ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 241683
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| Date: | Friday 25 May 1956 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Fairey Firefly U.8 |
| Owner/operator: | RAE Llanbedr |
| Registration: | WM894 |
| MSN: | F.8949 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Cardigan Bay, NW of RAE Llanbedr, near Harlech, Gwynedd -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAE Llanbedr, Gwynedd (EGOD) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Fairey Firefly U.8 WM889: Ordered from Fairey Aircraft Ltd., Heaton Chapel, Stockport, Cheshire as a Firefly AS.7, but completed as a Firefly U.8 drone. First flown as such at Ringway Airport, Manchester 4/7/1955.
Retained by Fairey Aircraft at Ringway Airport, Manchester from 22/7/1955 and placed into short-term storage. Delivered to RAE Llanbedr, near Harlech, Gwynedd 12/11/1955.
Written off (destroyed) 25/5/1956: Lost at sea when shot down by a Fireflash AAM (Air-to-Air Missile) launched from an Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.11.over Cardigan Bay, North West of RAE Llanbedr, near Harlech, Gwynedd. At least three Firefly U.8s were destroyed in this way - WM883, WM894, and WP352.
The Firefly seen flying in formation with the camera plane in the video source is WM883 which was "lost" on 26/3/1957. The source video caption however dates it as 1956, if that is correct then the actual aircraft being shot down in the clip is probably either WM894 or WP352.
Formally Struck Off Charge as Cat.ZZ 31/5/1956.
Sources:
1. Fleet Air Arm Fixed Wing aircraft Since 1946 (Ray Sturtivant, Lee Howard & Mick Burrows, Air Britain,2004 p.300)
2. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WM
3. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_fairey_firefly_U8.html
4. http://www.ukserials.com/losses_drones.htm
5. https://www.reddit.com/r/GunCameraClips/comments/fechi7/fairey_firefly_umk_8_target_drone_shot_down_by_a/
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberporth
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Sep-2020 15:11 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
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