prefecture -   Japan
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Yoshijima Airport, Hiroshima, Japan
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
RM967: Spitfire FR. XIV, MSN 6S-381785. Built by Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire with Griffon G65 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 9-12-44. To 82MU RAF Lichfield, Fradley, Staffordshire 15-1-45 for packing and crating for overseas shipment. To 1PATP and shipped on the SS 'Empire Paragon' 12-2-45, arriving India 11-4-45. Shipped to Japan 26-9-45. To 17 Squadron RAF. In April 1946, No. 17 Squadron arrived in Japan to form part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. The squadron remained here until it disbanded on 23-2-48.

Written off (destroyed) 27-6-46 when engine failed, aircraft abandoned and crashed into the Sea of Japan, off Kashimacho Kataku, Shimane Prefecture. The engine failed in flight over Hakutacho Suyamafukudome, Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, Japan (at approx. co-ordinates 35.30N, 133.30E), and the pilot decided that a forced landing was not possible, due to the hilly local terrain. The pilot managed to successfully bail out, but his parachute did not open, and he was killed on impact with the ground. The Spitfire, meanwhile, flew on, unpiloted, over the sea until the fuel ran out, and then it dived into the Sea of Japan.

Crew of Spitfire RM967:
W/O (1567857) Anthony James Gray RAFVR (pilot, aged 23) - killed on active service 27-6-46. Commemorated at Yokohama War Cemetery, Yokohama, Japan

Airframe formally Struck Off Charge 29-8-46 as Cat.E2(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.171
3. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999
4. 17 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-1-1946 to 30-6-1946: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2400/1: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8419204
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.101: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p097.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._17_Squadron_RAF#Post-War
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2208060/anthony-james-gray/
9. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=RM967
10. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/RM967
11. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/102070-rm967
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamada,_Shimane

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-Jun-2023 01:46	Dr. John Smith	Added
22-Jun-2023 09:22	Nepa	Updated
25-Jun-2023 01:24	Dr. John Smith	Updated
26-Jun-2023 20:17	Dr. John Smith	Updated
15-Sep-2023 11:56	Dr. John Smith	Updated