Date:	Thursday 14 March 1946
Time:	09:40 LT
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire F Mk XIV
Owner/operator:	20 Sqn RAF
Registration:	TZ191
MSN:	6S 676526
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Hmawbi, Indan, 2.5 miles NE of Hmawbi Township, Burma -   Myanmar
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Don Muang AB, Bangkok, Siam (Thailand)
Destination airport:	RAF Hmawbi, Indan, Hmawbi, Burma
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
TZ191: Spitfire FR. XIV, MSN 6S-676526. Built by Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire with Griffon G65 engine. To 29MU RAF High Ercall, Shropshire 2-6-45. To 222MU RAF North Luffenham 5-7-45 for packing and crating for shipment overseas. Shipped on the SS 'City of Hong Kong' 26-8-45, arriving India 17-9-45. To ACSEA (Air Command South East Asia) in 9-45.

To 20 Squadron, RAF by 1-12-45: In August and September 1945, 20 Squadron moved from RAF St Thomas Mount to RAF Amarda Road, where they re-equipped with Spitfire VIIIs before moving to Don Muang, outside Bangkok, as the first RAF squadron based in Siam (now Thailand). The squadron exchanged its Spitfire VIIIs for Spitfire XIVs in December 1945.

Written off (destroyed) 14-3-46 when hit a row of parked RAF P-47D Thunderbolts in over-shoot at RAF Hmawbi, Indan, 2.5 miles NE of Hmawbi Township, Burma (now Intann, Hmawbi, Myanmar). The Spitfire stalled at an altitude of approx.20 feet while in the final stages of the approach to the airfield. The Spitfire struck the ground with the starboard wheel, fracturing the starboard undercarriage leg in the process. The pilot attempted to recover the situation by opening up the throttle to achieve an overshoot, but the attempt was unsuccessful, as the Spitfire swung off the runway and collided with a line of P-47D Thunderbolt Mk. IIs of 132 RSU, RAF that were parked at dispersal

Spitfire TZ191 was destroyed by fire, as were three P-47D Thunderbolt IIs (KL168, KL264 and KL849). The pilot of Spitfire TZ191 was killed.

Crew of Spitfire TZ191
F/O (181315) Gerald Astley (Pilot) RAFVR - killed on active service 14-3-46; Buried or commemorated at Rangoon War Cemetery Rangoon, East Yangon District, Rangoon, Burma, (now Yangon Region, Myanmar)

Although the three P-47D Thunderbolts were destroyed, there were no fatalities involved with those aircraft as they were parked at dispersal and unoccupied at the time. By April 1946, the squadron had moved to RAF Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, and re-equipped with Tempest FB. II, which it retained until its disbandment on 1-8-47, two weeks before Indian independence

Hmawbi Township (Burmese: မှော်ဘီမြို့နယ်) is a township in the Yangon Region of Myanmar. It is located north west of the city of Yangon. The principal town and administrative seat is at Hmawbi. The Hmawbi airport is at Indan (Inntan), 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) northeast of the town of Hmawbi.

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.95
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain)
4. 20 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-1-1946 to 31-08-1946: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2402/2: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8419273
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.97: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2259673/gerald-astley/
7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56529302/gerald-astley
8. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/remembering-today-14-3-46-gerald-astley-rafvr.37707/
9. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p114.html
10. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=1371
11. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/80277-tz191
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._20_Squadron_RAF#Cold_War_(1945-1970)
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmawbi_Township

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
09-Jul-2023 00:00	Dr. John Smith	Updated
09-Jul-2023 09:36	Nepa	Updated
12-Jul-2023 18:16	Dr. John Smith	Updated
01-Sep-2023 01:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated
17-Sep-2023 15:37	Dr. John Smith	Updated