Date:	Tuesday 26 November 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIX
Owner/operator:	34 Sqn RAF
Registration:	PS917
MSN:	6S 585123
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Palam, Palam, New Delhi, Punjab, British India -   India
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Palam, Palam, New Delhi, Punjab, British India
Destination airport:

Narrative:
PS917: Spitfire PR.XIX, MSN 6S 585123. Built by Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) at Eastleigh, Hampshire with Griffon G66 engine. Retained for tests and trials of Supermarine production prototype wheel well modifications at Eastleigh 17-10-44. To 1 Pilots Pool, RAF Benson, Oxfordshire 21-4-45. To 1 OADU (Overseas Aircraft Delivery Unit) 4-6-45. To MAAF (Mediterranean Allied Air Force) 10-6-45. To ACSEA (Air Command South East Asia) 28-6-45. To 681 Squadron, at RAF Mingaladon, Burma in August 1945. To 34 Squadron, RAF Palam, Palam, New Delhi, Punjab, British India 1-8-46 when 681 Squadron renumbered and relocated.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 26-11-46 when overshot on takeoff and hit buildings at RAF Palam, Palam, New Delhi, Punjab, British India. The aircraft was damaged during the takeoff run when the pilot raised the undercarriage too soon, causing the propellor tips to strike the runway. On sinking back down onto the runway, the Spitfire bounced twice; the pilot attempted to recover the situation by opening the throttle to lift off, perform a circuit and land back at base. However, instead the Spitfire swung off the runway and hit a nearby building. The Spitfire was destroyed, and the pilot was killed

Crew of Spitfire PS917
Sergeant (2218604) Arthur Charles Chin RAFVR (pilot, aged 23) - killed on active service 26-11-46, buried at Delhi War Cemetery, Delhi, India"

Not repaired; formally Struck off charge 30-1-47 as Cat. E(FA)

On 1-8-46 No. 681 Squadron RAF was renumbered as No. 34 Squadron, flying photo-reconnaissance Supermarine Spitfires at RAF Palam until disbanding on 31-7-47

NOTE: Some published sources (e.g., links #2 & #5) quote the serial number of the Spitfire involved in this incident as "PM917". This is incorrect: serial PM917 was allocated to a Farey Barracuda Mk. II

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.248
3. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999
4. 34 Sqn RAF ORB for November 1946: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2410/10: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8419616
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.103: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p091.html
7. https://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/PS917
8. https://www.avialogs.com/spitfire-and-seafire-registry/item/79924-mv354
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2177078/arthur-charles-chin/
10. https://www.caribbeanaircrew-ww2.com/?p=350
11. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22913644/arthur-charles-chin
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._681_Squadron_RAF#Squadron_airfields
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._34_Squadron_RAF#Post-war
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi_International_Airport#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
28-Sep-2013 06:03	JINX	Added
27-Mar-2015 18:38	Jixn	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
27-May-2023 13:48	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Aircraft type, Operator]]
11-Sep-2023 03:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[Aircraft type, Operator]]]