Date:	Thursday 14 July 1949
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk XVIII
Owner/operator:	208 Sqn RAF
Registration:	TP450
MSN:	ALD.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Abu Sultan (Abou Sultan أبو سلطان) Fayid Ismailia Governorate -   Egypt
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Fayid, Suez Canal Zone, Egypt
Destination airport:	Deversoir Air Base (LG-209) Ismailia, Egypt
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
TP450: Spitfire FR XVIII, built by Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) at Aldermaston with Griffon G67 engine. First Flown at Aldermaston 6-2-46. To 33MU RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire 11-2-46. To RAF St. Mawgan, Cornwall 11-5-46. Allocated to MAAF (Mediterranean Allied Air Force Middle East) 30-10-47. To 208 Squadron RAF Fayid, Suez Canal Zone, Egypt 11-12-47. Cat C (Repairable) damage on ground at Ramat David airfield, Palestine 22-5-48; aircraft 'shot up' (strafed) by a REAF (Royal Egyptian Air Force) Spitfire while parked out in the open on the airfield. According to an account in the 208 Squadron association newsletter

"May [1948] however must have been an almost unforgettable month for the members of the Squadron remaining on detachment at Ramat David for until the 22nd they had continued with their reconnaissance for the Army and provided continuous cover for their evacuation from Palestine. On this day, however, at 06:00 hours while all were asleep, a lone Spitfire IX appeared over the airfield, circled it, then proceeded to dive and drop bombs on the line of Spitfires. Two of 32 Squadron’s aircraft caught fire. Nothing could be done however as the enemy aircraft returned several times to strafe the airfield. Seven [208] Squadron aircraft received shrapnel damage from these attacks".

Written off (destroyed) 14-7-49 in mid-air collision with Spitfire TP292 (also of 208 Squadron); Spitfire TP450 crashed near Abu Sultan (Abou Sultan أبو سلطان) Fayid Ismailia Governorate, Egypt. The two aircraft collided when Spitfire TP292 was making a mock "reverse quarter" attack on Spitfire TP450, and the pilot of Spitfire TP292 failed to break away from the mock attack in time to prevent a collision. The pilots of both aircraft killed

Pilot of Spitfire TP450
Pilot III Frank Edwards (pilot) RAF- killed on active service 14-7-49

Deversoir Air Base (LG-209) is an active airbase of the Egyptian Air Force, known as 'Abu Sultan', located approximately 19 km south-southeast of Ismailia (Al Isma`iliyah); 116 km northeast of Cairo. It was formerly a major Royal Air Force airfield known as RAF Deversoir built before World War II. Deversoir appears to have been used by the RAF after the war until March 1955 when it was handed over to the Egyptian Air Force.

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.514
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain 1985)
4. 208 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-1-1946 to 31-12-1949: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2465: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2505103
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p113.html
6. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/TP450
7. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/80449-tp450
8. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=TP450
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._208_Squadron_RAF#After_World_War_II
10. Oral History of 208 Sqn in 1948-49: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80032975
11. 208 Squadron Association Newsletter: http://www.naval8-208-association.com/History1945-50Page09.html
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deversoir_Air_Base#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-Aug-2023 04:21	Nepa	Updated