Date:	Monday 25 November 1957
Time:
Type:	Gloster Meteor NF Mk 12
Owner/operator:	72 Sqn RAF
Registration:	WS638
MSN:	AWA.
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Cheveley, 4 miles SE of Newmarket, Cambridgeshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Church Fenton, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor NF.Mk.12 WS638: Delivered 3/7/1953. Operational Service career was with 46 Squadron, RAF Odiham, Hampshire. Transferred to RAF Langar 29/6/1954 for modifications and refurbishment. Then returned to the RAF at 38 MU RAF Llandow, after which it was issued to 72 Squadron, RAF Church Fenton, North Yorkshire in February 1956

Written off (destroyed) 25/11/1957: A USAF F-84F (52-7105 of the 20th FB Wing, call sign "FS-105") struck the Meteor at 33,000ft and removed its tail. The Meteor crew bailed out successfully and Meteor WS638 crashed near Cheveley, four miles South East of Newmarket, Cambridgeshire. The F-84F (pilot - Lieutenant Bernard Maldonado) landed safely back at base (believed to be RAF Woodbridge, Suffolk)

Crew of Meteor WS638:
Flying Officer J. Clegg, RAF (pilot, Service Number 3134738).
Flying Officer E.N. Boakes (navigator)

The reported crash location of Cheveley is situated in the county of Cambridgeshire and lies about four miles east-south-east of the market town of Newmarket, at approximate coordinates 52.22°N, 0.46°E

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.194 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Hulley, Air Britain, 1983 p 90)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.210
4. 72 Squadron ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for period 1/1/1956 to 31/12/1960: File AIR 27/2793/3 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8442198
5. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1957.htm
6. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?10286-Colin-Cummings-Losses-1957
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheveley
8. http://forgottenjets.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/F-84F.html
9. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1952.html
10. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WS .

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
14-Aug-2020 20:34	Dr. John Smith	Added
14-Aug-2020 20:38	MiG15	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Operator]
14-Aug-2020 21:11	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
15-Aug-2020 08:39	MiG15	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Operator]
15-Aug-2020 16:36	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
23-Jul-2021 20:55	Anon.	Updated [Time, Location, Source, Operator]