ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 269638
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| Date: | Thursday 18 December 1941 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH-82A Queen Bee |
| Owner/operator: | 1 AACoP RAF |
| Registration: | P4711 |
| MSN: | 5325 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Llangybi, Monmouthshire, southeast Wales -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Aberporth, Ceredigion |
| RAF Aberporth, Ceredigion |
c/no 5325: de Havilland DH-82A Queen Bee. This aircraft after production went to 19MU on the 30th of March 1939 for storage before taken on charge with the RAF on the 4th of April 1939, then to ‘V’ (Five) flight No1 Army Air Co-Operation on the 14th of September 1940. At some point it had to return to De Havilland for repairs after its engine died in flight, the exact date and location has become lost over time, but it arrived at the De Havilland works on the 5th of October1940. After another spell at 19MU it then came to RAF St Athan on the 23rd of July 1941 who posted her to the new RAF Establishment at Aberporth and back with No1 AACoP.
On the 18th of December 1941 she was being used as a target drone for the intake of AAA operators, after a few passes she went out of radio range, heading Northeast, inland! A short while later the base received word that their drone had come down just outside the village of Llangybi into an open field with no casualties there. The airframe was beyond repair and was SOC (Struck Off Charge) on the 27th of December 1941.
The Queen Bee was devised as a low-cost radio-controlled target aircraft, for realistic anti-aircraft (AA) gunnery training. If it survived the shooting (as intended, by offset aiming), its controller would attempt to recover it for re-use. The Queen Bee used the engine, unslatted wings, under-carriage and tailplane of a Tiger Moth. But instead of a Tiger Moth fabric-covered metal frame fuselage, it used a wooden (spruce and plywood) Moth Major fuselage since this was cheaper and offered buoyancy in the event of a ditching. The carburettor was reversed to cope with the high forward accelerations experienced in a catapult launch. The aircraft could be flown manned, from the front seat. The enclosed rear cockpit position was equipped with RAE radio-control gear including pneumatically operated servo units linked to the aircraft rudder and elevator controls. The Queen Bee was first flown, manned, at Hatfield in 1935, then remotely controlled at Farnborough later that year.
We owe the first use of the word “Drone” to the De Havilland DH82B Queen Bee, which was developed during the 1930s to serve as an aerial target in the training of anti-aircraft batteries of the Army. In 1935, Admiral William H. Standley, of the US Navy, was very impressed at its operation during a demonstration organized by the Royal Navy, he ordered one of his commanders to manufacture an unmanned flying target for use in the Fleet instruction. In honour of its RAF predecessor, the Americans began to call their new aircraft " drone", Which in old English was what the male bee that courts the queen bee is called, ushering in a new era in remotely manned aircraft.
Crew:
N.A.
Wreckage:
All removed.
Additional information:
The RAF station at Aberporth was opened under the Royal Air Force Army Co-Operation Command, to operate target facilities. Which included, Drogues towed by aircraft, and pilotless target aircraft. It was located on the cliff top above the old fishing village. The site was later to become known as the POE (Projectile Development Establishment). Then later, RAE (Royal Aircraft Establishment) Aberporth.
The RAF Operational Unit No1608 Target Towing Flight, later known as No.1608 AACoP flight. No.1609 Mc flight and No.1621 Queen Bee (QB) flight was the first to be permanently posted there. They were all under the control of No.70 Group Fighter Command with HQ at RAE Farnborough.
Llangybi is a village and parish in the south of Ceredigion, Wales. It is located on the A485 between Tregaron to the north and Lampeter to the south, a mile and a half north of the village of Betws Bledrws, which is in the wider community. Silian is another village located within the community.
Sources:
1. rafaberporth.com
2. dehavillandmuseum.com
3. www.baesystems.com
4. https://ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh60.pdf
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llangybi,_Ceredigion
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Nov-2021 17:12 | Davies 62 | Added |
| 03-Jul-2022 08:08 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Plane category, Operator] |
| 03-Jul-2022 08:30 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Plane category, Operator] |
| 04-Dec-2023 13:23 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
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