ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 235681
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| Date: | Thursday 4 November 1954 |
| Time: | 00:05 LT |
| Type: |  de Havilland Sea Venom FAW.20 |
| Owner/operator: | 809 NAS FAA RN |
| Registration: | WA546 |
| MSN: | 12629 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Sigwells, 1 mile West of Charlton Horethorne, Somerset -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron), Ilchester, Somerset |
| RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron), Ilchester, Somerset | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
De Havilland Sea Venom FAW.20 WM546: Delivered 23/9/54. Sole Naval career was with 809 NAS Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy.
Written off (destroyed) 4/11/54: The aircraft took off at 23:29 (11:29pm) local time from RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron), Ilchester, Somerset. At 23:50 (11:50 pm) the Sea Venom was returning to Yeovilton, and making a night approach. The crew were given instructions to proceed with a controlled night descent to Yeovilton just after midnight local time. Very shortly after, the aircraft flew into high ground at Sigwells, 1 mile West of Charlton Horethorne, Somerset
The Sea Venom exploded on impact, and burned fiercely, light up the sky around the point of impact. The force of the impact also created numerous small fires around the crash site, caught by flying burning debris. Both crew died, but in separate ways: the pilot, a Royal Navy Lieutenant who came from Cornwall, sustained severe major burns, and died shortly after impact from those burns. The RAF observer/navigator was thrown clear of the wreckage by the force of the impact, and died at the scene from multiple injuries
Crew of Sea Venom WM549
Lieutenant Dudley Nichols Hobbs-Webber RN (Pilot, aged 23)
Flying Officer John O'Boyle RAF (Observer/Navigator, Service Number 4049145, aged 23) - buried at Worthing Road Cemetery, Basingstoke, Hampshire
Sources:
1. Wings Over Somerset: Aircraft Crashes since the End of World War II By Peter Forrester
2. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WM
3. https://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1954.htm
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigwells
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-May-2020 17:26 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
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