Date:	Tuesday 12 August 1947
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IX
Owner/operator:	73 Sqn RAF
Registration:	MJ891
MSN:	CBAF.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Ta Kali (Ta'qali) -   Malta
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Ta Kali (Ta'qali), Malta
Destination airport:	RAF Ta Kali (Ta'qali), Malta
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
MJ891: Spitfire LF. IX. Built by CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M66 engine. To 33MU RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire 24-12-43. To 403 ("City of Calgary") Squadron RCAF 30-1-44. To 421 Squadron RCAF 27-7-44. To AST (Air Service Training) 19-9-44. To 12FU. To 1 OADU (Overseas Aircraft Delivery Unit) 30-4-45. To Mediterranean Allied Air Force 16-5-45. To 73 Squadron, RAF at Prkos, Yugoslavia 30-4-45. To RAF Hal Far, Malta July 1945, later to RAF Ta Kali (Ta'qali), Malta

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 12-8-47 flew into ground while on landing approach at RAF Ta Kali (Ta'qali), Malta. Pilot returned a sortie with an unserviceable R/T, wiping the undercarriage landing in a cross-wind. Slight injuries to pilot. There was some difficulty removing the aircraft from the runway, and the three other Spitfires were forced to divert to Luqa.

The squadron’s ORB (see link #4) had this to say about this incident. “With only a few more weeks to go to complete a whole accident-free year for the Squadron, this effort is rather disappointing but even so, eleven months without a prang was quite a creditable effort.”

Not repaired: Struck off charge as Cat E 12-8-47

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.330
3. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft MA100-MZ999
4. 73 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-1-1946 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2430/4: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8420259
5. "RAF Write offs 1947": Air Britain Aeromilitaria No. 1978: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1978.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p068.html
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/MJ891
8. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/85634-mj891
9. https://aviationinmalta.com/MilitaryAviation/AccidentsMilitary/19401949/tabid/650/language/en-GB/Default.aspx
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/403_Helicopter_Operational_Training_Squadron#World_War_II
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._421_Squadron_RCAF#Second_World_War
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._73_Squadron_RAF
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Ta_Kali#Post_war

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
29-Aug-2023 18:03	Dr. John Smith	Added
29-Aug-2023 19:37	Nepa	Updated