Date:	Tuesday 18 September 1951
Time:
Type:	de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB Mk 5
Owner/operator:	RAF Flying College
Registration:	VZ237
MSN:	EEP/42864
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Beesby Manor Farm, Alford, 1.5 miles SSE of RAF Strubby, Lincolnshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Strubby, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Engine failure shortly 18-9-1951 after taking off from RAF Strubby, Lincolnshire. The pilot baled out but his parachute failed to deploy fully and he was killed when he struck the roof of a house at Beesby Manor Farm, Alford, 1½ miles South South East of RAF Strubby, Lincolnshire. Pilot, Wing-Commander Donald Wilfred Steventon DSO, DFC and Bar RAF, killed in a flying accident. According to one published source (see link #6):

"When ‘Steve’ was posted to the RAF Flying College at Manby in Lincolnshire in September 1950 as a flight commander and instructor, he and his wife of three years, Anne, moved to a house in the village of Little Cawthorpe, about 5 miles from the airfield. With the dangers of wartime flying now in the past, ‘Steve’ and Anne were looking to a more stable future and eagerly awaited news about their application to adopt a child as their own.

After breakfast on the morning of Tuesday 18 September 1951 ‘Steve’ waved goodbye to Anne and drove the short distance to Strubby. Little more than a minute after his take-off in a de Havilland Vampire, an explosion caused the Goblin engine to catch fire within seconds. ‘Steve’ radioed Strubby tower to request an emergency landing, and at 300 feet on the downwind leg ‘Steve’ rolled the jet onto its back and baled out. His parachute streamed but did not deploy fully and he was killed when he crashed through the roof of a cottage on Beesby Manor Farm at Alford.

Two months later the Journal of the Royal Air Force College recorded ‘Steve’s’ passing with these humbling words: “’Steve’ was one of those exceptional figures that Cranwell has consistently produced at intervals in its history. In a series of notable appointments his success was immediate and outstanding. He was something of a legend in the Royal Air Force for his acute mind, his personality and the indomitable courage that earned his redoubled decorations”.

R.I.P.
Donald Steventon is buried in South Kyme Cemetery, Lincoln. He was 32.

MORE career details: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205451108 and https://allspitfirepilots.org/pilots/3302

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.119 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 179
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/68: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424189
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/31/S2544: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578390
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VZ
6. https://www.lincstothepast.com/Wing-Commander-Donald-Steventon/1581064.record?pt=S
7. http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Files/Parish/719/November_December_Issue_2017123.pdf
8. http://www.planetrace.co.uk/1950-1959_26.html
9. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH100%20prodn%20list.txt

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
01-Jan-2013 17:10	angels one five	Added
19-May-2019 01:05	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
19-May-2019 01:06	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type]
28-Dec-2019 19:25	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Location, Source, Narrative]
08-Jan-2020 20:48	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
10-Feb-2021 16:06	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]