Date:	Thursday 12 December 1957
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB Mk 5
Owner/operator:	7 FTS RAF
Registration:	WP993
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Capel Coch, Anglesey, North Wales -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales (VLY/EGOV)
Destination airport:	RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales (VLY/EGOV)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB.Mk.5 WP993: delivered 20/03/1952. Operational service career was with 78 Wing RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force). From July 1952 to December 1954, 78 (Fighter) Wing RAAF, made up, in part of 75 & 76 Squadrons (RAAF), was deployed to Malta and operated as part of Britain's Strategic Reserve in the Mediterranean area (this was also done in recognition of the security interest held by the UN and NATO in the region) utilising Vampires and Meteors. These aircraft were leased from Britain, drawn from RAF stocks and retained RAF serial numbers and markings. Once the deployment was concluded, these aircraft were returned to the British government/RAF.

Early in 1955, Vampire WP993 was returned to the RAF, and was then issued to 7 FTS, RAF Valley, Anglesey.

Written off 12/12/1957: The aircraft was number three in a three-aircraft formation, and had already completed four loops at 12,000 feet. During the next loop, the pilot of Vampire WP993 suddenly announced that he was "bailing out". The aircraft then dived into the ground, near Capel Coch, Anglesey (at approximate coordinates 52'21" North, 4'15 West)

However, the pilot did not make a successful bale-out, and did not leave the aircraft completely. He was therefore killed on impact with the ground. The cause of the aircraft was never determined by the RAF Board of Inquiry.

Crew of Vampire WP993:
Lieutenant (Air) Nicholas John Lipscomb, RN (Pilot, aged 23, on assignment from HMS Goldcrest, RNAS Brawdy) - killed on active service 12/12/1957

The reported crash location is near Capel Coch (Welsh: Sir Ynys Mon) a small village in Anglesey, in north-west Wales, in the community of Llanddyfnan at approximate coordinates 53.315523°N 4.313638°W.

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 WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 87)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.273
4. WP993 with the RAAF in Malta 1953: http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/gallery/Vampire-Malta/Vampire_WP993_001
5. http://www.aviationinmalta.com/MilitaryAviation/Maltabased/RAAF/tabid/680/language/en-US/Default.aspx
6. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1957.htm
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH100%20prodn%20list.txt
8. https://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1956-59.htm
9. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WP
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capel_Coch
.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
15-Aug-2020 20:54	Dr. John Smith	Added
15-Aug-2020 21:33	MiG15	Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator]
16-Aug-2020 12:35	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]