ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 154067
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| Date: | Wednesday 7 March 1956 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.112 Sea Venom FAW.21 |
| Owner/operator: | 891 Sqn FAA RN |
| Registration: | WW142 |
| MSN: | 12717 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | HMS Ark Royal, Mediterranean Sea, off Philippeville -
 Algeria
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | HMS Ark Royal, Mediterranean Sea, off Algeria |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Written off 7.1.1956: Went missing on a night intercept sortie from HMS Ark Royal while operating in the Mediterranean Sea off Philippeville, Algeria (at approximate coordinates 38'33"N, 7'19"E) during "Exercise Cascade III". Both crew were posted as MPK - "missing presumed killed".
Crew of Sea Venom W142:
Lieutenant J.O.Ealand RN (pilot)
Flying Officer R.J.Mullord RAF (Navigator/Observer)
Additional info per eyewitness reports: "Between 8th and 10th March 1956, during the Home Fleet's Exercise Cascade in the western Mediterranean, HMS Ark Royal - so new that her deck edge lift was still with the builders - lost five aircrew in a day, when a Sea Venom went missing with the loss of two crew, and a Gannet, which had just taken off to look for the Sea Venom, banked on leaving the deck and spun in, with the loss of three on board. "
Another eyewitness David Christmas, then a Midshipman in Ark Royal, gives similar details: "Tragedy struck early Thursday morning when it was reported that two contacts, one of which was known to be one of our Venoms, disappeared from the radar screen. Nothing was ever heard of the aircraft again although it was later established that the second contact was a Shackleton on which the night fighter had been making a practice attack.
We turned in our tracks and proceeded to send out our Gannets in search of the missing aircraft but trouble never comes singly. A Gannet, piloted by Lt Tooley, flipped on its back as it was fired from the catapult and washed into the sea. No trace was found. A memorial service was held on the quarterdeck the following evening in memory of the five who lost their lives in these two accidents."
Sources:
1. Fleet Air Arm Fixed Wing aircraft Since 1946 (Ray Sturtivant, Mick Burrows & Lee Howard, Air Britain, 2004 p.181)
2. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1956.htm
3. http://www.dehavilland.ukf.net/_DH112%20prodn%20list.txt
4. https://www.gov.uk/search-armed-forces-memorial-roll-of-honour
5. http://www.navy-net.co.uk/fleet-air-arm/47253-exercise-cascade-march-1956-a.html
6. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WW
7. https://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1956-59.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Mar-2013 04:29 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 14-Mar-2013 16:28 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Apr-2013 16:47 | Uli Elch | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative] |
| 08-May-2013 18:23 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 28-Aug-2020 23:24 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
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