Date:	Tuesday 18 March 1947
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk XVIII
Owner/operator:	6 Sqn RIAF
Registration:	TZ104
MSN:	6S 676470
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Palaman, Bihar -   India
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RIAF Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
Destination airport:	RIAF Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
TZ104: Spitfire FR.XIV, MSN 6S 676470. Built by Vickers Armstrongs at Keevil, Trowbridge, Wiltshire with Griffon G65 engine., To 29MU RAF High Ercall, Shropshire 6-5-45. To 15FPP (Ferry Pilots Pool); force landed due to oil leak at Moreton Valance, Gloucestershire. Damage assessed as Cat C (Repairable) 4-5-45. Pilot T/O Miss H Kerly safe. To 82MU RAF Lichfield, Fredley, Staffordshire 30-8-45 for packing and crating for shipment overseas. Shipped on the ss 'Ocean Gallant' 17-9-45, arriving India 14-10-45. To ACSEA (Air Command South East Asia) 29-11-45. To 6 Squadron RIAF by 1-12-45

Written off (destroyed) when engine cut, and aircraft abandoned near Palaman, Bihar, India (at approx. coordinates 27.52 North, 84.20 East). The engine of Spitfire TZ104 failed while the aircraft was one of a pair on a 'sector recce sortie'. As there was no safe place to make an emergency forced landing, the pilot opted to bail out. However, he pulled the parachute ripcord too early, and the subsequent drag caused him to strike the wing of Spitfire TZ104 with fatal consequences. Aircraft destroyed by fire on impact with the ground.

Crew of Spitfire TZ104
Pilot Officer (IND/3293) Rene Harold Beaupert, RIAF (pilot, aged 22) - killed on active service 18-3-47; Buried or commemorated at Ranchi War Cemetery, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

The same pilot was the one at the controls when Spitfire NH873 crashed at Ambala, India on 16-1-47 (see separate entry)

Damaged initially assessed as Cat E 18-3-47. Not repaired, and Struck Off Charge 26-6-47 as Cat. E2(FA)

1. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.281
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
3. 6 Sqn RIAF ORB for the period 1-11-1945 to 30-4-47: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/96/15: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8407238
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p114.html
5. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/80195-tz104
6. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/TZ104
7. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/TZ104
8. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/3293
9. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=2879
10. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2807141/rene-harold-beaupert/
11. https://www.vsdh.org/vsdh/ww2/beaupert.htm
12. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21620624/rene-harold-beaupert
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._6_Squadron_IAF
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranchi
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bihar

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
04-Sep-2023 18:41	Dr. John Smith	Added
04-Sep-2023 18:42	Dr. John Smith	Updated
05-Sep-2023 08:40	Nepa	Updated