Date:	Thursday 12 August 1948
Time:	day
Type:	Slingsby T.24 Falcon IV
Owner/operator:	AFEE (Armed Forces Experimental Establishment)
Registration:	VM118
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Beaulieu, East Boldre, 2 miles west of Beaulieu, Hampshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Test
Departure airport:	RAF Beaulieu, East Boldre, Beaulieu, Hampshire
Destination airport:	RAF Beaulieu, East Boldre, Beaulieu, Hampshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Slingsby T.24 Falcon IV, VM118, AFEE (Armed Forces Experimental Establishment): Written off (damaged beyond economical repair) 12/8/1948 during winch launching trials at Beaulieu, Hampshire.

Immediately after winch launch, the towing cable broke due to it not being strong enough to cope with the strain of a heavy two-seat glider. The pilot was unable to pull out of the subsequent dive, and the glider struck the ground in a flat attitude, which broke the glider's back. Not repaired, struck off charge 31/8/1948 and scrapped in 1949.

1. British Gliders and Sailplanes 1922-1970, ELLISON, Norman (1971) [p. 50, 194, 261]
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.418
3. Slingsby sailplanes, A comprehensive history of all designs, Simons, Martin (1996) [p. 121-125]
4. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VM
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slingsby_Falcon_4
6. http://www.scalesoaring.co.uk/VINTAGE/Documentation/Slingsby%20T24%20Falcon/T%2024%20-%20SLINGSBY%20%20SAILPLANES.pdf
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airborne_Forces_Experimental_Establishment#Beaulieu_(1945)
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Beaulieu#Postwar_military_use

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-May-2013 10:20	Dr. John Smith	Added
25-Mar-2015 17:05	Earl	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport]
27-Sep-2023 08:13	harro	Updated [[Operator, Location, Departure airport]]