Date:	Monday 17 June 1946
Time:	afternoon
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire F Mk XIVe
Owner/operator:	28 Sqn RAF
Registration:	RM994
MSN:	6S 381825
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	South China Sea, off coast of Malaya -   Malaysia
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Destination airport:	RAF Cox's Bazaar, British India
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
RM994: Spitfire XIVe, MSN 6S-381825. Built by Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire with Griffon G65 engine. First Flown 19-12-44. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 12-1-45. To 222MU 6-2-45 for packing and crating for overseas shipment. Shipped on the SS 'Empire Paragon' 12-2-45, arriving India 11-4-45. To 28 Squadron RAF by 1-10-45

After the end of the Second World War 28 squadron continued as a fighter-reconnaissance unit as part of the Far East Air Force. In October 1945, the squadron replaced its Hurricanes with more Spitfires, (Mk VIIIs and Mk XIVEs), concentrating on the Spitfire XIVe by the end of the year. It moved to Penang, Malaya in November 1945 and to RAF Kuala Lumpur in April 1946, and then to RAF Tengah, Singapore in February 1947

Written off (went missing) 17-6-46 on ferry flight from Kuala Lumpur to India. Presumed ditched into the South China Sea off the coast of Malaysia, between RAF Kuala Lumpur, and Cox's Bazaar, then in British India. Pilot posted as missing presumed killed.

Crew of Spitfire RM994:
W/O (1336497) Robert Christopher Phillips (Pilot) RAFVR - missing, presumed killed on active service 17-6-46. Commemorated on the Singapore Memorial, Kranji, North West, Singapore

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.163
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.100: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
5. 28 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-10-1945 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2405/25; https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8419460
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p097.html
7. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/102097-rm994
8. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=35856
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1815845/robert-christopher-phillips/
10. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56231946/robert-christopher-phillips
11. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/RM994
12. https://www.rafcommands.com/archive/11685.php
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._28_Squadron_RAF#Post-War_(1946%E2%80%931967)
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_China_Sea
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Kuala_Lumpur

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
23-Jun-2023 18:56	Dr. John Smith	Added
23-Jun-2023 20:27	Nepa	Updated
25-Jun-2023 01:31	Dr. John Smith	Updated
15-Sep-2023 17:44	Dr. John Smith	Updated