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Date: | Monday 2 September 1957 |
Time: | day |
Type: | Hawker Hunter F Mk 5 |
Owner/operator: | 34 Sqn RAF |
Registration: | WP142 |
MSN: | S4/U/3021 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | RAF Biggin Hill, Kent, England -
United Kingdom
|
Phase: | Take off |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | RAF Biggin Hill, Kent |
Destination airport: | RAF Tangmere, West Sussex |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:Hawker Hunter F.Mk.5 WP142: Delivered 18/5/1955 to 5 MU RAF Kemble, Gloucestershire. Sole operational service was with 34 Squadron, RAF Tangmere as "L" later "W")
Written off 2/9/1957: WP142 was seen to be leaking fuel on take off from RAF Biggin Hill, Kent. Air Traffic Control ordered the pilot of WP142 to immediately cut his engine. The Hunter sank back onto the runway at Biggin Hill and some hard braking was applied. However, the aircraft still overran the end of the runway at Biggin Hill, and the heat from the brakes ignited the fuel leak.
When the fire spread to the underwing tanks, the fire took hold, and the aircraft was destroyed by fire. Pilot managed to vacate the aircraft manually, once it had stopped, and was unhurt
34 Squadron lost three Hunter F.Mk.5s at Biggin Hill in the space of four days - WP140 on 30/8/1957, and two on 2/9/1957 (WP142 and WP192)
Sources:
1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.192 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 81)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.292
4.
http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1957.htm 5.
http://www.planetrace.co.uk/1950-1959_26.html 6.
http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WP Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
10-Jan-2009 11:55 |
ASN archive |
Added |
21-Mar-2012 09:14 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
17-Aug-2012 02:54 |
Nepa |
Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location] |
10-Aug-2020 20:38 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Source, Narrative] |
26-Jun-2023 21:16 |
Nepa |
Updated [[Time, Aircraft type, Location, Source, Narrative]] |