ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 241387
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| Date: | Friday 9 November 1956 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Fairey Firefly U.8 |
| Owner/operator: | RAE Llanbedr |
| Registration: | WM857 |
| MSN: | F.8912 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Cardigan Bay, NW of RAE Llanbedr, near Harlech, Gwynedd -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAE Llanbedr, Gwynedd (EGOD) |
| RAE Llanbedr, Gwynedd (EGOD) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Fairey Firefly U.8 WM857: Ordered from Fairey Aircraft Ltd., Heaton Chapel, Stockport, Cheshire as a Firefly AS.7, but completed as a Firefly U.8 drone. First flown as such 22/2/1954 at Ringway Airport, Manchester. Placed into short term storage at Ringway from 31/3/1954.
First issued for service 24/4/1954 to RAE Llanbedr, near Harlech. Gwynedd. Returned to Fairey Aircraft at Ringway Airport, Manchester for modifications on 1/5/1954. Returned to RAE Llanbedr upon completion of this work 7/5/1954. Back at Fairey Aircraft, Ringway Airport, Manchester for further modifications 21/7/1954. Upon completion of this work, delivered to RAE Aberporth 25/11/1954.
Sustained serious (Cat.4(R) damage at RAE Aberporth during drone controller training on 16/3/1955 when the Firefly collided with a road roller on the perimeter track whilst taxiing. (Pilot - Mr.R.Dickinson, Civilian Contractor Pilot from Short Brothers & Harland Ltd., Rochester, Kent) was uninjured.
Returned to Fairey Aircraft Ltd., at Ringway Airport, Manchester 30/4/1955 for repairs and modifications. Upon completion of this work, delivered to RAE Llanbedr 13/7/1956.
Written off (presumed destroyed) 9/11/1956 when lost at sea on flight from RAE Llanbedr. Aircraft was last sighted on radar over Cardigan Bay, North West of RAE Llanbedr, near Harlech, Gwynedd. Presumed crashed into the sea when ran out of fuel.
WM857 was formally Struck Off Charge as Cat.ZZ on 30/1/1957
Sources:
1. Fleet Air Arm Fixed Wing Aircraft Since 1946 (Ray Sturtivant, Lee Howard & Mick Burrows, Air Britain, 2004 p.299)
2. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WM
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llanbedr#Airport
4. http://www.ukserials.com/losses_drones.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Sep-2020 20:19 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
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