Date:	Monday 25 August 1975
Time:	day
Type:	De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	N R Vaubell, Howard A Janks & Norman Dusheiko
Registration:	ZS-CMD
MSN:	82871
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Alberton, East Rand, Johannesburg, Gauteng Province -   South Africa
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Demo/Airshow/Display
Departure airport:	Cape Town, South Africa
Destination airport:	Johannesburg, South Africa
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth MSN 82871 (Gipsy Major #82758/A153967); Taken on charge by the RAF as R4963 at 5 MU RAF Kemble, Gloucestershire 1.3.40. To 13 EFTS RAF White Waltham, Maidenhead, Berkshire 1.7.40. To 21 EFTS RAF Booker, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire 2.6.41. Struck overhead wires & crashed at Meadle, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire 23.9.41 during forced landing practice; to Taylorcraft at Rearsby, Leicestershire for repairs 6.10.41. To 24 MU RAF Ternhill, Shropshire 9.12.41 after completion of repairs. To 10 MU RAF Hullavington, Chippenham, Wiltshire 13.4.42. To 222 MU RAF High Ercall, Shropshie 3.3.43 for packing and crating for shipment overseas. Shipped to South Africa 20.3.43 on the "LS36"; arrived 3.5.43 South Africa. Taken on charge by the SAAF as 4640 in 6.43. To 7 AS Kroonstad. To 15 AD Snake Valley [by 1945]. To CFS Bloemfontein 12.6.50.

Struck off charge when sold to SAAF Aero Club 23.6.56. Note that ZS-CMD was registered as such in June 1959 to Defence Flying Club, Swartkop quoting the identity "SAAF 4963" but this is not a SAAF Tiger Moth serial. ZS-CMD was re-regd (in 1968) to W T H Gevers, Waterkloof Ridge. Re-registered 22.4.74 to C W Strecker, New Redruth and rebuilt (possibly from parts of several airframes - see note below). Re-registered by December 1974 to Theron & J Bouwer, Pretoria. Re-registered (in 1975) to N R Vaubell, Howard A Janks & Norman Dusheiko, Johannesburg.

Written off (destroyed) when crashed and destroyed by fire at Alberton, East Rand, Gauteng, Johannesburg, South Africa 24.8.75; both persons on board killed. Alberton is a city situated on the southern part of the East Rand of Johannesburg and it is situated very close to the major urban centre of Johannesburg, in the Gauteng province of South Africa.

Re-registered 9.8.76 to Acre View (Pty) Ltd (J Bouwer), Pretoria, South Africa. Rebuilt in 2000 by C W Strecker. Re-registered June 2011 to Roel J Stausebach, Krugersdorp. Re-registered as ZU-FUL on 28.8.2012 to same owner. Overhauled & repainted at RAF colours as R-4963; reflown 8.11.2014. Sold and delivered 15.4.2016 to Francois Conradie, Rustenburg.

Note that ZS-CMD was registered June 1959 to Defence Flying Club, Swartkop quoting the identity "SAAF 4963" but that is not a SAAF Tiger Moth serial. It is therefore possible that this is the true fate of ex-RAF Tiger Moth R4963, since the ownership and dates are very relevant. Many of the C W Strecker-rebuilt Tiger Moths were built up from spares and wrecks, with their provenance uncertain. Therefore, it is believed that ZS-CMD was built up from several airframes with Tiger Moth R4963 forming the majority of the airframe. Hence it has flown since November 2014 marked as such!

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft R1000-R9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1980)
2. Civil Aircraft Registers of Africa (Air-Britain)
3. http://www.dehavilland.co.za/DH82A_Tiger_Moth_construction_numbers_and_histories.htm
4. Owners offical histroy of R4693/ZS-FUL: http://www.dehavilland.co.za/History%20of%20de%20Havilland%20DH82A%20Tiger%20Moth%2082871%20SAAF%204640%20ZS-CFS%20ZU-FUL.pdf
5. http://www.tigermothclub.co.za/Past_Event_1971_Kyalami.html
6. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p828.html
8. Tiger Moth R4963 (ex-ZS-CMD?) on 24.10.2014: https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/001051654.html
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberton,_Gauteng

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-Sep-2011 13:27	zerocinquanta	Added
26-Sep-2012 01:38	Anon.	Updated [Aircraft type]
05-Jan-2019 14:37	Cobar	Updated [Registration, Cn, Operator, Source]
07-Jan-2022 18:12	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]