ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 204127
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| Date: | Tuesday 18 May 1954 |
| Time: | 16:30 LT |
| Type: | Westland Wyvern S Mk 4 |
| Owner/operator: | Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd |
| Registration: | VZ747 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Pailton, 5 miles NW of Rugby, Warwickshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | RAF Bitteswell, Warwickshire |
| RAF Bitteswell, Warwickshire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Westland Wyvern S.Mk.4, VZ747, Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd. Bailed to Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd for trials and tests as a testbed for the A-S Python turboprop engine. Written off (destroyed) 18/5/54 when crashed at Pailton, five miles north-west of Rugby, Warwickshire during "engine relight" trials. These trials involved deliberately stopping, and then restarting, the engine while in flight. The pilot - Mr Edward S Griffiths, Armstrong Siddeley Motors Chief Test Pilot - was killed.
According to one published source, the aircraft's loss was as follows:
"For Edward "Eddie" Shilton Griffiths, Tuesday 18th May 1954 started out just like most other days. As Armstrong Siddeleys chief test pilot, he and his colleagues were tasked with getting to grips with and overcoming all the troubles the company was having with their latest product, the Python turboprop engine.
Its sole user, the Royal Navy's Westland Wyvern S.4 had only recently entered service but was still having problems with its engine flaming out and a reluctance to re-light in certain configurations.
At 32 years old Eddie was promoted to Chief Test Pilot only the month before, having been with Armstrong Siddeley since 1949. Previously with the Fleet Air Arm he then went on to the Empire Test Pilots School at Farnborough before joining Armstrong Siddeley. He lived nearby in Kenilworth, was also married and a father to three children, the last of which was born the previous year.
Just after 4.30 pm the tower at Bitteswell, the airfield from where he had previously taken off, received a MAYDAY call from Eddie stating that he was unable to re-start the engine of Wyvern VZ747 (contracted to Armstrong Siddeley for engine development) and was descending in some difficulties. He radioed his approximate position and his intention to carry out an emergency landing in a suitable field below. At once a water tender accompanied by a Landrover were despatched and sped towards the intended landing site.
As Eddie bought the Wyvern down lower and lower he was unable to see that his intended landing field was in fact heavily ridged, and not as flat as he might previously of thought.
Eye witnesses saw the aircraft go into a shallow dive from which they expected it to pull out. Instead of which a pall of black smoke rose up into the air. With undercarriage lowered (whether this was already down as part of the tests or lowered by the pilot at the last minute is not known) the Wyvern struck the ground quite hard, leaving a small crater around 2 feet deep and with one wheel and undercarriage leg embedded in it.
With the ridges in the field subsequently throwing the Wyvern off its intended course, the aircraft briefly bounced up and headed straight towards two trees at the edge of the field. After hitting the trees which took off both outer wings, the Wyvern came to rest in the next field in a mass of flames as the fuel ignited, and with the engine being torn off its mountings and thrown forward of the main wreckage.
Literally only a few moments after the crash the fire services arrived, but could do very little to prevent the majority of the aircraft from being consumed by the intense fire. Eddie was apparently seen still strapped in his seat in the cockpit, and sadly nothing could be done to save him. He had made no attempt to eject, instead opting to bravely stay with the aircraft and hopefully save all its vital data.
The company's fire crews used all their foam on the fire, and it was not until Rugby units of the Warwickshire brigade arrived that the flames were completely put out. A Leicestershire and Rutland appliance was also sent from Lutterworth."
Sources:
1. Saskatoon Star-Phoenix 19 May 1954, p 13
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Bitteswell#Aircraft_accidents
3. http://www.aviationarchaeology.org.uk/marg/crashes1950-88.htm
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/210: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424331
5. National Archives (PRO Kew) File PA1716/4/5/78: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/09ae0776-63f8-4108-94b8-5fb723d7cd66
6. https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/memorial/entry.php?id=234
7. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VZ
8. https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/106697-it-was-just-another-day?p=3053532
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pailton
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Jan-2018 13:58 | TB | Added |
| 08-Jan-2020 18:45 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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