Date:	Wednesday 26 June 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IX
Owner/operator:	87 Sqn RAF
Registration:	RR241
MSN:	CBAF.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Treviso, Province of Treviso, Veneto Region -   Italy
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Treviso, Province of Treviso, Veneto Region
Destination airport:	Treviso, Province of Treviso, Veneto Region
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
RR241: Spitfire HF. IX, built by CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M70 engine, To 39MU RAF Colerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire 14-10-44. To 82MU RAF Lichfield, Fradley, Staffordshire 25-10-44 for packing and crating for overseas shipment. Shipped on the SS 'Lafian' 13-11-44, arriving Casablanca, Morocco 23-11-44. To 87 Squadron in Italy by 1-6-45.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 26-6-46 when engine failed and undershot landing at Treviso, Province of Treviso, Veneto Region, Italy. The engine failed while the Spitfire was in the circuit for Treviso. The pilot attempted to make a forced landing on the airfield at Treviso, but the aircraft undershot, collided with some trees and broke apart on impact. The pilot was killed.

Crew of Spitfire RR241:
Sqn/Leader (136540) George James KING DFC (pilot) RAFVR - killed on active service 27-6-46, buried at Padua War Cemetery, Padua, Italy.

The pilot fatality was the Commanding Officer of 87 Squadron RAF at the time (and had been since April 1946). The National Probate Calendar records that he died at No. 22 British General Hospital, Mestre, Italy of injuries sustained.

Squadron Leader King was an accredited "Ace" fighter pilot, having been credited with six victories in the Far East. It the last months of the War (March to May 1945) he joined 609 (West Riding) Squadron RAF flying Hawker Typhoons over North West Europe, attaining a further victory (making a total of 7), and being awarded the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross).

Damage assessed as Cat. E 26-6-46. Not repaired, 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.169
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft MA100-MZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 87 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-6-1945 to 31-12-1946: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/713/35: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8455129
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.100: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p098.html
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/RR241
8. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/80749-rr241
9. http://rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=RR241
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2817363/george-james-king/
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._87_Squadron_RAF#World_War_II
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treviso_Airport

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-Jun-2023 02:29	Dr. John Smith	Added
22-Jun-2023 02:36	Dr. John Smith	Updated
22-Jun-2023 08:59	Nepa	Updated
15-Sep-2023 16:12	Dr. John Smith	Updated