Date:	Monday 19 October 1953
Time:	night
Type:	de Havilland DH.113 Vampire NF Mk 10
Owner/operator:	25 Sqn RAF
Registration:	WP252
MSN:	13030
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	English Channel, 10 miles SE of South Foreland, Kent, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF West Malling, Maidstone, Kent
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.113 Vampire NF.10, WP252, 25 Squadron RAF: Built at DeHavilland at Harwarden, Chester, and delivered 7/12/1951. Written off 19/10/1953, when ditched into the English Channel, ten miles south-east of South Foreland, Kent.

Vampire NF.10 WP252 had taken off from RAF West Malling, Maidstone, Kent, and climbed to 20,000 feet. The purpose of the sortie was for Vampire WP252 to act as the "target" aircraft for a practice interception sortie. While in flight at 20,000 feet, ten miles off South Foreland, Kent, the pilot began a gentle turn to starboard. The aircraft then rolled to starboard, steadied itself, then flicked to starboard, before going into a spin, from which it did not recover before striking the sea.

Of the two crew (pilot and navigator) the pilot did not leave the aircraft and was killed. The navigator did bail out, landed in the sea, from where he was picked up by a passing Danish ship.

Crew of Vampire WP252:
Flying Officer (1724444) John Albert DIDMON-WHITE (pilot) RAF - killed on active service 19/10/1953
Flying Officer (3507734) Arthur BREEZE (navigator) RAF - bailed out, survived, rescued by a passing Danish ship

Vampire NF.10 WP252 was formally Struck Off Charge as Cat.5(m) on 21/10/1953

Although the actual cause of the accident was never conclusively proved - and the wreckage of the aircraft nor the pilot fatality was never recovered - the testimony of the surviving crew member pointed to anoxia (Oxygen Stavation) causing the pilot to pass out. That would explain why the pilot never took any action to save himself or his aircraft before it struck the sea.

The reported crash location is ten miles south east of South Foreland, which is a chalk headland on the Kent coast of southeast England. It presents a bold cliff to the sea, and commands views over the Strait of Dover. It is centred 3 miles northeast of Dover and 15 miles south of North Foreland.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.151 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 421
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. 25 Squadron ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/1951 to 30/11/1955: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2604/1 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8423845
5. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WP
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH113%20prodn%20list.txt
7. https://www.facebook.com/royalairforce/photos/flames-from-the-engine-of-de-havilland-vampire-nf10-wp252-of-no-25-squadron-are-/10156666209639885/
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Foreland
9. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39429/supplement/62/data.pdf

Flames from the engine of de Havilland Vampire NF.10, WP252, of No. 25 Squadron are caught on start-up as the aircraft is prepared for night sortie from West Malling, Kent, on 25 February 1952: THE ROYAL AIR FORCE, 1950-1969 © IWM (RAF-T 30)

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
19-May-2021 18:07	Dr. John Smith	Added
19-May-2021 18:16	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Embed code]
19-May-2021 18:23	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
19-May-2021 18:29	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
19-May-2021 20:04	Harry	Updated [Location, Narrative, Operator]
19-May-2021 20:05	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Operator]