Date:	Wednesday 18 March 1953
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 8
Owner/operator:	19 Sqn RAF
Registration:	WH351
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Chrishall, 3 miles SW of RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8, WH351 19 Squadron RAF: delivered 12/3/1952. Written off 18/3/1953, when collided in flight with Gloster Meteor WK858. Meteor F.Mk.8s WH351 and WK858 were two of four aircraft flying in "line astern formation" over RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire. The four aircraft, including the two that crashed, were giving a low level flypast in honour of Josip Broz Tito (7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980) who had recently become president of Yugoslavia.

In 1953, Tito travelled to Britain for a state visit and met with Winston Churchill. He also toured Cambridge and visited the University Library. As part of the state visit, he was also given a flying display at RAF Duxford, which explains why the accident came about.

As the four Meteors of 19 Squadron flew past the podium where Tito was standing, they had been briefed to give the President of Yugoslavia an "eyes left" salute. This meant that the pilots of the four Meteors were (quite literally) "not watching where they were going" for a few seconds, causing Meteors WH351 and WK858 to collide when the formation turned to port. During the turn to port, the leader of the four aircraft called for a change in formation. While carrying out the changeover, Meteors WH351 and WK858 collided and crashed, killing both pilots (one in each aircraft)

According to a contemporary local newspaper report ("Cambridge Evening News" 19 March 1953):

"Marshal Tito saw two Meteor jets collide in mid-air and crash in flames as he was watching an air display at Duxford airfield. He jumped to his feet in horror as a great burst of red flame rose hundreds of feet into the air behind some trees at Chrishall. They were two of the four jets which had swept past his armchair before taking off.

From their open cockpits the pilots each gave an “eyes left” to the Marshal who saluted back. Just after the crash there was a poignant moment when the two surviving Meteors touched down. Tito rose from his armchair, stood to attention and saluted the planes in tribute to the dead pilots".

Crew of Meteor WH351
Pilot Officer (2498814) Douglas John MANN, RAF (pilot, aged 20) - killed in service 18/3/1953

Chrishall (pronounced Chris hall) is a small village in the English county of Essex. It is located 12 miles (20 km) south of Cambridge and lies equidistant [6 miles (10 km)] between the two medieval market towns of Saffron Walden and Royston. Although in Essex, Chrishall lies close to its borders with Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire and has a 'Hertfordshire' postcode (SG8). It is three miles south west of Duxford Airfield by air, but 5.3 miles by road (via the A505 road)

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.143 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 350
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985 p 84)
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josip_Broz_Tito#Non-Alignment
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WH
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrishall
7. https://archive.org/stream/CambridgeshireAviationScrapbook1897To1990.doc/Cambridgeshire%20Aviation%20Scrapbook%201897%20to%201990.doc_djvu.txt
8. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39650/supplement/5027/data.pdf

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
12-Jun-2008 07:27	JINX	Added
12-May-2015 12:57	Charlie Harper	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location]
19-Apr-2021 21:51	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
27-Jul-2021 20:05	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Category]