This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can
submit corrected information.
Date: | Wednesday 21 January 1953 |
Time: | day |
Type: | de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB Mk 5 |
Owner/operator: | 202 AFS RAF |
Registration: | WA339 |
MSN: | EEp/422... |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Liverpool Bay, north east of Anglesey, Wales -
United Kingdom
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Training |
Departure airport: | RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales (VLY/EGOV) |
Destination airport: | |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:De Havilland Vampire FB.Mk.5 WA339, 202 AFS RAF: Delivered 27 February 1951. Written off (destroyed) 21 January 1953 when crashed into Liverpool Bay off the coast of North Wales, north east of Anglesey, at approximate coordinates 53.5175 N, 3.9397 W.
Aircraft took off from RAF Valley, Anglesey, and, apart from a routine radio check shortly after take off, nothing further was seen or heard from this aircraft or its pilot. It is therefore presumed that the aircraft crashed into the sea at the above stated grid reference, and that the pilot was killed. With no wreckage ever being found, the exact cause of the crash is unknown. However, several DH Vampires were lost during this period to engine fires and/or engine failure.
Crew of Vampire WA339:
Pilot Officer Edward John Chilvers (pilot) RAF- killed in service 21/1/1953, body not found, not recovered
Sources:
1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.150 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 333
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999, James J Halley, Air Britain, 2nd Edition, 2003, page 8)
4. 202 AFS ORB (Operational Record Boook)(Air Mininstry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/3/1951 to 31/5/1954: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/2144 at
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101854 5.
http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/515680/details/de-havilland-vampire-fb5-wa339 6.
http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WA 7.
http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH100%20prodn%20list.txt Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
28-May-2008 15:49 |
JINX |
Added |
05-Mar-2013 16:28 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
17-May-2015 06:34 |
MiG17 |
Updated [Aircraft type, Operator] |
09-Jan-2020 21:55 |
stehlik49 |
Updated [Aircraft type, Nature, Operator] |
05-Feb-2020 23:13 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
06-Feb-2020 09:11 |
stehlik49 |
Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator] |
10-Feb-2020 19:34 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Total fatalities] |
10-Apr-2021 17:19 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Cn, Operator, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
10-Apr-2021 18:44 |
MiG17 |
Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator] |