Date:	Friday 4 September 1953
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB Mk 5
Owner/operator:	229 OCU RAF
Registration:	VZ281
MSN:	EEP/422..
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Bishops Tawton, 3 miles south of Barnstaple, Devon, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon
Destination airport:	RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB Mk 5 VZ281, 229 OCU RAF: delivered 14/2/1950. First operational service with 32 Squadron RAF in the Middle East. Later to 229 OCU. Written off 4/9/1953 when the engine failed in flight on a sortie from RAF Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon. The pilot abandoned the aircraft, bailed out and Vampire VZ281 dived into the ground at Bishtops Tawton, Devon.

The pilot was uninjured, bailed out safely and parachuted to the ground. The wreckage was recovered and Struck Off Charge on 16/9/1953 as Cat. 5(s) at No.49 MU Colerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire, where it was reduced to spares and produce (scrap).

The reported crash location of Bishop's Tawton is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. It is in the valley of the River Taw, about three miles south of Barnstaple.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p 149 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 409
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983)
4. 229 OCU ORB (Operation Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/1951 to 31/12/1955: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/2167 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101877
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VZ
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH100%20prodn%20list.txt
7. VZ281 when with 32 Squadron: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/raf-dh-vampire-fb-vz281-32-fighter-492218019
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop%27s_Tawton

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
14-May-2021 14:20	Dr. John Smith	Added
14-May-2021 21:23	Vicktor	Updated [Operator, Location, Operator]
14-May-2021 21:28	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]