Date:	Monday 19 January 1948
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk XVI
Owner/operator:	203 AFS RAF
Registration:	SL724
MSN:	CBAF.IX.4757
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Eastleigh, 3 miles east of Bideford, Devon, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon
Destination airport:

Narrative:
SL724: Spitfire LF.XVI, MSN CBAF.IX.4757, Built at CBAF (Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory) with Merlin M266 engine. Delivered to the RAF at 6 MU Brize Norton, Oxfordshire 27-8-45. To FATU 28-11-45, then 4 OTU 21-3-46, 61 OTU 22-5-47, and finally 203 AFS from 1-6-47

Written off (destroyed) when hit ground after recovering from dive, near Eastleigh, 3 miles East of Bideford, Devon 19-1-48. The Spitfire was making a power dive, but the pilot delayed the recovery from the dive, and then used harsh movements of the controls. The aircraft then flicked over twice, and dived into the ground at high speed. The pilot was killed

Crew of Spitfire SL724:
P/O (3053743) Peter Bertram Brown (pilot) RAF - killed on active service 19-1-1948

The pilot had been promoted to the rank of Pilot Officer with effect from 3-9-47 (backdated to 20-12-46)

Struck Off Charge 22-1-48 as Cat. E(FA)

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.71. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.365
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985 p 6)
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/29/W2407: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578253
5. "RAF Write offs 1948": Air Britain Aeromilitaria No.1 1979: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. 203 AFS RAF ORB for the period 1-6-1947 to 31-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR29/1771: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101481
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p099.html
8. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/SL724
9. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/90166-sl724
10. https://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?23676-Peter-Bertram-Brown-Killed-19th-Jan-1948
11. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/38147/supplement/5919/data.pdf
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bideford

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Nov-2019 01:10	Dr. John Smith	Added
27-Nov-2019 11:53	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Operator]
01-May-2023 17:42	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Operator]]
01-May-2023 20:44	Nepa	Updated [[[Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Operator]]]