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Date: | Tuesday 9 September 1952 |
Time: | day |
Type: | Gloster Meteor F Mk 4 |
Owner/operator: | 206 AFS RAF |
Registration: | VZ405 |
MSN: | |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Mow Fen, Swavesey, 3 miles south east of St Ives, Cambridgeshire -
United Kingdom
|
Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
Nature: | Training |
Departure airport: | RAF Oakington, Cambridgeshire |
Destination airport: | RAF Oakington, Cambridgeshire |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:Gloster Meteor F.Mk.4, VZ405, 206 AFS, RAF Oakington, Cambridgeshire: Written off (destroyed) 9/9/52 in a mid-air collision with another Meteor (F.Mk.III EE401) over Swavsey, three miles south east of St Ives, Cambridegshire. During a formation change, from 'line astern' to 'echelon starboard', Meteor VZ405 collided with Meteor EE401. Meteor EE401 came off worst, losing its tail. Both pilots bailed out safely. According to a contemporary newspaper report ("Ely Standard" 10 September 1952):
"Two Meteor jet aircraft collided in mid-air over Swavesey. One of the pilots landed near the church & the other near the Pike and Eel public house. The landlady observed: “We often have pilots calling here - but not by parachute!”. The electricity supply was cut when one of the planes struck an electric cable in Mow Fen, Swavesey.
The other fell in a meadow behind Station Road, Over. Firemen put out magnesium flames which broke out in one of the engines after its impact on hitting the ground. The two aircraft were on a training flight from R.A.F. Station, Oakington"
The reported crash location of Swavesey is a village lying on the Prime Meridian in Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 2,463. The village is situated 9 miles to the north west of Cambridge and 3 miles south east of St Ives.
Sources:
1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 130 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 260
3. 206 AFS ORB (Operational Record Book)(Air Ministry File AM/F,540) for the period 1/10/1951 to 31/5/1954: National Archives (PRO Kew) file AIR 29/2146/1 at
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7162860 4.
http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VZ 5.
http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?9765-Meteor-losses-at-206-AFS-RAF-Oakington-1951-to-January-1953 6.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swavesey 7.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over,_Cambridgeshire Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
22-Mar-2021 19:44 |
Dr. John Smith |
Added |
22-Mar-2021 19:49 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Source] |
23-Mar-2021 12:26 |
Vicktor |
Updated [Operator, Nature, Operator] |
23-Mar-2021 18:11 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Source, Narrative] |