Date:	Thursday 31 July 1952
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 8
Owner/operator:	226 OCU RAF
Registration:	WA789
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Rayne, 2 miles west of Braintree, Essex, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Stradishall, Suffolk
Destination airport:	RAF Stradishall, Suffolk
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8 WA789, 226 OCU RAF Stadishall: delivered 5/2/1951. Written off 31/7/1952 when collided with Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8 WE957 over Rayne, 2 miles West of Braintree, Essex. Meteor WA789 lost its tail in the collision, the pilot abandoned the aircraft, and bailed out safely.

Crew:
Flight Lieutenant B. A. W. STOBART (1869839) (pilot) RAF - bailed out, survived OK.

The reported crash location of Rayne is a village in the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It lies on the Roman road called Stane Street, about two miles (3 km) to the west of Braintree, which is the nearest town. The crash location was at approximate co ordinates 51.8768°N 0.5142°E

The other Meteor involved in the collision, WE957 made a successful emeregnecy landing at RAF Stradishall (it was later written off in a separate accident at RAF Biggin Hill, Kent, on 5/2/1953)

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.132 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 275
3. 226 OCU ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/1951 to 31/5/1955: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/2165/1 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7162873
4. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WA
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayne,_Essex

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
31-May-2008 13:13	JINX	Added
12-May-2015 08:39	ABBA	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Narrative]
18-Mar-2021 13:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source]
18-Mar-2021 16:51	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
18-Mar-2021 16:52	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
18-Mar-2021 17:51	ABBA	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Nature, Operator]