Date:	Sunday 7 November 1943
Time:	day
Type:	Supermarine Spitfire Mk IIc (ASR)
Owner/operator:	276 Sqn RAF
Registration:	P8667
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Windmill Farm, Fairwood Common -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Fairwood Common, Swansea, West Glamorgan, South Wales
Destination airport:	RAF Harrowbeer, Yelverton, Devon

Narrative:
Delivered to the RAF at 9MU Cosford 31-5-41. Issued to 19 Squadron 26-6-41. To 313 Squadron 1-10-41. To 417 Squadron 25-11-41. To 61 OTU 17-3-42. To GAL (General Aircraft Ltd) Hanworth for overhaul. Returned to RAF at 33MU Lyneham, 22-11-42. Converted to Spitfire ASR.IIc the aircraft being used for spotting downed aircrew at sea and for dropping dinghies to the downed airmen. Issued to 276 Squadron, RAF Harrowbeer, Devon 29-12-42 (as AQ-T)

Written off when engine failed takeoff crashing into boggy ground close to the entrance of Windmill Farm, just off the NW-SE runway at RAF Fairwood Common, Swansea, West Glamorgan, South Wales 7-11-43

Struck Off Charge 1-12-43; Total Flying Hours 334.25

NOTE: Some sources (see links #7 & #8) state that Spitfire P8667 had crashed at "Fairwood Common, near Blyton, Lincolnshire" and NOT RAF Fairwood Common, Swansea, West Glamorgan, South Wales


Details:
P8667 was built at the Castle Bromwich Supermarine works in Birmingham during May 1941. P8667 was one of three mkII’s built and paid for through the ‘Spitfire Fund’. The people of the ‘British Community of Cuba’ collected enough for three Spitfires. They were P8666 ‘Cuba’, P8668 ‘Cuba III’ & P8667 ‘Cuba II’. She was received into the RAF at 9MU on the 31st of May1941. Her first operational squadron was the famous No.19 squadron who were based at RAF West Malling, arriving on the 26th of June. After having the usual attention, such as the radio codes painted on etc. She was involved with a Rhubarb on the 8th of July along with two other squadrons escorting bombers over St Omer.
313 Czech RAF was her next squadron which was formed at RAF Catterick on the 10th of May 1941. It was the last RAF squadron to be formed mostly of escaped Czechoslovak pilots. Its first commander was the British Sqn/Ldr Gordon Sinclair. On the 29th of July, Czechoslovak pilot Josef Jaške was appointed as joint commander of the squadron. The plan was for responsibility to be transferred gradually from Sinclair to Jaške. The squadron was equipped initially with the Spitfire I. On the 30th of June 1941 it moved to RAF Leconfield in the East Riding of Yorkshire. In August the squadron was re-equipped with the Spitfire IIA, and on 25 August it moved to RAF Portreath in Cornwall. It was here that P8667 arrived on the 1st of October. October the squadron was re-equipped with the Spitfire VB/C. She was with 313 for just over a month.
Her next squadron was No.417 RAF. 417 Squadron was a Royal Canadian Air Force squadron known as the "City of Windsor" squadron. They were at RAF Charmey Down and in the process of being assembled. The first entry within the squadron records was on the 1st of December 1941 and along with the first eight officers, the evolving squadron received officially their first six Spitfires, four came from 313 squadron of which P8667 was one. The official date of the squadron formation was on the 27th of November, P8667 and her three stablemates arrived on the 25th. The squadron were heavily involved with familiarisation training with the Spitfires before being posted to the Middle East, leaving the mkII’s behind and receiving the mkV’s fitted for operations in the desert.
P8667 found herself now in the hands of the training command and with No.61 OTU arriving on the 17th of March 1942. Only 18 days later in the hands of a pilot (U/T), taxying at RAF Heston, ended up running off the hard surface of the perimeter track onto grass and ended up with her nose in the grass, her tail high in the air. The pilot, Sgt J Horsley was uninjured (apart from his pride).
P8667 was taken from Heston (could have been repaired on station) to GAL (General Aircraft Ltd) Hanworth for overhaul. Returned to RAF at 33MU Lyneham, on the 22nd of November 1942. Converted to Spitfire ASR.IIc the aircraft being used for spotting downed aircrew and providing cover to the aircraft dropping dinghies to the downed airmen. The ‘C’ shows she had the ‘Universal or type C wing’ installed. This wing for these ASR aircraft often comprised of a 20mm canon and 2 x .303 machine guns fitted in each wing.
Issued to 276 Squadron, at RAF Harrowbeer, Devon on the 29th of December 1942 and allocated the radio codes ‘AQ-T’. No.276 ASR Squadron was formed at RAF Harrowbeer on the 21st of October 1941 from detachments scattered around the South-West. It was one of four squadrons formed at this time and was allocated to Fighter Command.
RAF Fairwood Common had the extra ability to cater for air gunnery courses with the aerial ranges at Burry Holmes and Broughton Burrows.
On the 12/13th of April, a fresh from training Sergeant pilot Mitchell arrived at the squadron. On the 14th, he was flying Tiger Moth DK475 with an experienced pilot, P/O Porter and was being assessed whilst flying around the aerodrome. The following day, the 15th, he was flying Defiant N3430 solo. Happy with his performance, he was attached to ‘A’ flight. He flew a squadron Spitfire for the first time on the 4th of May. The following day he was flying a Defiant again on an active patrol. Such was the variety of flying with an ASR squadron.
Mitchell received a promotion to Flight Sergeant around the 15th of October, then along with F/Lt Hill from ‘B’ Flight they were disbatched to RAF Fairwood Common on a Group Gunnery Course, Hill in P8667 and Mitchell flying P8325.
He had completed the course and was due to return to Harrowbeer. On the 7th of November he was taking off when the engine of P8667 ‘Cuba III’, failed.
Squadron Records:
“Harrowbeer. 7.11.43.
F/S Mitchell who was detached to Fairwood Common for Group Gunnery Course, crashed on take off to-day (Engine Failure) and was admitted to hospital seriously injured.”

