Spitfire P7891 at Catterick airfield.
During the afternoon of 29th September 1941 this 145 Squadron aircraft was flown on a dog fight training exercise and took off from Catterick airfield at 14.25hrs. On landing at Catterick at 15.00hrs the pilot forgot to lower the undercarriage and landed with it retracted, resulting in damage.
The AM Form for this incident gives the serial number as "P7981" but Spitfire P7981 had crashed near Catterick on 10th August 1941 that wrote off the aircraft. 145 Squadron also had P7891 at the time and this would be the most likely identity of the aircraft damaged on 29th September 1941.
Pilot - Sgt Antonin Prvonic (788090).
This pilot was a Czech pilot. He was killed on 15th May 1944 when 312 Squadron Spitfire MK608 crashed at Manston. He is buried at Brookwood Cemetery.
Spitfire P7891 was built to contract B.981687/39 by Vickers Armstrongs Ltd. at Castle Bromwich and was flown to 8 MU at Little Rissington on 2nd February 1941. The aircraft was then taken on charge by 234 Squadron at Warmwell on 13th March 1941. On 16th July 1941 it was transferred to 41 Squadron at Catterick and then on 28th July 1941 it was transferred to 145 Squadron, also at Catterick. As a result of the damage sustained there on 29th September 1941 Cat.M/FA damage was the assessment and it was repaired on site. On 11th February 1941 it left 145 Squadron and went to an unspecified MU store. On 23rd February 1942 it was taken on charge by the Central Gunnery School at Chelveston, they then moved to Sutton Bridge on 6th April 1942. On 23rd January 1943 it went to NO.1 C.R.U. at Cowley with unspecified damage for a repair in works. Once servicable on 8th April 1943 it was taken on charge by 61 O.T.U. at Rednall. On 15th July 1943 it sustained Cat.Ac/FA damage as a result of a heavy landing at Rednall that saw the undercarriage collapse. It was repaired on site and returned to the unit. On 7th September 1944 it passed to 6 MU at Brize Norton where it was later struck off charge on 22nd April 1945.