Date:	Tuesday 23 April 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb
Owner/operator:	1567 Met Flt RAF
Registration:	ER817
MSN:	CBAF.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	El Geneina (Al-Junaynah) dar Masalit region, West Darfur -   Sudan
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	El Geneina, dar Masalit region, West Darfur, Sudan
Destination airport:	El Geneina, dar Masalit region, West Darfur, Sudan
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
ER817: Spitfire Vb, built by CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M46. To 12MU 18-10-42. To 82MU RAF Lichfield, Fradley, Staffordshire 27-10-42 for packing and crating for shipment overseas. Shipped on the 'R.634' 4-11-42, arriving Gibraltar 8-12-42. To 243 Squadron in Algeria coded 'SN-F' 3-1-43. To 229 Squadron RAF Ta Kali, Malta. Cat B accident 3-12-42. Struck Off Charge 31-12-42. However, brought back on charge and issued to USAAF: to 308th FS/31st FG USAAF coded 'HL-F.' Returned to RAF in Middle East 22-2-45, and issued again to 1567 Met Flight, El Geneina, Sudan.

As per the Flight ORB at the National Archives (see link #4): "1567 Meteorological Flight; formed at Khartoum, Sudan, then based at El Geneina, June 1943-April 1946"

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 23-4-45: Lost power on take-off belly-landed at El Geneina (Al-Junaynah) dar Masalit region, West Darfur, Sudan. The pilot forgot to tighten the friction nut on the throttle lever before the takeoff run. As the aircraft was lifting off, and the undercarriage was retracting, the engine power was reduced as the throttle lever slipped back. The Spitfire sank back onto the runway, and the propellor tips struck the ground. The pilot then made an immediate 'straight head' forced landing.

Damage assessed as Cat E 28-4-46; Struck Off Charge 27-6-46 as FACE (Flying Accident Cat. E)

Geneina (sometimes Al-Junaynah or El Geneina; Arabic: الجنينة, lit. the little garden) is a city in West Darfur, part of dar Masalit region, that joined British Sudan at the end of 1919 through the Gilani agreement signed between the Masalit Sultanate and the United Kingdom, according to which it became a territory. It is now the capital of the Sudanese state of West Darfur. The airstrip where the incident took place is now El Geneina regional airport, some eight miles north east of El Geneina.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.39. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.129
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft LA100-LZ999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain 1985)
4. 1567 Meteorological Flight RAF ORB for the period 1-6-1943 to 30-4-1946: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR29/878/2: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7161984
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aero militaria 1979 p.98: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p043.html
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/ER817
8 https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/98182-er817
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Royal_Air_Force_aircraft_independent_flights
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneina_Airport

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
01-Jul-2023 01:00	Dr. John Smith	Added
01-Jul-2023 01:04	Dr. John Smith	Updated
01-Jul-2023 07:46	Nepa	Updated
02-Jul-2023 18:07	Dr. John Smith	Updated
16-Sep-2023 12:38	Dr. John Smith	Updated