The finding from the FM1180 quote the cause of the crash to have been foreign debris was found in the engine’s carburettor. This prevented the ‘Float Needle’ to set properly causing the engine to flood and stall. Total flying hours was 334.25. SOC on the 1st of December 1943. F/Lt Hill returned on the 13th of November, flying P8325.
As for F/Sgt Mitchell, he was taken to Morriston Hospital. After release and rest from flying, he returned to active flying a couple of months later with 276 squadron and saw out the remainder of the war, he was promoted to Warrant Officer and his last recorded flight was in Spitfire Vb AR453 on the 2nd of March 1945. His status post war is unknown.

Crew:
F/Sgt D Mitchell RAF. Pilot. Seriously injured but safe.

Wreckage:
Some small fragments remain at the site WHICH IS ON PRIVATE GROUND, and I found remains within the woods from the descent through the trees. The furthest fragment lay over 200 yards away in the tree roots.

Additional Information:
During 1942 into 43 the Island of Cuba collected for a further two Spitfires, this time they were the new mkIX. Unfortunately, there is some confusion as the serial numbers I found were JG932 & JG930 and given the names ‘Cuba Libre’ & ‘Spirit of Marti’, these were the mkVb type!
I have found a photograph of Cuba Libre, but the image shows a pilot of 222 squadron standing next to the legend abate on the wing of a mkIX. The pilot’s name is F/O Reginald Frederick Bass, after some intense research, I found out he joined 222 squadron on the 24th of July 1943 and the text on the image reads “F/O R.F. Bass standing on the wing of his Spitfire”! Assuming this would be his first flight in a mkIX, the squadron records quote the aircraft as BS286. Is this the Spitfire in question?
Sadly F/O Bass was killed over the D-Day Bridgehead on D Day+22 on the 29th of June 1944, flying Spitfire IX MK797. As for ‘Spirit of Marti, the search goes on!

1. Fallen Flyers: Tragedy in the Skies Over Wartime Gower (Wartime Record) Bryngold Books Ltd; First edition (1 May 2005) by Steven H. Jones
2. Dunnell, Ben (April 2018). "'The Sea Shall Not Have Them'". Aeroplane. Vol. 46 no. 4. pp. 60–61. ISSN 0143-7240.
3. Rawlings, John D. R. (1982). Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.
4. http://www.ggat.org.uk/timeline/pdf/Military%20Aircraft%20Crash%20Sites%20in%20Southeast%20Wales.pdf
5. http://allspitfirepilots.org/aircraft/P8667
6. https://fcafa.com/2012/09/19/spitfire-aircraft-of-310-sqn-312-sqn-and-313-sqn/
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p008.html
8. http://www.bcar.org.uk/1943-incident-logs
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._276_Squadron_RAF

www.rafharrowbeer.com
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
www.rafcommands.com

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
28-Apr-2019 23:13	Dr. John Smith	Added
28-Apr-2019 23:15	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Destination airport]
29-Apr-2019 08:29	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]
30-Oct-2023 08:39	Davies 62	Updated [[Operator]]