ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 345281
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| Date: | Friday 21 February 1947 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Supermarine Spitfire LF. VIIIc |
| Owner/operator: | AFS RIAF |
| Registration: | MV430 |
| MSN: | SUP. |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Shahbad Gunnery Ranges, Kurukshetra district, Haryana -
 India
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RIAF Ambala, Ambala Cantt, Haryana, India |
| RIAF Ambala, Haryana, India | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
MV430: Spitfire LF VIIIc, built by Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) with Merlin M66 engine. To 6MU RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 30-8-44. To 82MU RAF Lichfield, Fradley, Staffordshire 8-9-44. Shipped on the ss 'Martaban' and the 'LS.2448' 30-10-44, arriving India 8-12-44. To 131 Squadron RAF. 131 Squadron moved to India in October 1944. The squadron re-assembled at Amarda Road on 5-2-45 but its Spitfires were re-allocated to the Royal Indian Air Force and the squadron was disbanded on 10-6-45
To AFS (Advanced Flying School), RIAF at RIAF Ambala, Ambala Cantt, Haryana, India in June 1945.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) 21-2-47: Pilot blacked out recovering from dive looped and crashed on the Shahbad Gunnery Ranges, Kurukshetra district, Haryana, India. The aircraft was used on a practice dive-bombing attack against a target on the Shahbad Ranges. The pilot pulled out of the dive sharply, and while doing so, blacked out (now known as "G-Loc" - 'G'-induced Loss Of Consciousness). The Spitfire began to climb into a loop, but at the top of the loop, stalled, went out of control and dived into the ground. The pilot, being incapacitated, was unable to act to prevent this, and was killed on impact with the ground
Crew of Spitfire MV430:
P/O (IND/3341) Herbert Valentine Smith (pilot) -RIAF killed on active service 21-2-47: buried or commemorated at Delhi-Karachi 1939-1945 Memorial, New Delhi, Delhi Capital Territory, India
Aircraft destroyed; formally Struck Off Charge 26-6-47 as Cat. E(FA)
Sources:
1. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.272
2. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p076.html
3. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/MV430
4. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/89955-mv430
5. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Aircraft/MV430
6. https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/3341
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/MV430
8. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2595291/herbert-valentine-smith/
9. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18462271/herbert-valentine-smith
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._131_Squadron_RAF#Reformation_in_World_War_II
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahabad,_Kalaburagi
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambala_Air_Force_Station#History
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Sep-2023 16:46 | Nepa | Updated |
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