Date:	Wednesday 6 August 1952
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.100 Vampire F Mk 1
Owner/operator:	208 AFS RAF
Registration:	TG305
MSN:	EEP/40032
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Bristol Channel, off Steep Holm, Somerset, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Merryfield, Ilton, Ilchester, Somerset (EGDI)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.100 Vampire F.Mk 1 TG305, 208 AFS (Advanced Flying School), RAF: Written off 6/8/1952. The pilot was engaged in a tail chase with another DH Vampire of 208 AFS over the Bristol Channel, when the pilot of DH Vampire TG305 lost sight of the aircraft he was pursuing. While looking for the leading aircraft, the pilot allowed the aircraft to descend, and, because of the calm sea, and the poor visibility conditions (due to haze and mist), the pilot did not realize just how close he was to the surface of the waters of the Bristol Channel, untli it was too late.

The aircraft then struck the water in a slightly nose-down attiude, and broke up on impact. Vampire TG305 crashed and was destroyed when flew into the Bristol Channel off Steep Holm, at approximate coordinates 51°20′23″N 3°06′35″W. The pilot was killed

Crew of Vampire TG305
Pilot Officer (2506570) Derek John Atkins (pilot) RAF - killed on duty 6/8/1952

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.130 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 267
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100 to VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985, p 38)
4. Wings Over Somerset: Aircraft Crashes since the End of World War II By Peter Forrester
5. 208 AFS ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/11/1951 to 31/5/1954: National Archives (PRO Kew) flie AIR 29/2147 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101857
6. http://www.dehavilland.ukf.net/_DH100%20prodn%20list.txt
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steep_Holm

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Mar-2013 20:40	Dr. John Smith	Added
04-Dec-2018 20:13	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Nature, Operator]
09-Jan-2020 12:36	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
09-Jan-2020 12:39	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
18-Mar-2021 17:44	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
18-Mar-2021 17:45	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
18-Mar-2021 17:53	stehlik49	Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator]
19-Mar-2021 22:28	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]