ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 153894
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| Date: | Friday 6 October 1950 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Fairey Firefly AS.5 |
| Owner/operator: | 812 Sqn FAA RN |
| Registration: | WB418 |
| MSN: | F.8615 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Mediterranean Sea, off Gozo -
 Malta
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | HMS Falcon, RNAS Hal Far, Malta |
| HMS Glory, Mediterranean Sea, off Malta | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Fairey Firefly AS.5 WB418: Delivered to the FAA RN (Fleet Air Arm Royal Navy) at RNAS Culham RDU on 27/3/1950. Transferred to HMS Falcon, RNAS Hal Far, Malta 2/6/1950. Then embarked aboard HMS Glory with 812 Squadron FAA RN early in July 1950.
On Friday, 6/10/1950, WB418 a Fairey Firefly AS.5 of 812 Squadron (HMS Glory) operating from Hal Far airfield collided with another Firefly AS.5 of 812 Squadron (VT423) off Gozo, Malta and crashed into deep waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Both occupants lost their lives.
Crew:
Lieutenant John W.F. BETTELL RN (pilot) - killed on active service 6/10/1950
Aircrewman 1st Class William R. McFADDEN RN (Observer) - killed on active service 6/10/1950
As far as is known, due to the extreme depth of the waters that the Firefly crashed into, neither the wreckage of Firefly WB418 nor the crew of two were recovered. As the two crew were not seen to bale out, it may be presumed that they were still within the wreckage when it hit the water. The other Firefly involved in this incident (VT423) was written off in a separate incident on 17/3/1952
Sources:
1. Fleet Air Arm Fixed Wing Aircraft Since 1946 (Ray Sturtivant, Mick Burrows & Lee Howard, Air Britain, 2004, p.284)
2. http://www.aviationinmalta.com/MilitaryAviation/AccidentsMilitary/19501959/tabid/651/language/en-US/Default.aspx
3. https://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1950.htm
4. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Mar-2013 18:09 | angels one five | Added |
| 14-Mar-2013 21:26 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 04-Apr-2013 14:28 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 13-Jun-2014 05:19 | angels one five | Updated [Cn, Operator, Nature] |
| 26-Feb-2015 05:21 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative] |
| 22-Mar-2015 10:38 | Scout | Updated [Operator, Phase, Narrative] |
| 01-Apr-2015 21:58 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Nature] |
| 01-Sep-2020 21:00 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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