ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 236780
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| Date: | Thursday 19 May 1955 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.112 Sea Venom FAW.20 |
| Owner/operator: | 890 NAS FAA RN |
| Registration: | WM556 |
| MSN: | 12639 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | HMS Bulwark, Lyme Bay, Dorset -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | HMS Bulwark, Lyme Bay, Dorset |
| RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron), Ilchester, Somerset | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
de Havilland DH.112 Sea Venom FAW.20 WM556: Delivered 22/3/55. Known service was with 890 NAS FAA RN (Naval Air Squadron, Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm).
Written off (destroyed) 19/5/55: The catapult hold-back ring failed on a night launch from HMS Bulwark, while the carrier was in Lyme Bay, off the coast of Dorset. The aircraft had been towed slowly to the end of the catapult track, where it was fired from the catapult for a night launch.
The pilot, recognising the problem, immediately throttled back and applied the brakes, in a vain attempt to try and stop the aircraft before it reached the end of the deck of the carrier. The pilot felt the aircraft's nose collapse as the nosewheel hit the catapult shuttle. The aircraft failed to stop before it ran out of deck, and went into the sea off the bow of the carrier, where it began to sink.
There was an anxious delay as the Sea Venom disappeared, and the carrier ran over the spot where it sank. After a short while, the crew escaped from the cockpit of the Sea Venom and climbed into their dinghy, from where they were rescued by the carrier's SAR "plane guard" helicopter
Crew of Sea Venom WM556
Lieutenant Commander Alan Gordon-Johnson RN (pilot)
Lieutenant Jack Carter (Senior Observer)
Both the above crew members had previously been involved in the crash of Sea Venom FAW.20 WM558 off the carrier HMS Albion on 5/8/55 (which see); the circumstances of both crashes (and the rescue of the above two crew members) were uncannily similar!
Sources:
1. Wings Over Somerset: Aircraft Crashes since the End of World War II By Peter Forrester
2. Venom, De Havilland Venom and Sea Venom: The Complete History By David Watkins
3. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WM
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Jun-2020 20:26 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 20-Jun-2020 13:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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