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

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

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]