Date:	Thursday 4 August 1955
Time:	day
Type:	Avro Ashton Mk 3
Owner/operator:	TRE RAF
Registration:	WB492
MSN:	1397
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants:
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Defford, Worcestershire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Taxi
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Defford, Worcestershire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Avro Ashton Mk.3 WB492: First flown 6/7/1951, delivered 2/1952. Radar bombing research aircraft: operated by the TRE (Telecommunications Research Establishment) RAF.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) 4/8/55: Fire broke out in the starboard undercarriage bay during taxiing prior to take off. Aircraft Damaged Beyond Repair after main spar was fire damaged. It was decided not to repair the aircraft, and it was Struck Off Charge as Cat.5(c) on 30/11/55.

WB492 was transferred to RAE Farnborough for structural testing, although there is photographic evidence that the fuselage was still at Defford, in two halves (presumably for ease of road transportation) on 2/3/56 (see photo below)

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.173 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 15)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.141
4. http://qa.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_fate_of_Avro_Ashton_WB492
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Ashton
6. https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1047495/
7. https://www.airteamimages.com/avro-ashton_WB492_avro_64382_large.html
8. https://www.airteamimages.com/avro-ashton_WB492_avro_64371_large.html
8. https://deffordairfieldheritagegroup.wordpress.com/aircraft-at-defford/aircraft-at-defford/
9. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WB
10. http://www.aviationarchaeology.org.uk/marg/crashes1950-88.htm
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_military_aircraft_(1955%E2%80%931959)#1955

RRE Defford - 2nd March 1956

Avro Ashton Mk.3 WB492 on the ground at Defford in March 1952:

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
01-Jun-2008 01:54	JINX	Added
25-Dec-2012 18:51	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative]
04-Dec-2018 20:20	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Operator]
06-Feb-2020 18:18	Peter Clarke	Updated [Photo]
25-May-2020 17:19	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
25-May-2020 18:42	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source]
25-May-2020 20:19	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
07-Jun-2020 15:16	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
07-Jun-2020 15:17	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
15-Feb-2021 10:14	Angel dick one five	Updated [Operator, Location, Operator]