Date:	Saturday 25 May 1957
Time:	day
Type:	Gloster Javelin FAW Mk 4
Owner/operator:	23 Sqn RAF
Registration:	XA732
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norwich, Norfolk, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Taxi
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Horsham St. Faith, Norwich, Norfolk
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Javelin FAW.4 XA732: Notified as awaiting collection 28/2/1957, delivered 14/3/1957. Sole operational service career was with 23 Squadron.

Written off (destroyed) 25/5/1957: While taxiing for take off at RAF Horsham St Faith, Norwich, Norfolk the starboard ventral tank detached causing a fuel spill. The fuel spill ignited, aircraft quickly caught fire and burnt out. The two crew evacuated the aircraft safely, by climbing over the aircraft's nose, away from the seat of the fire.

However, a call by Air Traffic Control over the R/T to the Javelin crew that their aircraft was on fire was made without the identifying call sign. As a result, the pilots of two 74 Squadron Hawker Hunters (XE661 and XE662) thought that the "YOU'RE ON FIRE!" warning was aimed at them, causing both those aircraft to crash (see separate entries)

Due to three aircraft being involved in accidents in quick succession, the runways at RAF Horsham St, Faith were closed, and sixteen other aircraft (Javelins of 23 and 141 Squadrons, and Hunters of 74 Squadron) were unable to land. To complicate matters still further, RAF Coltishall was closed for runway resurfacing. As a result, a large number of aircraft had to divert to RAF West Raynham, where many of them had to "land in a hurry" almost out of fuel, and needed to be towed off the runway to allow other aircraft to land! Despite all this chaos, there were no fatalities...

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.189 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft XA100-XZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 2001 p 7)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.249
4. History Of The Gloster Javelin By Ian Smith Watson
5. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1957.htm
6. http://www.planetrace.co.uk/1950-1959_26.html
7. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=XA

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-Aug-2020 13:36	Dr. John Smith	Added
05-Aug-2020 19:54	Digger	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Operator]