Date:	Friday 13 May 1955
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB Mk 5
Owner/operator:	501 (County of Gloucester) Sqn RAF
Registration:	WA300
MSN:	EEP/42...
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Hallen Marsh, near Avonmouth, Gloucestershire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Filton, Bristol, Gloucestershire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
De Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB.Mk.5, WA300: Delivered 2/2/51. RAF Service career was with 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron, RAF only.

Written off (destroyed) 13/5/55 when stalled in circuit at RAF Filton after overshoot and spun into the ground at Hallen Marsh, near Avonmouth, Gloucestershire. The aircraft overshot during a "roller" landing, and commenced a slow turn to starboard, losing airspeed as it did so. It then began losing height, the nose pointing down and the wings rocked and the aircraft rolled over. The Vampire then went into a spin and dived into the ground, close to the railway line between Avonmouth and Severn Beach.

The pilot was killed. He was a very experienced pilot, having accumulated over 3500 flying hours, and was a "regular" commissioned officer, who was also the Commanding Officer of 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron RAF at the time of this accident

Crew of Vampire WA300:
Squadron Leader Geoffrey Barclay Mercer, RAF (pilot, Service Number 130954, aged 31)

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.171 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 9)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.109
4. Wings Over Somerset: Aircraft Crashes since the End of World War II By Peter Forrester
5. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/275: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424396
6. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/34/S2756: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578536
7. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WA
8. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH100%20prodn%20list.txt
9. https://www.aviation-links.co.uk/Gloucestershire%20Aircraft%20Accidents.pdf

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
28-May-2008 15:29	JINX	Added
08-Jun-2008 15:13	JINX	Updated
01-Jun-2013 09:12	Nepa	Updated [Operator]
10-Jan-2020 11:37	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
14-Jan-2020 15:52	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
14-Jan-2020 19:38	stehlik49	Updated [Operator, Operator]
20-May-2020 19:06	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]