ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 264183
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| Date: | Wednesday 23 March 1949 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: | Supermarine Type 371 Spiteful F.XVI |
| Owner/operator: | Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) Ltd |
| Registration: | RB518 |
| MSN: | HPA |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Chilbolton Airfield, Stockbridge, Hampshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Chilbolton Airfield, Stockbridge, Hampshire |
| Chilbolton Airfield, Stockbridge, Hampshire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
RB518 was the fourth production Supermarine Type 371 Spiteful. (Only 21 were ever built - 2 prototypes and 19 aircraft - RB515-525, RB527-531, RB535. Three more aircraft were ordered - RB533, 534 and RT646. These were delivered as dismantled aircraft except for the latter, which was a fuselage only for testing). It was built at HPA (Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) at High Post Airfield), fitted with a rounded Seafang windscreen and a 2,420 hp (1,805 kW) Griffon 101 engine to become the sole Spiteful F.XVI (F.16). The Griffon 101 had a two-stage, three-speed supercharger and turned a five blade Rotol propeller when first built. It was used to test the engine when fitted with a 3-stage blower and +25lb boost.
Not delivered: Retained on charge CRD (Air) MoS (Controller, Research & Development (Air) Ministry of Supply) at Vickers-Armstrong, High Post Airfield from 28-2-45. Testing of this aircraft with not-fully-developed engines resulted in seven forced landings during the test flight programme, it was damaged during tests on 6 February 1946.
Despite this, the Spiteful test programme continued: RB518 was rebuilt with a Griffon 121 engine and a six blade Rotol contra-rotating propeller. In 1947, RB518 achieved 494 mph (795 km/h) at 27,800 ft (8,473 m), the highest level-flight speed recorded by a British piston-powered aircraft.
Spiteful RB518 was wrecked for the seventh and final time Chilbolton on 23 March 1949, which resulted in the landing gear being pushed through the wings. The aircraft was then dropped by the recovery crane, ending any hope of repair. The wreckage was taken to 49 MU RAF Colerne where it was struck off charge as FACE (Flying Accident Cat.E) and broken up for scrap.
Sources:
1. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.51
2. https://www.baesystems.com/en-uk/heritage/vickers-supermarine-spiteful
3. https://oldmachinepress.com/2019/10/05/supermarine-spiteful-and-seafang-fighters/
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p095.html
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spiteful
6. https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Spitfire/Prototypes/pages/Spiteful-prototypes-RB518-England-1945-01.html
7. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_supermarine_spiteful.html
8. https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/supermarine-spiteful-production-and-variants.11714/
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durnford,_Wiltshire#High_Post_airfield
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Chilbolton#Post-war
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Jun-2021 21:55 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 18-Jun-2021 21:56 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
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