Date:	Thursday 31 January 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk VIII
Owner/operator:	10 Sqn RIAF
Registration:	MD333
MSN:	CHA.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Hmawbi, Indan, 2.5 miles NE of Hmawbi Township, Burma -   Myanmar
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Cox's Bazaar, British India (now Bangladesh)
Destination airport:	RAF Hmawbi, Indan, Hmawbi, Burma
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
MD333: Spitfire LF.VIII, built by Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) at Chattis Hill, with Merlin M66 engine, To 9MU RAF Cosford, Shropshire 5-2-44. To 82MU RAF Lichfield, Fradley, Staffordshire 7-3-44 for packing and crating for shipment overseas. Shipped on the SS 'Benreoch' 29-3-44, arriving India 12-5-44. To 10 Squadron RIAF at RIAF Yelahanka, Yelahanka, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India by/on 1-5-45

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 31-1-46 when undercarriage collapsed landing RAF Hmawbi, Indan, 2.5 miles NE of Hmawbi Township, Burma. The pilot lowered the undercarriage on the approach to RAF Hmawbi, but failed to check that the undercarriage indicator lights were "three greens" (meaning "undercarriage down and locked"). ATC (Air Traffic Control) noticed that the Spitfire's undercarriage was not lowered, and fired red VEREY flights (flares) to warn the pilot of the situation; but either the flares were ignored or not seen, as the pilot failed to respond to these signals. As a result, the undercarriage collapsed immediately upon touchdown at RAF Hmawbi, and the aircraft was severely damaged due to it skidding along the runway at speed. The pilot survived, albeit with minor injuries.

Crew of Spitfire MD333
P/O (IND/3069) Raghubir Dutt Law (pilot) RIAF - survived with minor injuries.

The pilot rose through the ranks to become Commanding Officer of 1 Squadron RIAF in November 1962. He retired from the Indian Air Force on 1-2-1967. On 3-5-76 he was killed as a Passenger in a DHC-4 Twin Otter crash (C-GDHA) at Lusaka, Zambia, during a demonstration flight for the Zambian Air Force. (See separate entry)

Spitfire MD333 was not repaired: Struck Off Charge 30-5-46 as Cat. E(FA)

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. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.94: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
5. 10 Sqn RIAF ORB for the period 1-5-1945 to 31-7-1947: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/156/3: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8408114
6. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/MD333
7. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/89489-md333
8. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=MD333
9. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/MD333
10. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/3069
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._10_Squadron_IAF#History
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmawbi_Township

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