Date:	Thursday 25 November 1948
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk XIV
Owner/operator:	2 Sqn RAF
Registration:	MV252
MSN:	6S 649176
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Wahn, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, BZG, West Germany -   Germany
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Wahn, Nordrhein-Westfalen
Destination airport:	RAF Wahn, Nordrhein-Westfalen

Narrative:
MV252: Spitfire FR. XIV, MSN 6S649176. Built by Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at Eastleigh, Southampton, Hampshire with Griffon G65 engine. To 39MU RAF Colerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire 30-11-44. To 402 (City of Winnipeg) Squadron RCAF 26-4-45 as 'AE-Q'. Flown by Flt Lt M.V. Knight, at Wunstorf, Germany.

To 412 Squadron RCAF 28-6-45 also based at Wunstorf, BZG, West Germany. To 3BRU 6-4-46 for overhaul and storage. To 2 Squadron RAF Celle, Lower Saxony, West Germany 24-6-48

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 25-11-48 when tyre burst on takeoff at RAF Wahn, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, BZG, West Germany. During the take-off run, a tyre burst, and a wheel rim came off the starboard undercarriage. The Spitfire managed to take off normally, but, on return to RAF Wahn, the pilot opted not to lower the damaged undercarriage, and instead bellylanded Spitfire MV252 at RAF Wahn, causing severe damage to the underside of the airframe. The pilot seems to have survived uninjured.

Not repaired: Struck off charge 25-11-48 (same day) as Cat. E(FA)

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.449
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft MA100-MZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. ORB 2 Sqn RAF: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27
5. "RAF Write offs 1948": Air Britain Aeromilitaria No.1 1979: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/101740-mv252
7. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=MV252
8. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/MV252
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/402_Squadron#The_Second_World_War
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/412_Transport_Squadron#Second_World_War
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._2_Squadron_RAF#Cold_War_(1945%E2%80%931988)
12. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234951959-spitfire-xive-wwii/
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_Bonn_Airport#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
14-Aug-2023 21:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated
15-Aug-2023 07:08	Nepa	Updated
16-Aug-2023 16:10	Dr. John Smith	Updated