Date:	Thursday 22 April 1948
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland Vampire F Mk 3
Owner/operator:	TFU Defford
Registration:	VT856
MSN:	EEP42416
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Defford, Worcestershire, England. -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Defford, Worcestershire, England
Destination airport:	RAF Defford, Worcestershire, England

Narrative:
De Havilland Vampire F.Mk.3, VT856, TFU (Telecommunications Flying Unit) RAF Defford: Written off (damaged beyond repair) 22-4-48, in a landing accident at RAF Defford, Worcestershire.

The Vampire was being used as a target aircraft by the RRE (Radar Research Establishment) and was returning to base after completion of a test flying sortie. On final approach, the pilot held the aircraft above the runway for too long and too high. When the airspeed dropped, so did the starboard wing; the aircraft stalled and struck the runway hard.

The wreckage was reported on the fire dump at RAF Teversham, Cambridgeshire, being used for firefighting training in May 1959 (since perished)

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.388
3. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=vt
4. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=VT856
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Research_Establishment#History
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Defford#Postwar_use

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
24-Apr-2023 16:19	Dr. John Smith	Added