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Date: | Sunday 18 May 1952 |
Time: | morning |
Type: | Blackburn B-46 Firebrand TF.4 |
Owner/operator: | 827 Sqn FAA RN |
Registration: | EK724 |
MSN: | |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | English Channel, 2 miles off Peacehaven, East Sussex -
United Kingdom
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | RNAS Ford, (HMS Peregrine) Yapton, West Sussex |
Destination airport: | |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:Blackburn B-46 Firebrand TF.4 of 827 Squadron FAA RN, lost engine power 18/5/1952 while in flight two miles off Peacehaven, East Sussex and ditched. The pilot, Commandant John F. Plant, was recovered by RAF ASR launch No.2557 from Newhaven, and safely landed ashore there.
According to a contemporary newspaper report ("Hartlepool Mail" - Friday 18 April 1952):
"PLANE IN SEA: PILOT SAFE.
A single-seater plane, a Firebrand V, piloted by Commissioned Pilot John Farmer Plant, of the R.A.F., stationed at Ford Aerodrome, crashed into the sea two miles off Peacehaven, Sussex, this morning. The pilot climbed into his rubber dinghy and was rescued."
In 2009, the engine was trawled up, mistakenly identified as being from a Spitfire. An attempt was made to sell it on ebay with a start price of about £1k- it didn't sell mainly because the publicity brought the misidentification to light. It then was on a pallet by the ice plant at Newhaven for some time, then it disappeared and I have been unable to find out where it went.
Sources:
1. Fleet Air Arm Fixed Wing Aircraft Since 1946 (Ray Sturtivant, Lee Howard, Mick Burrows, Air Britain, 2004 p.40)
2. Hartlepool Mail - Friday 18 April 1952
3.
http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=1156.0 4.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peacehaven Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
04-Feb-2020 01:13 |
Dr. John Smith |
Added |
04-Feb-2020 17:22 |
stehlik49 |
Updated [Operator, Operator] |
07-Mar-2021 21:12 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Source, Narrative] |
07-Mar-2021 22:15 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Narrative] |