Date:	Tuesday 28 July 1953
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.112 Venom FB Mk 1
Owner/operator:	CFE RAF
Registration:	WE261
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Holbeach South Range, Lincolnshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF West Raynham, Fakenham, Norfolk
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
De Havilland Venom FB.1 WE261, CFE (Central Fighter Establishment), RAF: Written off (destroyed) 28/7/53 when crashed at the Holbeach South Range, Lincolnshire. Pilot killed

The pilot was engaged in ground attack trials work, and had been airborne for about eleven minutes after take off. As the aircraft dived onto the ranges at Holbeach, Lincolnshire, for a firing pass, an explosion was seen in the starboard wing root area, and the starboard wing mainplane detached, quickly followed by a total disintegration of the rest of the airframe.

Although the accident was attributed to structural failure of the airframe, the precise cause could not be determined, and the possibility exists that the explosion seen by witnesses was, in fact, caused by the premature detonation of one of the RPs (Rocket Projectile) carried under the wing.

PIlot of Venom WE261:
F/Lt Michael Edward Whitworth-Jones DFC (57562) RAF - killed on active service 28/7/53. Buried at West Raynham Parish Churchyard. He had a distinguished career, winning the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) for service in Korea, when flying Gloster Meteor F.8s with 77 Squadron RAAF in 1952-53.

Venom WE261 was the seventh production Venom FB.1; built at Hatfield, it was delivered to the RAF at the CFE (Central Fighter Establishment) at West Raynham on 8/5/51.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.148 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 Colin Cummings p 394-395
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985 p 32)
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/163: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424284
5. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/32/S2644: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578490
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WE
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH112%20prodn%20list.txt
8. https://www.scribd.com/doc/52083880/Postwar-5-de-Havilland-Vampire-Venom-and-Sea-Vixen p 66
9. Flight Lt Whitworth-Jones in Korea early 1953: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C42111

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
04-Jun-2008 08:33	JINX	Added
18-Jun-2008 10:54	JINX	Updated
28-May-2015 14:57	T.T.Taylor	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
04-Jan-2020 23:37	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
05-Jan-2020 09:47	stehlik49	Updated [Operator, Operator]